www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Holy Unction on Great Wednesday

We are all spiritually ill--no?

Dear Father Serge,

Thank you, as usual, for your vast wealth of knowledge!

I have never been to Greece for Holy Week, but things seem to be a bit different here in the diaspora communities of the U.S..

My priest forbids holy oil to go home with parishioners for others, who may simply be too lazy or apathetic to attend the service. Apparently there was an abuse going on. This is something very new, as all Greek Orthodox parishes I have ever attended have allowed this.

My priest qualified this by saying that ONLY a priest should administer this particular sacrament of Holy Unction for the healing of physical and spiritual ills. He said that if someone is not able to attend the service for a legitimate reason,(watching television does not qualify), that they should not be afraid to call him, and that he will go to administer the Holy Unction, whether it is to one's home, or to a hospital, nursing home, etc. In the past, it seems that most people didn't want to do this as they thought that they were 'bothering' the Priest, and in all fairness, perhaps some priests did make them feel that way.

Anyway, although the parish was initially taken aback at this, I think this is a good thing. Hopefully it will set a precedent in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the US, and the practice that had evolved into something of an abuse, will no longer occur.

Also, there are two services in my parish on Holy Wednesday. One in the afternoon for children and their parents, and one in the evening. So, it makes it much easier to go. I opted for the afternoon service this year--alot of kiddies to be sure, but more convenient for me.

Respectfully in Christ,
Alice

This is a sacramental action then. So a papal Catholic in an Orthodox Church cannot be annointed.

Mary

Sacramental action surely.

On the other hand, I've been given this anointing in Romanian, Greek and Russian (MP) churches.

Mary writes that:


Suggestion: if you wish to adequate your expression of thought to the reality one finds, change the verb to should not. It is better to take into account what actually goes on.

Kali Anasstasi!

Not here in my little parish it does not, but I was wondering about what might be elsewhere, so thank you Father.

I am ill and will be annointed with oil from a streaming icon after Easter. Were I dying, of course, it would be quite different, and of that I am assured.

KALO PASXA!!

Correct, just as you know, one can not/should not receive the Eucharist as well (or vice versa (Orthodox Christian in a papal Catholic church).

The expression "papal catholic church" is meaningless.

It is not at all unusual to find Eastern Orthodox Christians who for one reason or another see fit to present themselves for Confession and/or Holy Communion in Greek-Catholic Churches. No one is about to turn them away.

Christ is Risen!

Fr. Serge

Dear Father,

I fear that Job picked the phrase 'papal Catholic Church' up from me.

I have used it successfully, meaning that it has been advanced in meaning, in my discussions with Orthodox Catholics for nearly a decade. In that light there is at least one small set of the population numbering in the thousands now, Orthodox and Catholic, who are accustomed to seeing the reference and know what it means when they see it.

If they are Orthodox they realize that it is a way to make the common reference to Catholic in both cases, papal Catholics and Orthodox Catholics. If they are Catholic they realize that I am making a point, a point, up with which, they are willing to put.

So your assertion that the phrase is meaningless is not entirely accurate. It may mean nothing to you, but it does have meaning to some.

Also, the schism is recognized by most Orthodox laymen and laywomen, priests, and hierarchs. If there was a universal intercommunion and sharing of sacraments among Orthodox and Catholics, then there'd be no schism in fact.

Mary

"The grace of God is in courtesy". Would you be pleased if the Catholics were to revive the use of such expressions as "Oriental schismatics"?

Fr. Serge

I know that you are not suggesting that one usage in a particular context necessitates the other as a general rule, so I don't really have much to say beyond that.

Mary

I don't attend a papal Catholic Church. I belong to a Metropolitan Catholic Church, namely The Byzantine Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Pittsburgh.

So do I but that is not the context in which I use papal Catholic so your context has no bearing on my usage. As I said, I have made that kind of phrasing work over the years within parameters that are understood in context. If you open it up then you are arguing your apples to my oranges.

Mary

We regularly have moleben's with anointing. Our priest says it is open to anyone who is a baptized.

AMM - I'm not just talking about the anointing at molebens and vigils. I've been anointed at the solemn Anointing service - the sort with 7 epistles and gospels, and which takes place on Great Wednesday evening!