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Great! Best wishes to you. Let us know how it went.

IAlmisry I sense some hostility here, do you really hold such contention and disdain for anybody that is in communion with Rome?

You are correct, I have not been fully received into Orthodoxy, though I have been a catechumen for 2 years, and I have held baptism off for this long until I was fully ready, not when The church says I am, so many converts fall away so fast, don't you think?

But because I have not entered a Catholic Church for more than 2 years I would have to be reconciled with the sacrament of confession. I would need to do this with a Greek Catholic priest as the Sacrament is viewed differently in the Latin Rite.

I have known abut the Eastern Catholic Church for a long time, I just never went to it.

What might surprise you IAlmisry is that it was Metropolitan Kallistos Ware that gave me the idea of looking into the Greek Catholic Church instead of being re-baptized into the Orthodox church when he said that the "Eastern Catholic Church should be our best friends".

So I have been very prayerful over this and have not made a final decision as yet.

here is the link to video of Metropolitan Kallistos Ware

http://www.oltv.tv/id125.html

Our Supreme, Final and Eternal Prince, Judge and Pontiff of the Universe (God) indeed judges your Patriarch of all the inhabited known world (EP), both your Judge of the Universe (Greek Patriarch of Alexandria) and theirs (Coptic Pope & Patriarch of Alexandria), their Prince Patriarch (Syriac Patriarch of Antioch), and my Supreme Pontiff (Roman Pope).

Let us pray He judges kindly on us all!

In communion with Rome? I am in communion with Bishop Siluan, Bishop of the Bishoprick of Italy at Rome, and the rest of the bishops in the Orthodox Episcopal Conference of Italy and Malta, including the EP's Metropolitan of Venice, Italy and Malta. That would include communion with Sylvester and Agatho, Leo, Liberius, Martin and Gregory, and St. Peter, as St. Symeon of Thessalonika points out in discussing the Latins' ideas of primacy.

As for those in communion with your Pontiff Benedict XVI, I have the utmost respect and highest regard to the likes of Neil (Irish Melkite) and Apotheon. As for your Pontiff, I was in the Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club way back (though in some respects I preferred his views when cardinal than since becoming pontiff).

Doesn't matter what I think. The Lord says so about seed on shallow ground. You are wise to hold it off until you resolve this nagging question. By that I mean accepting the answer of the Orthodox patriarchs, or the pronouncement of Vatican I. The Lord says a word or too about putting the hand to the plow and looking back.

You, however, according to the rules, belong to the "sui juris" Latin church, which you have not entered for 2 years. It would be no different a confession, more or less, than if you simply stopped going for 2 years. It would be different if you had embraced Orthodoxy. For one thing, according to the rules granted by the Latin "sui juris" to its Greek "sui juris," you would be going to the latter.

Unfortunately, Met. Kallistos of late is full of such surprises. So no, I'm not surprised.

Re-baptism? Have you been going to the Church of Greece? I wasn't aware that they were receiving by baptism now.

God grant you make the right decision!

Firstly, welcome to the forum, gonesimera.

I have to take issue with those who consider that Isa was in any way disrespectful to the Catholic Church, Latin or Eastern, or to the Pope. On a quick reading of the thread, it seems to me that he has said nothing that runs contrary to the 'Who We Are' thread to which he was directed, nor has he offered any comment that runs counter to reality.

As far as I am aware, as an Orthodox catechumen, formally or informally, the OP would not have been asked to abjure his Latin Catholic faith and thus, has yet remained a Catholic in fact, if not in spirit, despite that he hasn't communed or attended a Catholic Mass or Divine Liturgy in the past two years. There is nothing different here than would be the case had he simply dropped out of all religious observance for such a period.

Returning to the 'Who We Are' post - understand that nothing there suggests that any one of us, Catholic or Orthodox, should put aside the beliefs that we espouse in the teachings of our respective Churches in an effort to create an artificial community that sees us all as one. What it stresses is the intent to have a community here which mutually respects one another's beliefs, despite that there will be disagreements on theological points and perhaps other issues as well.

