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I am originally from Georgia and moved up north (to Indiana) for a bit over a year, where my wife and I converted from protestantism to Byzantine Catholic. We have since returned to Georgia, and as far as we know, there is only one Byz.Cath church, located about 50 miles away (in Roswell). So, we have been attending the local RC church, and will likely continue to do so since for us, it is the only flavor of the Catholic church around, and we want to be involved locally. I do have a few questions in regards to this.

If we have a child (for us, the chance is slim due to infertility problems), should we seek to raise them in the RC community (or can we since we are both EC), and follow their traditions in baptism, confirmation, 1st communion ? Or should we take them to the Byzantine church 50 miles away, to have them baptized/confirmed/chrismated, and then continue in the RC church, with them taking communion while their peers do not ?

I have felt comfortable and continue to handle my crossing/bowing in the Eastern fashion, but holy-day wise, we have been following the RC tradion (when in Rome..). I really do not want to change rites, as I love the Divine Liturgy, and my theology/spirituality meshes much better with the EC than RC.

Thanks!

Brad

If I were in your shoes, I would be seeking out ways to continue having an Eastern presence in my life and liturgy. I would probably try to go to Divine Liturgy every week or other week, or if that was truly impossible then every third or fourth week, and especially for Holy Days and fasting times. I would also probably seek to have a tie to the eastern church for all sacraments, including regular confession.

If it were my child, I would have a very difficult time in not having him be chrismated and communed. If I were an Eastern Catholic priest, I would be inclined to feeling used if people I never saw went to the RC church an hour away for absolutely everything but then wanted me to perform a baptism/chrismation/communion so that they could return to the RC church. It would probably also greatly limit the choice of sponsors for the children to Roman Catholics.

Since children aren't in the picture right now (prayers for you and your wife!), I would be more concerned with my own spiritual welfare. How will I maintain an Eastern presence in my life and marriage if my liturgics, spirituality, and friendships are all centered around the Roman Catholic church? I would work on ways to form connections to the Eastern parish. I'm sure there are parishioners who live in your direction. If you guys met half way for lunch (a 20 minute drive for each) or to go to the movies or whatever else was possible, you could form those bonds which would encourage you in your faith and keep you united to the parish even when you aren't there physically. You could also volunteer for various committees or tasks which are infrequent such as sponsoring the coffee hour or cleaning the church once a month, which you could do while there. I'd also want to make sure the priest was familiar with me and knew that I was a practicing Byzantine. I believe the best way to do that in your situation is to have the Byzantine priest be your confessor. This will keep you growing in the faith system you entered and give you advice in how to do it according to the church you entered (current example: fasting during Lent--you won't get the same advice from a RC and an EC priest). If you do this, the practical issues of how to divide your time, your tithe, and your talents will have a firm foundation because you will be rooted in your tradition and have strong ties to holy people who can help guide you in how to do that, even when you live far enough away to require your doing it away from the Byzantine parish at times.

Hi,

We live one hour from our Byzantine parish. We travel their about ever 5 weeks with our 5 kids in tow. We had our children sacramentalized in the Byzantine church and do attempt to attend any church "functions". Before we moved to CT, we lived somewhere at least 2 hours away from the church and never attended. Now we say we have 3 wonderful parishes. One RC that is local, one Byzantine, and one Franscican Friary where all the homeschoolers converge. I homeschool my children and try to bring Eastern traditions into the home but I am using a Roman Catholic Curricula. It is hard on the kids if you never attend the Eastern Liturgy to just pop in for sacraments or holidays, it makes those events tortuous for them, since the mass is so much longer in Eastern Rite. But it is also extremely hard to take the children to a Mass that requires 2 or more hours of car time. We split the difference.

Holly

Brad,

St. John Chrysostom Melkite Church is downtown Atlanta on Ponce de Leon. I don't know if that is closer or further away. Just thought I'd suggest it if you didn't know already.

Joe

We are out on the west side of Georgia, closer to Alabama than we are to Atlanta. I actually talked with my Byzantine priest up in Indiana about the question of baptism/chrismation, and he told me "you bring that child up here and I'll take care of you". My concern in this is more for my future children (if the Lord provides), as we put Eastern spirituality in our own lives, but for children, it can be confusing as a prior person mentioned.