www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Traditional Anglicans Seek Union with Rome

one thing that needs to be considered, is the fact that ethnicity, while it is still a problem as we are all familiar with, is beginning to slowly but surely fade. there is nothing wrong with a parish, Latin or Eastern, that has a historical ethnic presence, whether it be Hispanic, Ruthenian, German, Irish, whatever. a parish can always have its ethnic festivals and forms of worship germane to the particular ethnic group. as different ethnic groups join the parish, new forms emerge, either a new ethnic group becomes preponderant, or else, you can even have a synthesis of cultures. the Byzantine Catholics, I am noticing, are seeing different ethnic backgrounds joining. it brightens my heart to see Irish,Spanish,German and other surnames joining parishes, as I notice from the website. what possibly can happen is that parishes, regardless of it being Ukrainian, Ruthenian, Russian, Arab, or whatever will become more diverse. where you have four Eastern parishes within walking distance, you may one day see one large parish, as a paricular parish may simply have more to offer than other parishes. Byzantine parishes, for example may then either close, or they may even be mergers or like parishes. the redundant hierarchies may cease to be, and some time in the future, you may even have one unified Byzantine church in the States, all because of grass root activity. I realize that outside of the Ruthenians, other Byzantine churches are established outside of the United States,and other situations may arise. as far as seeing one super Patriarchy for all Byzantine liturgical Catholics on the planet are concerned, I don't expect to see that in my lifetime. but again, its going to be from the grassroots, and not from above, and it will have to come about as people get over their ethnic jealousies and suspicions and leave ethnic warfare back in Europe and other continents where it belongs .
Much Love,
Jonn

Think what you wish.

I will listen when you start lamenting the use of "Catholic Church" by the Latin Church and the other unilateral actions of other Byzantine Rite Churches.

From my experience, Melkite Catholics, while they will admite to being of the Byzantine Rite, do not call themselves Byzantine Catholics, same for Ukrainians.

Technically, Byzantine Rite is the correct term, not Byzantine Catholic.

But I think this shows part of the issues within the Church, and Churches, semantics.

Yes you did apologize and I never asked you to do so again yet I do not believe that your apology covered what upset me. That is the fact that you accused me of being confused, of not knowing something while talking about it. In essence you accused me of being stupid, as I said. You might no agree to this but that is the way it was taken.

Your issue is with the hierarchs of the Byzantine Catholic Church, not with me. I just follow their lead. Just as many Ukrainians follow the lead of their heirarchs when they call their Major Archbishop a Patriarch.

quod scripsi, scripsi!

Incognitus