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Hi all,

I converted to Catholicism back in 1995 (received into the Church easter 1996) after a major conversion experience.

I love the Church, I love her deeply. But over time I have been moved closer and closer to the Byzantine rite.

I am in the process of discerning if I am to make a switch to the eastern Rite and bring my family along. Right now we have one foot in the western rite and one foot in the eastern as we make this decision. We are splitting time between our western parish and an Eastern Rite parish that is 25 minutes away.

So here is what I looking for:

1) People who are willing to email or post on this section and answer my utterly stupid questions about Eastern Catholicism (I know a lot about the Western Rite, almost nothing about the Eastern)

2) Looking for people who may be in the same boat as I am to discuss family issues about taking the entire family over East. Right now there is some resistance (not much) from my 13 year old.

3) Looking for suggestions on reading material on the rites, chant, customs. Right now I decided that since I think I am being lead east, I am participating in the Phillip's fast (I am also on Atkins to lose weight, talk about sacrifice!

4) Pray for me. I have been asked to take a year to make this decision. Usually I am the type that will simply jump and go.

Thanks for all your help.

John Gibson

Welcome John,

Will be glad to answer whatever questions I can about the Eastern Churches and/or to point you to informative websites. You're in an area (half hour from Chicago, as I recollect) that gives you access to several Eastern Churches. May I ask which Church it is that you've been attending?

I have been to Annunciation Byzantine out in Homer Glen.

John

John,

I'll be happy to answer any questions that I can. As a bi-ritual deacon, I permanently have a foot in both camps.

Edward, deacon and sinner

Come on in; the water's fine. I have a bad habit of using questions as an excuse to make silly responses, but you're not required to read them! On the other hand, I also sometimes write serious responses, but you're not required to read those either. Incognitus

Hi John,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

You sound like where I was a year ago exactly-- I discovered the Byzantine Rite and have fallen head over heels in love. I've since put both feet in the Eastern "camp." Main motivation was twofold: disgust at some of the liberal, modernist garbage going on in the Latin Rite, and a love and fascination of Eastern Christian spirituality. Now I would attend an Orthodox church before I'd go back to the Latin Rite.

How long have you been attracted to the Byzantine rite? How familiar are you with the liturgy?

I would simply advise you to pray, to continue attending divine liturgy, and to try to get to know the pastor... ask questions. You can't really learn about Eastern Christianity from books, it's really something you have to just experience. However, books ARE helpful, and a very good resource for someone seeking to understand the basics of Byzantine spirituality is "The Eastern Catholic Church: An Introdution to Their Worship and Spirituality" by Joan Roccasalvo. I got my copy in a Roman Catholic bookstore. :-)

In the meantime, there are a lot of knowledgable people here... feel free to ask any "stupid" questions you have. Someone here is sure to hav the answer!

God bless,

Karen

Glory and Praised be His Name!

I think that I have always been drawn more toward the mystical. This is how I am wired, and why I was so drawn to be in the Pagan/Occult religions. My conversion story can be read at:

John Gibson\'s Conversion Story [envoymagazine.com]

I have been reading older versions of the Liturgy due to the fact that I was studying the Early Church Fathers. Reading the Divine Liturgy had always brought me to tears due to the beauty, penitential, worshipful, and prayerfulness that it contains.

When I stepped through the doors of the Church I almost hit the floor due to the beauty of the Icons, and the otherworldliness.

My wife says that I have been wanting to go East since I converted but didn't know that east really existed until I went a few weeks ago.

Currently I am reading "Way of the Pilgrim" and I picked up a Byzantine Prayer book, and even these prayers seem so much meatier.

Now, while I can, and do bash the latin rite, I want to make sure that I am moving east, not out of a reaction to the stupidity that has infected the western rite, but due to true love for the Byzantine Liturgy and it's theological views and expressions of the Church's Truth.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

John, welcome to the Forum and thanks for sharing your wonderful faith journey with us.

I also attend that parish, as well as Dan Lauffer, John S. and a few others others that post here off and on.

I share your enthusiasm We also need to do more evangelizing in the Downers Grove area, so it is nice to have you with us!

Philips fast is approaching and the parish is reading Mountain of Silence recommended by father Tom. Please join us for the Saint Nicholas fest if you can, it should be outstanding.

God is with us!

Michael, that sinner

John,

I've assembled an FAQ on Eastern Catholicism, which may be of some help to you. You can find it online at the following link:

The Eastern Catholic FAQ [east2west.org]

Anthony

You mean to tell me that I am not the only one feeling...weird..but spiritually floating!!!

I just visited a Byzantine Catholic church and I am in la la land since Saturday. I also have issues, my husband will just follow me, he is not in the same page as I am but he supports me, my kids will probably think I am cucu since we just returned back to the Roman Catholic church 11 months ago when my life was transformed by Christ. I am open for discussion. Send me a message, as I said before...I am in la la land since Saturday.

Hi John,

It sounds as if you are defintely being led by the Holy Spirit into the Eastern Church... that this is where you belong. Eastern spirituality isn't for everyone, either... I know some Roman Catholics who really appreciate the Eastern rites, but feel that they belong in the Latin Rite and wouldn't change.

