www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West I'm a Catholic!!!

I suspect that Theologos is expecting more enthusiastic, perhaps even zealous, support for the papacy and other Catholic positions. Perhaps, something like Catholic Answers [catholic.com] is what Theologos is looking for. It seems like almost everyone there is a zealous supporter of official Catholic teachings.

However, that is not going to happen at this Forum because this Forum is focussed on Eastern / Byzantine Christianity. Loyalty to Rome is only one perspective in the Eastern / Byzantine paradigm. Therefore, there is a lot of disagreement at a Forum like this over certain Catholic teachings (such as the papacy).

I can sympathize with Theologos because I sometimes felt the same way back when I was Catholic. I hope Theologos will take a moment to relax and consider. This Forum is not anti-Catholic, but it is not pro-Catholic either. It is about the Eastern Church: both Eastern Catholic and Orthodox. And, it is very good at that purpose.

And, a website like Catholic Answers [catholic.com] is better at being for meeting the needs of enthusiastic, and even zealous, supporters of Catholicism.

-- John

Well, it is certainly that case that many here refer to this forum as "byzcath", even the moderators:


And while everyone reads the statement of principles when they join, after that they see the following at the bottom of every single forum page:


Those points, combined with the site name itself, make it understandable that some might assume that the "cath" comes from or implies "Catholic".

Yours in Christ,
Jeff Mierzejewski

Orthodox are Catholic.

"Orthodox are Catholic." Oremus pro Pontifice nostro BENEDICTO: Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum ejus.

I agree. By saying this is an "unofficial" site, it implies a relationship with the Byzantine Church that doesn't exist. As best I can tell, this forum has no association or affiliation with the Byzantine Catholic Church in America. Do you think perhaps this notice is a hold-over from the early days of the forum?

Actually, the only way I found this forum was through the Byzantine Catholic site. When I joined, I thought, "At last! a site where Catholics of the Eastern traditions can learn more about their churches and one another, as well as pray and share about the teachings of the Church!" I continue to pray that those who come here might do just that...All for the glory of God!

Correct me if I am wrong ... a translation would be ...

'May the Lord preserve him, liven him up, canonize him while he's still on earth, and prevent his enemies from thinking about him.'

-ray

The site began in 1996 as site dedicated to providing information about the Byzantine Catholic Church. Its original focus was on the Ruthenian Church but has since expanded to be more generically Byzantine in nature. The Forum was added in 1998 for discussions about Byzantine Christianity and quickly attracted people from everywhere � and especially Eastern Christians. Hence the site itself focused on providing information about the Byzantine Catholic Churches while the Forum focus was much broader. I am not sure why I chose the byzcath.org name. I do remember that those I discussed with it liked it and recommended it. And I seem to remember that in 1996 "byzantinecatholic" contained too many letters for a web address. Just as the name �The Byzantine Forum� established itself and changing the name to something different to reflect that the Forum has grown to embrace all Eastern Christians so, too, has the �byzcath� moniker become well known � too well known to change!

From the beginning I have always made sure that the word �unofficial� appeared on every page so that there is no implied association or affiliation with the official Church. Other sites with similar names (catholic.org, catholic.com, catholic.net, orthodoxchristianity.net and etc.) do not even list that they are unofficial (at least not on the home page and pages I visited). One is far more likely to take them for official sites than take byzcath.org as an official site (at least in my opinion).

But since at least one person has not found the messages on the bottom of the website and Forum clear I have re-evaluated them and updated them to make them clearer.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Your efforts in helping me to clarify everything about this website and to keep it current help to keep it successful!

John

LOL. Not sure if this was levity or simply rusty Latin, but a better translation would be:

"May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies." --Psalm 40:3.

Neither.

A quick attempt taken from somewhere out there on the net and was open to corrections.

Thanks for the corrections.

-ray