www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall So it isn't official until ...

we actually have a chance to sit down and talk to the priest in a setting more quiet than the after Liturgy coffee hour ...

But we (me, hubby and dd) are planning to seek to be received into Holy Orthodoxy. We do not yet know what the process will entail for us - but we will be having the priest to our home in the next couple of weeks to discuss it.

I suppose there is always the possibility he will tell us that we're doing it for the wrong reasons and that we should stay where we are. Which is why I say it is not official.

But after two years of prayer and contemplation of the matter we feel that we are being called to move toward embracing Holy Orthodoxy.

And for those who wonder - this has nothing whatever to do with the RDL. I believe that, for us, it is simply a matter of taking the step that has been coming since my first question about Eastern Catholicism was answered with a suggestion to read an Orthodox book. Before I knew of any plans for a RDL. Before I could even have understood what that might mean.

It also has nothing to do with shortcomings in the Catholic Church or a desire to find a "perfect" place.

In short we're not running away from anything but we're moving carefully and deliberately toward the place that we believe God intends us to be.

Blessings,

Carole

Carole,
I hope it all comes together for you and your husband. I'm going thru a sort of discernment myself right now and I know that it can be very hard for people outside the situation to understand the reasons why.

Vie

Carole,

I went through exactly the same thing as you. Right now, it can seem like we are "leaving" the BCC as some of our brethren are, but really, we are "entering" Orthodoxy. I've had to explain myself very clearly and carefully to many, but in the end, it all worked out well.

I was Chrismated last Wednesday and got to meet Metropolitan Nicholas (ACROD is my jurisdiction now) this past Sunday!

You and your family will be in my prayers. Also, feel free to message me if you want to talk/have any questions, etc. I'm happy to share my story.

May God bless you and guide you in your journey.

Marc

Carole,

Blessings to you and your family. I will keep you all in my prayers.

Joe

By the way, I'm always willing to chat with folks going through this process since I have done so myself. If you wish you can PM me. Note to everyone: I am not prosyletizing here. I am just offering my perspective and willingness to answer any questions for those who are already interested in coming into the Orthodox communion.

Joe

Congratulations to you all for becoming one of us Orthodox!

Alex

Vie, Marc, Joe and Alex,

Thank you very much. We've been struggling with this decision for quite a while now. I have been dreading telling people, and I still am. I know we will lose some friends because of this (both online and in our "real life").

The thing I most regret is the timing involved. It is bound to seem as though this is in reaction to the RDL - when in fact the RDL isn't a factor at all.

I tend to say this is a decision that has been in the making since we attended our first Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy because that is when we began asking, out loud, some important questions. The truth is that these questions were in our minds before we knew how to articulate them and the issues were issues well before we knew anything about the East - Catholic or Orthodox.

I thank you all for your prayers, your congratulations and most of all your friendship.

God Bless,

Carole

Hang in there Carol. There will be some uncomfortable moments. after I made my decision, I had a nun call me on the phone and passionately try to dissuade me. God bless her. She was doing what she thought was best. I went back to visit my old parish and there were some friends who treated me just fine, like one of the gang. There were some folks who were polite but a bit standoff-ish. And, there was one person who was basically polite but did find away to get a jab or two in, mentioning that it was offensive that he couldn't commune in an Orthodox Church and now that I was Orthodox, I could commune in either Church (I suggested to him that this was not entirely the case, that I wasn't free to simply commune wherever I wanted). And, that he has no problem with the Orthodox accept for their false views on some moral issues (I just smiled). But, really, it was all relatively easy for me. I know that others when making a change like this (from anything really; baptist to Catholic, methodist to Catholic, Catholic to Orthodox, Orthodox to Catholic, Catholic to Pentecostal, etc.), have it a little more rough. Some people are less willing to accept that their loved ones can come to a different conclusion about things. I suppose for me, since I had already converted from Baptist to Melkite years before, I had already been through the anxiety of having to deal with my mostly Baptist family who were suspicious of whether Catholics were really Christians.

I'll definitely keep you in my prayers and I pray and hope that all of us will treat others with kindness no matter the decision they make. Having to make the decision brings with it plenty of anguish. We do not need to add any to it.

Joe

Orthodox Pyrohy scratches his head as this human can't figure what Alex means?

I think he meant to insinuate that you can still be of Orthodox belief and liturgical tradition and still be inside the Catholic Communion.

Alexis

Oh, so it is possible to be inside the Catholic Church under Rome but reject the pope as having universal jurisdiction, reject his infallibility, reject dogma and canons of the Catholic Church....
What do people call this pick and choosing of Catholic doctorine to fit their own individualistic tastes on other forums, oh, cafeteria-Catholics. You CAN NOT by Catholic Church law accept all things Orthodox and still be "in communion" with Rome.
Just peer through a Trebnik and look at the prayers and ceremony before Chrismation for a Catholic coming into the Orthodox church to have a sense of what one must profess to no longer accept to see what I mean. Just look at the Catholic Church canon law. Also, denying the pope's primacy of jurisdiction/universal ruler, vicar of Christ, head of all, etc.. as a Catholic simply can not be done. You do realize being Orthodox means you can not subscribe to the Catholic teaching on the pope. And to be Orthodox is not to subscribe to the Vatican teaching on primacy of jurisdiction/universal leader... etc... pope as ultimate head of the church..... so it is impossible to be Orthodox while being Catholic under Rome at the same time.

I was never asked to denounce Catholic beliefs when I was Chrismated Orthodox but to make a positive declaration of Orthodox belief.
I treasure my Catholic heritage and tradition while being quite happy as an Orthodox Christian!

I meant to post a note last night predicting the Orthodox Pyrohy post. Don't worry, it's his personal crusade to debunk what he sees as the "Orthodox in Communion with Rome" myth.

He makes some very valid points however, and if Byzantine Catholics search our minds and hearts and find that we really do believe the same as the Orthodox on certain matters which might bring us into conflict with what it means to be Catholic, then we should seriously wonder if we should remain Catholic. For me, I know there came a day when I realized that I just didn't believe what the Catholic Church was teaching and that I DID believe what the Orthodox Church was teaching. Then I wondered how I could continue to be part of a Church (and receive Communion there) that I didn't agree with -- and Pyrohy's right, I felt like a Cafeteria Catholic. So I went where God in my heart was leading me.

Orthodox Pyrohy,

If you're speaking to me, you must be pretty dense since *I* never insinuated that a person can believe all that Eastern Orthodoxy teaches while remaining in the Catholic Communion. I only stated that I *think* ***Alex*** meant to insinuate that.

I certainly profess all that the Catholic Church teaches, and proudly so.

Alexis