A frequent participant here once wrote to another "inquirer" that he should make sure he's going East because he's embracing something, and not simply running away from something... and he was right. If the ONLY reason someone is changing rites is because they're p.o.ed at the Roman church, that would not be a good reason-- and if you were to express any negativity towards the Roman church in your letter to the bishop requesting to change rites, you'd be turned down. I was already warned to be positive towards the Roman church in my letter, which will be a real challenge for me...

BTW, you mentioned that you have a family. That does complicate matters a bit. I'm fortunate in that I'm single w/no kids, and my family (with the exception of my eldest sister) wouldn't care if I announced I was becoming Hindu.

I can tell you that investigating the Byzantine rite is exciting-- you'll discover SO much. Another website to check out is www.byzantines.net [byzantines.net]

God bless!

Karen

What makes it harder to switch rites if you have kids? Right now they only have had first confession and first communion. None of them have been confirmed yet.

LOL. My 12 year old daughter went to Mass and afterwards told me that "It would be ok if we attended this Church." Believe me that is a RINGING ENDORSEMENT from her. If it had been negative I wouldn't have heard the last of it.

My wife, is more on the conservative side, wanting to take this slow, and I do what to make sure that we are following God's directions and not ours.

Now... I was praying the Divine Liturgy - WRE (Western Rite Edition) I am thinking that I would like to start Praying the Divine Liturgy - ERE (Eastern Rite Edition). I have a small book called "The Byzantine Prayer Book" but I am having problems making heads or tails out of what needs to be prayed when and how.

John

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear friend in Christ John,

Try not to intellectualize it too much, just come and pray for a while. Make friends in the Narthex, you'll find out plenty right there. I was puzzled by your reference to Divine Liturgy WRE and so forth, are you referring to the Liturgy of the Hours? If so, I am having similar problems.

The fact that you have children should not be difficult from the ecclesiastical end, only because you will have to deal with the personal preferences of each person in the family! Sometimes young people are uncomfortable when exposed to something new and we cannot always expect them to be enthusiastic about all the things we love. Just bring them along, they'll be fine!

As I understand it, your decision to join another parish is simple, just register! As a Catholic of any tradition you are free to attend any other Catholic church of whatever tradition and you need never officially change sui iuris churches. You are not actually converting anyway, so there should be no concern on the part of your children. Annunciation communes and confirms the children at the time of baptism, so all they might need is the Chrismation. However, if you insist on changing churches Sui Iuris you should wait as prescribed, and take the advice of father.

Be sure to observe all of the Holy days on the calendar that you are able, it will help you get the flavor of the church!

Michael
ICXC
NIKA

Yes... I found my working brain. I had stuffed into the DVD Drive to back it up and forgot to plug it back into my head.

Yes... Liturgy of the Hours, the Divine Office That is what I meant!

Did I mention that I was not an Intellectual?

Hi John,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Well, I was thinking that having a family would make it harder because other family members might not want to follow you into the Byzantine rite. Thankfully, you don't seem to have that problem. I was going to ask you what your wife's feelings were on this, too... you and she are wise to take it slowly, I think. It's good that the Church MAKES you take it slow... I, for example, have to wait not one, but three years before I can officially change rites (actually, only two more now). This ridiculously long waiting period, plus other beaurocratic hoops the chancery's making me jump through, leads me to believe they are deliberately discouraging Roman Catholics from officially changing rites. I'm pretty sure it's the Roman chancery who's responsible for this, because I know other unofficial Byzantine Catholics online who are changing rites and who are in my eparchy (Passaic), and neither of them has to wait 3 years... just me. Aren't I the lucky one? :-)

I think if God wants you and your family in the Byzantine rite, He'll make that possible, don't worry.

This doesn't mean He's gonna make it EASY, mind you... in fact, it would be so much easier to be an RC. I would only have a five-minute drive to church instead of a 45-minute drive, much less strenuous fasting, and wouldn't have that out-of- the-loop-with-'regular'-Catholics, isolated feeling. But while being Byzantine is tougher, it's SO worth it!

As far as the prayers go, it's going to be hard getting used to them at first-- the prayer style is so different from what you're used to as a Roman. Is your prayer book a black hardcover with a gold cross on it? That's what I have, it's called the Byzantine Book of Prayer, and it's wonderful.

I'd maybe start out just praying the morning and evening prayers, and these prayers should be labeled in your prayer book. If they aren't, let me know and I'll post them here for you. Just pray the prayers you want to pray. :-)

A couple things that might help you:

If you don't already have a "prayer corner" in your home, set one up. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you'd like-- but you should have in it some icons, particularly of Christ and the Blessed Virgin, a cross or crucifix, a little vigil candle or hanging lamp that you light in times of prayer, and a small table or chest where you keep the Holy Bible, rosaries, prayer ropes, holy water, prayer books, an incense censer, etc.

What this will do is to give you and your family a common place to gather and pray together. I never really knew how to pray until I had an icon corner... now it's like my little place where I can retreat from the world and stand in the presence of the Holy Trinity.

Another thing that might help (it's helped me, anyway): instead of simply saying the prayers, chant them! I find that when I just say the prayers, my mind drifts and I'm not actually thinking about the words. When I CHANT them, I find I concentrate better, and I'm actually praying instead of simply repeating the words. But then I'm really musical, so it might not work for everyone. But try it. :-)

God bless!

Karen