www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization appealing ?

How can the Eastern Catholic Churches be appealing to the world overall?

Amidst all the talk of evangelization, the question has to be: what's the point? That, in turn, must answer the question: What do the Eastern Catholic Churches offer?

I think that question needs to be answered in three different contexts: the Eastern Catholic Churches themselves, the Catholic Church as a whole, and the world in general.

For the Eastern Catholic Churches themselves, the answer is that they are alive. They are alive, and they have a right to go on living.

For the Catholic Church as a whole, the Eastern Catholics offer the treasures of the East: theosis, decent liturgy, and the living example of diversity within the unity of faith and morals.

But for the world as a whole, what do the Eastern Catholics offer? From what I can tell (being a Roman Catholic), it is the example of being both Orthodox and Catholic. Yet, the Eastern Catholics cannot evangelize Roman Catholics nor the Eastern Orthodox.

So, here is the underlying question: How can being both Orthodox and Catholic be appealing to the non-Orthodox and the non-Catholics of the world?

-- John

John,

Your question is well framed and one I hope will be answered by all of us whether we post our answer or not.

An initial and overly simple answer is the same for us as it is for all Christians: We are here to offer the community of those who seek eternal life through Jesus Christ. Specfically, we offer an alternative to the fragmentation of modern life from the perspective of transcendent beauty. For the West in particular everything outside of the Eastern beauty and transcendence one finds a world full of the mundane and the chaotic. We are pressured to perform but without any satisfying reason to perform. We are pressured to acquire with only a false promise, and it doesn't take long to realize how false it is, that we will be satisfied for so acquiring. We offer a clear alternative. We surrender to heaven and we gain everything. We offer a "What" when the secular world only offers a "How".

You didn't ask the "How" question so I'll leave that for another time. But this is my initial response to the "What" question.

CDL

Thanks John, this is a good post and gives food for thought.

I think the Eastern Catholic churches appeal to the world by offering beauty and a tradition which has lasted throughout the centuries. They offer consistancy and stability and many are looking for stability in the midst of these troubled and fluxuating times.

My own desire and efforts (including time learning on this forum)to study Eastern Christianity these past twenty some years has gained for me a deep appreciation of the treasures of this beautiful and profoundly meaningful tradition(as well as history) I did seek and found in the Divine Liturgy, icons, and wonderful faithfulness of the people much which speaks to our world of peace, steadfastness, truth, and love and especially an enlightened understanding of Christ, the Theotokos, eschatology, and the Saints. Good food at the social functions too!

Porter...gratefully.

The East offers a bedrock of both Christian liturgy and spiritual excersies but the East needs to stop being shy about it. There are hndreds of thousands of potential converts out there but sometimes I think the East is afraid to evangelise others. In my case I happen to have a Priest in town who is terrific and has helped me grow but I don't see young people at Divine Liturgy and if anyone has a contact for a successsful youth program at an EASTERN RITE CATHOLIC Church please let me know.


In Christ,
Chris

Contact our Church. I'll send you a couple of emails through a pm.

CDL

Carson what is the name of your Church out of curiosity.

Annunciation of the Mother of God BC Church, Homer Glen, Illinois.

www.byzantinecatholic.com [byzantinecatholic.com]

CDL