It should be no surprise to anyone who has posted here for any length of time to discover that the views to be found among both Catholic and Orthodox members run a spectrum from those who see only black and white to those who are very comfortable with shades of gray. Neither is problematic unless people choose to make it so - and we try hard for that not to be the case. No one expects there to be full agreement on all points, one presumes that when that happens it will signal that the Holy Spirit has tired of division among the Apostolic Churches and we are again One. God grant that such comes to pass in the lifetime of our children or grandchildren.

Meanwhile, expect to disagree and consider that those who disagree with you have done so in respect, as you should when you disagree with them. Remember, unless and until we start webcamming here, the typed word does a poor job of conveying nuances of intent - give the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

Many years,

Neil

Gonesimera,

welcome Home!

Bartol (Latin Rite Catholic who loves Byzantine Rite)

"That they all may be one..." John 17:21

Hi all. I read this thread and was going to reply, then noticed that the discussion had stopped and hesitated. But I figure I'll go ahead and post anyhow, since the thread hasn't been closed.


I'm sure there are many Orthodox out there who believe that the Orthodox should be in communion with Rome, ideally, but who don't want to become "Orthodox in communion with Rome" by themselves, if they can't convince the rest of you. (Just saying.)


There I agree with you. Switching sides doesn't make one both Orthodox and Catholic. (And I don't mean this as an attack on those who switch sides. Indeed, I have thought about doing so myself.)

Regretably, I suspect that a message such as I posted above sometimes has that effect on an thread, as both participants and passers-by presume that the closing bell is about to be tolled.

I've no intention of closing the thread, presuming that discussion can resume in a tone and tenor that is expected of civil discourse and debate (which is not akin to what passes for same in political venues).

Many years,

Neil

I haven't been on the internet last few days as we have another heatwave, over 105f outside and a lot more indoors.

Better swimming in the sea to cool down ;)

When I was made a catechumen the priest asked me certain questions about my faith as a Catholic, renouncing certain teachings etc.

I don't know if that makes any difference.

I won't have any news until mid September, August turns Athens into a ghost city, even the priests tend to hide away.

I had a different experience than the OP. I went from Latin Catholic tO Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) to Holy Orthodoxy. It was like a seamless journey for me. I do not feel a yearning to be in communion with Rome as I feel that Holy Orthodoxy is the fullness of truth.

I also feel completely Orthodox and completely catholic.

Touche. Limitations of language, as usual.

I could have said "Switching sides doesn't make one both Orthodox and Roman Catholic" but I've been trying to avoid saying "Roman Catholic". It's really a problematic term b/c of the different ways it is used.

I finally got to see the Greek Catholic priest today, we had lunch together and talked for ages, At first he thought I was leaving the Greek Catholic church for Orthodoxy and said I should stay Greek Catholic (language problems) I told him I wanted to become a Greek Catholic and I had been away for more than 2 years, he was over the moon by this.

we spent 3 hours just talking.

in the end he said that "consider yourself a Greek Catholic from now, we don't need to do paper work, but I will put in our records that you are now one of us, and in the next coming couple of months we will remarry you here in our Church"

He told me that confession is not required from me as going to an Orthodox church is classed as fulfilment of my Sunday obligation.

He showed me the chapel where they hold matins and Divine liturgy everyday and said I was most welcome and that we can have some of the liturgies in English.

So I guess I am now officially a Greek Catholic :/

So it sounds like he's basically saying, switching sides is bad if its Catholic-to-Orthodox, yet it's perfectly fine if it's Orthodox-to-Catholic. (I say "sounds like" because there's always the possibility that I'm reading too much into it.)

Why would he need to "remarry" you? Did you receive the sacrament of Marriage in the Orthodox Church? If yes, then would this not be a valid marriage because the Orthodox mysteries are considered valid by the Catholic Communion?

Hmm... This would be similar to a talk I'd probably have at St. John the Baptist Cathedral, once I've learned to warm up to Fr. Michael Hayduk and Bishop John Kudrick a bit more. Although we are friends with a family of one of the deacons there, that might be used as a reference to bring us closer to the Byzantine Rite.

Although Orthodoxy traditions are closer to Eastern Catholic traditions than in the Latin Rite, I'm sure there'll be some red tape to become Catholic from Orthodoxy, but that can be resolved over time. However, coming from the Latin Rite to the Byzantine Rite, then one would only have to talk to the priest or deacon about the differences in traditions between the two, since both are already Catholic, you won't have that red tape to go through.