www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Transfer of Rites and vocation question

Hi all.

I am new poster to this forum, and I am not even sure if this is the right place for this question. I am a Catholic of the Roman Rite, but feel drawn by the little that I know to the Byzantine Rite. I have some reading material, but would greatly appreciate any suggestions or websites that will help me understand the "nuts and bolts" of Eastern thought and theology, esp in ways that differ from the Western understanding. I am pretty well versed in the way that the West looks at things, so suggestions for easily accessible and not so easily accessible materials would be appreciated. I have found an Eastern Rite parish near me, and have attended many a Divine Liturgy, and have tried somewhat to live as a Byzantine (eg, trying to keep the minimal Dormation Fast, attend Mass on Eastern Holy Days that are not celebrated as Days of Obligation in the West).

As for the vocation, I may be called to the priesthood as well, and am pulled in different directions in the call of the East (with the time involved) and the call of the vocation. Is it even reasonable to try to balance both?

Anyway, thanks for reading, and any insight that you can provide would be welcome.

Christ is in our midst!!

Welcome to the forum.

Hate to break your bubble your first post, but your move is exactly what Rome would be pressing Byzantine bishops not to allow. In other words, if you're baptised into the Latin Church in the United States and have no family or other connection to the Eastern Churches, you will have next to an impossible task to get from where you are now to being an Eastern Catholic priest. You might bring this up with the priest in the parish you are attending, but I'd be willing to place a small bet that he'll tell you the same thing.

In Christ,

BOB

Difficult, perhaps, but not impossible. I know of at least one priest, ordained within the last 3 years, who did just that. It wasn't an easy path and it slowed his journey to the priesthood considerably, but it can be done.

Welcome to the Forum!

Elizabeth

By the way, where in California are you located? I tried to PM, but it said you were over your limit.

Elizabeth

Newbury Park, near Thousand Oaks.

Since I am new, they haven't turned on the PM yet.

Thanks for the insight. I am in the midst of trying to figure out the jumble that is in my head about this, and the draw of the East may or may not end up with a vocation. I hate to close any doors when there is no certainty of either path being right, whether alone or in combination.

I still feel that I should explore the East. Can you recommend any good materials for that?

Thanks.

To start with, are you attending an Eastern parish? Two near you would be:

Byzantine Catholic Cathedral of St Mary in Sherman Oaks, California [en.wikipedia.org]

An Orthodox parish near you would be:

St Herman's Orthodox Church in Oxnard, California [oca.org]

(I don't know your area that well, so I listed both in case the first one is not really feasible. The Oxnard parish is not in union with Rome, but attending it might help your understanding of the Christian East.)

The Deacon at this parish is an old friend of mine, so if you stop in, tell him I said hi!

(There may be more Eastern Catholic parishes near you. Perhaps other posters could post locations?)

Some good online materials on the Eastern Church:

The Orthodox Faith by Fr. Hopko [oca.org]

The Byzantine Spirituality Page [rumkatkilise.org]

Byzantine Catholic Prayer For the Home [archive.org]
(Best downloaded in PDF format)

Hello Lech Lecha,

I tried to PM you about your vocation. I'm suggest you travel to Holy Resurrection Monastery, which is near Palmdale. I'm sure Fr. Abbot Nicholas and Fr. Maximos and the other fathers would be a great wealth of information for you on the Christian East, your vocation, and what the next step for you would be.

Here is their website and also the email address. Trust me, going there will be very spiritually rewarding. I thank God for allowing me to have the blessing to stay there. It has helped me deepen my faith, and understanding of Eastern Catholicism and the spiritual life.

monks@hrmonline.org
www.hrmonline.org [hrmonline.org]

Welcome!


I think all the interviews Catherine Alexander did with the monks of Holy Resurrection Monastery on YourWordFromTheWise [youtube.com] are excellent. I keep going back and listening to them again. If you click on the "more info" tab you can see listed all the questions she asks in that interview.

Eastern Christian Media [easternchristianmedia.com] also has some good basic videos.
Orientale Lumen TeleVision [oltv.tv] has video of many wonderful talks.
Ancient Faith Radio [ancientfaith.com] has many good programs.
I really like Fr. Loya's Theology of the Body DVDs. This is a teeny look [youtube.com] at how he approaches that teaching. I just finished watching a 6 DVD TOB series from a retreat he did for EC priests that was great. His weekly radio show [byzantinecatholic.com] is archived.


The best catechesis is the Liturgy itself. The Feast Days are such a rich part of the Church. There are four complete, wonderful talks from the Orientale Lumen Conference XII 2008 on the theme "Feast Days of the Eastern Church" [oltv.tv].

For a pleasure-to-read book I really like Bread & Water, Wine & Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God [amazon.com].

Also, you might look at the Society of Saint John Chrysostom, Southern California Chapter Newsletter [ssjc.org]. You can ask to be put on the SSJC SoCA email list.

Goodness! A local!

Welcome to the forum!

I live in Dos Vientos, but attend to both St. Jude and St. Paschal.

I am in the Diaconate Formation Program (the L.A. Program, my former pastor didn't want to have anything to do with the Santa Barbara Program).

Would you be interested in getting together for lunch or coffee one of these days? Do you work near the area? Any I asking too many questions? Really?

Let's pray for each other.

Shalom,
Memo

Wow - thanks for all of the great resources and insights. I appreciate your willingness to help keep me in my book habit. :grin:

As I look back over the posts for the past several days, I am struck by all of the thoughtfulness that comes through. Here I am, someone that you don't know from Adam, and I am being showered with all these great resources and advice.

I haven't been able to figure out how to quote someone yet, but:

Nelson - thanks for the tip on the monks in Palmdale. Theirs seems a site worth exploring.

DTBrown - St Mary's is about 30 minutes (on Sunday morning) from the house. It is a good (and reachable) parish. Almost all of my Eastern liturgical experience has been there.

likeathief - mmmmm...cool and interesting videos <<insert Homer Simpson drool here>>

memo - Goodness! Another Local! :) I attend St Julie's, and am up for coffee and/or lunch to chat. I work in NP. I don't think that my PM will work for about another 3 weeks, but I am swamped at work till then anyway. :)

Once I get on topic, I can devor it to great ends, so if anyone knows of any more resources, please keep them coming.

Thanks to all

Lech Lecha

Lecha Lecha:

To quote:

1. Hit your reply button.
2. Go to the quotation marks in the tool bar.
3. Cut and past the quote between the quotation marks.
4. You're done.

BOB

My email is: memorodriguez@usa.net

Contact me at your convenience.

Thanks.

Shalom,
Memo

Lech Lecha,
It is very possible to change rites and to start a vocational discernment in the Byzantine Church. A friend of mine just did this not long ago. He will start Seminary in January 2010.
Do not let people tell you it`s an impossible thing to do. Nothing is impossible to God, while some people are putting fences, God will guide you and give strenght to do His will.
Francois