www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall "East Meets East:" A Conversation Between a ByzCath Priest and an Orthodox Priest

[I don't believe anyone else has posted this yet, but if I am duplicating things, forgive me.]

Many of you may be interested in listening to the following radio program, hosted by Ancient Faith Radio. It features a conversation between a Byzantine Catholic Priest and an Orthodox Priest: our well-known Fr. Thomas Loya and OCA priest Fr. John Schroedel, respectively. I haven't listened to it all the way through just yet, but it seems to be about an hour long and very informative. Enjoy!

East Meets East [ancientfaithradio.com]

Two points:

Thank you for giving the link to that discussion. I have only listened to half of it, but it seems to be very good.

Also, thank you for introducing me to Ancient Faith Radio" (http://www.ancientfaithradio.com/), which hosts that discussion. I foresee spending a lot of time listening to the materials there.

Thank you again !!!

Got it thanks!

Have plenty to of work to do at the computer to keep me listening.

I listened to it when it was on a few weeks ago. It was good, but couldn't cover too much in detail. I think it highlighted well what separates the two sides.

One thing that was interesting to me was that I had no idea that Byzantine Catholics could not proselytize among Roman Catholics or Orthodox. That seems like a shame to me.

Andrew

*Can* Eastern Catholics proselytize? This is something I am perennially confused about; I have heard both yes and no. If the answer is yes, to whom? If no, how does that square with the Commandment of Jesus Christ to go forth and preach the Gospel? Sorry if this has been asked and answered before; and thanks to anyone who can shed some light on the subject for me.

I believe the point about proselytizing is just that Eastern Catholics are not to do it amongst the Latin Rite Catholics or the Eastern Orthodox (as Andrew indicated). The reasons for this are likely at least the following: (1) Latin Rite Catholics are already Catholics, so proselytizing would just seem wrong-headed; it mustn't appear that one rite is superior to another or any such thing; (2) many Eastern Orthodox are offended by "Uniatism" and are also suspicious of Eastern Catholics because of historical circumstances -- some almost see "Uniatism" as a way of "tricking" Eastern Orthodox into submitting to the Pope, and of taking away individual Orthodox communities one by one as if snatching them away from their Orthodox hierarchy -- and it has been decided that "Uniatism" will no longer be the method of achieving union between Catholics and Orthodox; no one is supposed to encourage "partial" communion, i.e., a union between some Catholics and Orthodox but not between others, but rather union, if and when it takes place, will (God willing) be a concerted movement between all Orthodox churches and the Catholic churches.

Now, this doesn't mean Eastern Catholics can't evangelize elsewhere. As far as I know, they can (I don't see why they couldn't; that would seem absurd, not to mention contrary to the Gospel). Nor does it mean that they cannot explain themselves to their Latin Rite or Orthodox brethren, or invite them to "come and see," or have fruitful dialogue with them, and so on. I believe the only point is that there should be no goal of converting Latin Rite or Orthodox individuals to Eastern Catholicism, for the reasons mentioned above (although if they decide to become Eastern Catholic out of their own initiative, that's another thing). The motivation, I think, is that this will ultimately aid the movement toward reunion by reducing suspicion and establishing bonds of trust.

God bless,
Jason

Thank you, Jason ! That was a very good explanation ! Now I finally understand.

-- John

"Proselytism", strictly speaking, is improper because it is taken to mean the use of unChristian methods (force, coercion, financial inducements, lies, etc) to dragoon someone into a particular religious body without taking the vict�m's free will into account.

However, Vatican II states with absolute clarity: "Eadem proinde pari pollent dignitate, ita ut nulla earum ceteris praestet ratione ritus, atque iisdem fruuntur iuribus et tenentur obligationibus, etiam quod attinet ad Evangelium praedicandum in universum mundum (cf. Mc. 16:15), sub moderamine Romane Pontificism" (Orientalium Ecclesiarum N. 3). "They are consequently of equal dignity, so that none of them is superior to the others as regards rite and they enjoy the same rights and are under the same obligations, also in respect of preaching the Gospel to the whole world (cf. Mark 16, 15) under the guidance of the Roman Pontiff."


As to the Latins, one may not seek to "convert" them to our Church, any more than they may lawfully seek to "convert" us to their Church. We may certainly make them welcome, however.

Incognitus

How can one "prostelytize" someone of the same Faith?

I'm Roman Catholic, and I occasionally go to a Byzantine Rite parish. I've already been baptized and chrismated. I walk in, I pray for a few hours, and am happily given the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. How would I "convert" to Byzantine Catholicsim? What would I "convert" to? What possible reason would I have to do so? And what reason would a "cradle" Byzantine have to persuade me to do so?

Dear Marc,
You ask, quite cogently, "How can one "prostelytize" someone of the same Faith?

"I'm Roman Catholic, and I occasionally go to a Byzantine Rite parish. I've already been baptized and chrismated. I walk in, I pray for a few hours, and am happily given the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. How would I "convert" to Byzantine Catholicsim? What would I "convert" to? What possible reason would I have to do so? And what reason would a "cradle" Byzantine have to persuade me to do so?"

As to the first point, it is unfortunately possible to find certain Catholic groups who seem to feel a need to proselytize Catholics into their particular group. I won't name them, and I won't pause to analyze why they do this (the reasons may vary from one group to the next), but they can be quite insistent about it, applying various kinds of improper pressure.

Eastern Catholics are only too well aware of Latin efforts to proselytise us - using a variety of methods, all of which violate the laws of the Church and many of which are downright immoral, I regret to say.

How would a Latin Catholic "convert" to Greek-Catholicism? [the correct verb is "transfer".] Well, there are several possibilities: he might marry a Greek-Catholic and decide that for the sake of family unity it will be better that he and his wife and their eventual children should all attend the same Church; the Holy Canons permit this. He might simply find himself attracted to the Greek-Catholic Church, and seek a canonical transfer. Or he might simply join a Greek-Catholic parish and let it go at that.

What reason would you have to do this? I don't really know; that's up to you. It's not unlike asking why someone joins the Benedictines rather than joining the Brothers of the Christian Schools. In each case, it's a matter of seeking the specific Will of God for your own life.

What reason would a "cradle" Greek-Catholic have for persuading you to join us? I can think of a few improper reasons, but since those reasons are improper it's best not to discuss them! In the case of marriage, the cradle Greek-Catholic might also be motivated by the consideration of family unity. It could be a question of geographic proximity, or it might simply be that the cradle Greek-Catholic noticed that you seemed particularly happy when attending our Church and was moved to invite you to come regularly. Without knowing you or your circumstances personally, that's the best set of guesses I can offer.

Hope this sheds some light on the matter.

Incognitus

Jason,

Thank you for posting this informative interview.

In many ways I see my change of sui juris Church as a "conversion" of sorts, because it required a type of metanoia on my part, i.e., I had to be open to viewing the Christian mystery in a new and different way.

Blessings to you,
Todd

It is a great interview! I enjoyed it.