www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Married priest in Australia/New Zealand/Oceania

In May 1998 Australian Bishops agread on accepting ordination of married men in Australia for the Eastern Church.
How many married men where in fact ordained in the Eastern Church and where.

Wilhelm.

There are about 4 married priest who were brought over from Ukraine who are serving in Eastern Australia. I think that ther have been possibly 2 ordinations of married men here in Australia since the arrival of the others from o'seas. One was definately ordained in Adelaide (South Australia). The Melkites have one married priest that I know of and the Russians (under the Melkites) have one.

Pavel

nice to see someone from this halfround.
In New Zealand the Eastern rites are unknown.Only in 1999 I learned through the internet that the Eastern Church did existed under "Australia New zealand and Oceania". Not one Catholic institution had any information whatsoever. It was the local Russian Orthodox priest that put my nose in the right direction.
By change I was in Melbourne and made sure that I met Eparch Peter Stasiuk.
I got good connections with the Russian Orthodox and met several people that from being Latin whent back to the ( parents )tradition or being EC had no place for a traditional Liturgy.
In May we had a young priest from Melbourne who at least was interrested in the situation on this side off the Tasman. He will be back in November.
We had a strange situation here where a biritual priest one a year, in the later years, would have Holy Liturgy in the Cathdral. yet our Cardinal living next door tried to assure his commitee members that he had no knowledge of any Eastern Catholics. Mind you it was almost like a underground church as I found them only after more than 40 years in NZ
I sought help from the ' eccumenical commitee' to find accomedation for the Eastern Church as they where regarded as a foreign ( orthodox !!! ) Church by the Latin Church in New Zealand.
It made me wonder if the ordination of married men in this part of the world has ever had come to frutation.

Wilhelm.

Wilhelm, you might want to consider advising your RC diocese read the booklet that was published for the RCs in Australia to educate them about the ECs, and which was taken and modified for the U.S. Catholic Bishop's conference for the same purpose.

Yes, Bishop Peter of the UGCC and Bishop Issam John of the Melkites would be the contacts to see about the possibilities of EC outreach to New Zealand.

For English-language services, you might have better luck with the Melkites. The Melkites have been very openly supportive of our Russian Catholic parish and community in Melbourne and ordained the married pastor, Fr. Lawrence Cross, for the service of the Russian Catholic community there.

If you can talk an RC priest into bi-ritual faculties, perhaps he can talk to one of these two hierarchs.

You can organize Reader's Services which do not require a priest [when a priest is unavailable].

Dear Diak

Do you have a contact E-mail adress for Fr Laurentz Cross.
New Zealand is very ethnocentric the English colonial kind. We where forced into assimilation.
Being from the crossroads of cultures in Europe, I have 3 languages as a birhtright, I was stuned to learn that we where ALIENS and had a booklet to proof it. Our movements where recorded.People fell over backwards by the sound of a foreign language.
I became involved in Ethnic Affairs. It was rowing upstream.
In 1984 our work had a new cleaner without english. He turned out to be a Orthodox priest, fresh from behind the Iron Curtain. We became very good friends. 6 years I had him as a tablemate, the two of us. Sometimes I felt like a father confesser. Extremely rewarding.
As he had a good friend back home, a EC priest, married with 3 children, he sought friendship with the ( Latin ) clergy in Wellington. Lett me say I had to shield him from the latins.
Our Cardinal is a " One lung breather " and no repair is possible. So there is no example set.
Thanks to Fr.Felix who is married and will visit us the clergy is taking note as he stays in the presbiteries. See he does not bite or is dangereus. That is the way to go.
We are winning. A biritual priest is NOT a solution. We are in a desperate need off a priest that is ethnicly related. being married gives the people the confidance that the man is a real priest.

By the way, on the crossroads of European cultures, We gave the priests and seminarist from the Ukraine a home when Stalin trew them out after the war. In return they made us breath with two lungs. Yes I am EC in mind from the 50's onwards.


Wilhelm

Wilhelm,

This page has a photo and biographical info on Father Lawrence, as well as an e-mail contact link:

Father Lawrence Cross [dlibrary.acu.edu.au]

Many years,

Neil

I beleive it has been very difficult for the Ukrainian Catholics to get a priest to NZ. There was a NZ Redemptorist who was doing the liturgy somewhere over there but I think I had more recently heard he had retired or possibly died. Definately contact the melchite (in Sydney) or Ukrainian (Melbourne) Bishops, as both have jusristiction over NZ for their respective flocks and they will be able to let you know what they have going. It may be that they only visit for now from Australia.

The Eastern Catholics in New Zealand have been neglected. Even with a priest from Australia now and then the information was not availble to anyone. Indeed as for Wellington the Wel-com Newspaper only reported with a 8th of one colom. That has happened 3 times in the last 3 years.And that only I am on the editors toes. She is simply not willing to inform. My hunch is that married priests should not be mentioned.
Only yesterday I been informed about the visit of two Melbourne priests, starting 26 of November.It is the intention of Bishop Peter Stasiuk to have a permanet priest in New Zealand. These things take time.
Our biggest problem on this moment is to treace the people that have a Eastern Church backgroud or interrest.We have mabe 50 years of enforced assimilation. Perhaps not with intend in the early days. Today we live in 2004. or at least some peple do.

Wilhelm

Wilhelm, the email address on the link Neil provided is the same that I have as well. Yes, the first order of business will be to determine if there is even enough people within driving distance to support a mission.

Diak

There are not enough people to support a mission.
The support of that mission has to come from the people that have neglected the Eastern Church in this Country. It is a matter acepting responcebility for the neglect.
I am welcome in many circles and people relate to me as I do relate to them. I move freely in the Orthodox world. My status as a layperson seems to invite a special openes. It invited odly enough full blasts from Latin clergy to.
What I know is not always for discussion.
I have been with Ethnic Affairs listening to minority cultures from 1974 on. Defending minorities opened even doors of Parlement. In 1984 the Serbian Orthodox Priest became a very close friend. The Russian Church came into view.
In 1999 the search for my adopted church began. What I found made me angry. In 1999 we regarded our country as Multicultural.
thank goodness Eparch + Peter understood what I had to say. New Zealand is a very different country to Australia.
There is a lot of education to be done. I think that is where we have to begin. We are moving at last.

Wilhelm.