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Surrexit Dominus vere, Alleluia! (Luke 24:34)
What should a European who is converting to Catholicism do if he is very interested in the Latin Rite but also very interested in the Coptic Orthodox Rite do? Should he just become a Latin Catholic and then just never questioning it anymore?
I guess one problem would be that the Coptic Catholic Rite may not be the same as Coptic Orthodox Rite, they may celebrate their liturgies different. Anyone here who knows what the Church say about this?

Henrick,

That is a question that no one here on Earth can answer for you. It requires prayer, discernment, and the wise counsel of a spiritual father who can help you to explore the spirituality which will most benefit you.

Prayers for you as you undertake this spiritual journey.

Many years,

Neil

do spiritual fathers usually know much about different rites in the Church? and what do you mean by "Spiritual Father"?

henrikhank:

Christ is Risen!! Indeed He is Risen!!

Let's take your questions one at a time. First of all, the Coptic Catholic Church is tiny. I'd be surprised if there were a parish in Europe. I believe there are some here in the States--the closest to me is in Washington, D.C. from what I'm told. You'd have to decide if trying to live as one is possible given the distance(s) to a parish. After all, you need support in your pilgrimage and that comes from being part of a community, a parish.

We refer to Churches as sui juris, that is, a local entity having its own liturgical and spiritual tradition--it's own way of approaching and living the Mystery of God being with us to the end of the age. If it were a matter of simple ritual that was different, things would be very simple--but they're not.

A Spiritual Father is one who has some experience in the spiritual life and who is able to mentor someone new coming into it. A spiritual father takes the time to know you, to discern your strengths and weakenesses, to guide you in the job of integrating the Faith into you and you into the Faith--of helping you build a solid relataionship with Jesus Christ in the context of the Church. Like a good father, he guides you and mentors you so that you don't get off the track and down some spiritually dangerous path. He's different from a spiritual director who "directs" you, often in a more rigid way.

Usually a spiritual father will be well versed in the spirituality of his own sui juris Church, but you may find one who also has some experience with other spiritualities of the other sui juris Churches.

Hope this helps.

Bob

so how do I find a spiritual father?

If there is a Coptic Catholic presence in DC, I haven't heard about it. There is a Ge'ez Catholic community here, though.

As Stuart remarked, if one is considering a rite based on communities, at least in the US, the Orthodox and Eastern Rite sites available for worship do not come anywhere close to the Latin. Yet, I hope it's not all about location,...but if it is, may our Lord guide you!

Bob is correct. The Coptic Catholic Church is indeed tiny. It has somewhere between 165 and 175 thousand faithful according to the annual statistics issued by the Vatican, although I've seen an undocumented claim of there being 250 thousand.

I have not been able to identify any parishes of the Church in Europe, although at least one is said to be sited there. In the US, there are only 2 parishes - NY City and LA - and 2 missions - Nashville and Chicago (neither has a resident priest and they are pastorally served only about once a quarter). There are 2 in Canada and, I believe, at least 1 in Australia, as well as a half-dozen or so in the Middle East. The vast majority, about 165 or so, are in Egypt.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is much better represented. In your country, I believe there are two parishes - one being in Stockholm, the other in Gothenburg. The vast majority of the Coptic Orthodox faithful there, as is generally the case, are Egyptian in origin and ethnicity, although I'm sure there are some who have entered the Church via marriage. You will generally find that to be the case with any of the Oriental Churches - Orthodox or Catholic.

These Churches do not tend to evangelize and, until the last quarter to half century, they were relatively few in numbers outside of their historical lands - coming along a half to three-quarters of a century later than those of the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. As such, there remains a significant ethnic and cultural identity to their Faith that has been diluted in many Churches of the Constantinoplian tradition.

It isn't that those seeking to come to them from another ethnicity, culture, or faith tradition are likely to be unwelcome. Reality is that it's still difficult to assimilate them. Liturgical languages are generally still intact - use of the vernacular will not be as common as it is among Eastern Christians.

Ethnic, cultural, and national identity is still very strong among the Oriental Orthodox and Catholic worship communities and there may be some difficulty on their part in actually understanding 'why' someone seeks to become one with them - a concern that it might merely be because they are a more 'exotic brand' of Orthodoxy or Catholicism. These are considerations that you should keep in mind.

Many years,

Neil

The Coptic Orthodox Church has a very active presence in Northern Virginia, with a large parish in Fairfax. It's Sister, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, has taken over the temple previously used by Holy Cross Romanian Orthodox Church in Bailey's Crossroads, Holy Cross having moved to a new church in Great Falls, Maryland.

Stuart,

The Ethiopian Tewahado Othodox Church is, historically, a daughter Church to that of Alexandria, rather than a sister. However, given the dynamics of the estranged relationship between the two in recent history, I'd not be quick to use any familial term in describing it - at least not to an Ethiopian.

Many years,

Neil

They probably feel the same way about the Eritrean Orthodox Church.

If it helps - Sweden has more than a few Syriac and Assyrian communities, Catholic, Orthodox, and Church of the East.

Last year I celebrated Holy Week and Easter with the Coptic Orthodox and they were really accepting me although I was Swedish. (They even have a Swedish Deacon to whom I could talk.) I don't think that would be the case with the Oriental Catholics, they would just tell me to go to the Latin Mass. That was what a Swedish arkimandrite told me. He said if I want the Oriental rite it would be easier to become Orthodox and I agree with him.

There are some Westerners who converted to the Coptic Orthodox Church. We have the

http://britishorthodox.org/
and the Father Lazarus
http://mycobwebs.wordpress.com/2009/02/07/father-lazarus-coptic-monk-in-egypt/

One other sad thing, I think, is that the Coptic Catholic Patriarch looks very Byzantine with his non-coptic hat, Klobuk, although he is Coptic. It doesn't look good.