www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Give Roman Catholics the Eastern Option?

Well, we have a unique situation here; or maybe hardly unique after all. Simply put, we have no Eastern rite parish anywhere in our country. I have read much about the Eastern rites, have grown to love them and have started to take up some of its traditions and practices. But that's not enough for me; there's no community in sight for me to attend with. How can this situation then be addressed?

Carmen (& Gregory too ),

Welcome to the Forum. Hopefully we can be of help to the both of you in re-discovering the beauty of the East.

Milliardo,

Mabuhay! Welcome also to you; good to see that you found your way here. I've been mulling over the pm you sent me elsewhere and will try to get back to you on it in the next day or so.

Your question above is vexing. It may be of interest to you to know, though, that you have a couple of countrymen who also post here.

Many years,

Neil

Thanks for the welcome, Neil. Good thing I found my way here as well, so to speak. I did PM you over at Catholic Answers. Anyway, yeah the problem is quite vexing for us Filipinos. Good thing you know of our situation here; as I noted, it is ironic that we are in the East and yet don't know the riches of the Eastern rites. Now that's very ironic.

A serious possibility would be to organize enough of a group to make a good-sized attendance at a Divine Liturgy; organize a sub-group of singers, prepare the service, and then ask one of the Greek-Catholic Bishops in Australia (I suggest the Eparchy of Melbourne) to come, serve Divine Liturgy, and meet with you. Remember: unus Christianus, nullus Christianus.

Incognitus

Actually, that might be a good idea. Neil did say there are Filipinos here who are also interested in it; only problem is where these Filipinos are based (hopefully not somewhere in the U.S.).

Milliardo,

I second Incognitus' idea, except that I'd suggest the Melkite Eparchy of Sydney as a point of contact. Actually, I think I only know one Filipino posting here who's living in the Republic, that would be Elexeie . The other is here in the US.

Many years,

Neil

Thanks, Neil. Maybe I'll start raiding Filipino message boards and get them to go here and hopefully plant a seed of interest in them.

For what it's worth, there are several Orthodox parishes in Manila and in the provinces, all administered by the Greeks.

No offense meant to our Orthodox brothers, but I am Catholic. I choose to remain Catholic. Maybe I might attend Orthodox just to see how the Divine Liturgy is, but I'm not about to jump ship, as a saying goes. If I am to fully participate in the Divine Liturgy, it is in the Catholic Church.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as proselytizing. I mentioned these only as an option if you want to see a Byzantine liturgy given the fact that no Eastern Catholic church exists in the Philippines.

Okay, I understand. Yes, I would think that would be a good idea, now that you've mentioned it. It is quite sad that Eastern Catholic presence here in the Philippines is absent. Anyway, what's the nearest Orthodox church from Paranaque (if you do live here in Metro Manila)?

Milliardo,

I don't obviously, but my recollection is that there are 3 or 4 Orthodox parishes in the Phillipines, one of which has a website [geocities.com] . I suspect that a call to them will supply you with the desired info.

Many years

Neil

Thank you again, Neil. You've been a big help to me!

I've looked over the site, and it seems very far from my place. Maybe I'll ask them if there's any curch nearby...

I can sympathize I'm Roman Catholic. I love the Eastern Liturgy although I haven't been invited to an Orthodox mass, yet. I attend St. Michael the Archangle Byzantine in Akron, Ohio when I can. Of course I'm no expert and I'm also new to this great site but permit me ramble a bit. Let suggest the "Way of the Pilgrim" and at least the first volume or two of the "Philokalia". I don't appreciate the atmosphere of my RC parish which seems ireverant and completely improper attitude. The homily is invariable facile and folksy. As for the rosary, which some seem to disparage, I use mine daily. I'm sure some Easterners pray one occasionaly. But I also love my Chotki just as much and use it constantly. Why can't we all concentrate on the things that we all share and all learn from each other. Having said all that, there is definitely a lack of instruction on the spirirual and especially prayer (and instruction in method) in every RC church I have attended. Eventually someone (plural) is going to be called to account for this lack. But that just my opinion. God bless you...Mike