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Hello everyone. I just joined this forum to ask a specific question. I am a new Catholic and know very little about other rites than mine. I was told that in the Byzantine Rite there are no Confessionals that when you want to confess you just ask and the Priest will hear you wherever you are. Is this so? And how different is the procedure from what I'm used to in the Latin Rite

GMAC

You would do it in the parish, either by the icon of Christ, or some area, while one would chant the psalms

Christ is in our midst!!

Who would be chanting the psalms?

Bob

In my case, I would be doing the chanting - as a form of penance . . .

Alex

one of the people still in the nave area.

Bob - this is often done so that privacy is ensured for the penitent - the chant is quiet enough that it prevents idle chatter in those of the congregation before a service and also prevents people overhearing.

If done correctly all priest and penitent are aware of is quiet background 'noise ' for them it's non-intrusive.

Dear Lady,

I've not ever seen or heard of this before!

Do they chant in your parish? How close is the chanter to the place where the confessions are being done?

Alex

Not in my place - but I have done this elsewhere. I was across the other side of the Chapel and arranged a suitable hand signal with Fr so we could get the Chant Volume right . I was surprised how easy it was - my eyes were on Father and it really was very quiet - I could not hear any speech at all.

Since then , that Community has moved into a bigger Church and there is sufficient privacy for Confessions without the need for a chanter.

Alex , many years back I remember Sharon Mech talking about doing this - and I got the idea from her

Dear Lady,

Yes, I remember Sharon - met her once at the legislature where I worked.

So your eyes were on Father? How are you at lip-reading? (kidding, kidding . . .).

Excellent idea! We don't read the Psalter out loud often enough - at funeral homes, during the time the Epitaphion is enshrined during Holy Week etc.

Very good indeed!

Alex

So, let me get this right....... I walk in, find the Icon of Christ, see if there is a Priest around and hopefully someone is chanting then I can confess? Some one mentioned it beign done "correctly." I'm kinda a stickler for rules so I'd like to know specifically what is correctly? To be honest, my first impression so far is not good. Thanks for your help and patience with a newbie.

GMAC

GMAC

Every parish has its own way - the simplest thing for you is to contact the priest and say you wish an appointment for Confession.

Some Churches have side-chapels some don't

Some Churches hear Confessions before the Iconostasis - some don't

Some have an appointed time for Confessions - some don't.

What's important for confession ?-the attitude of mind , a desire for reconciliation, and a Priest.

The lesser details- privacy - the place .

Speaking personally, I have Confessed, before the Iconostasis , in a garden , in the Sacristy, in the Priest's Office.

Thank you Lady for your answer. Forgive me, I'm a Latin Catholic and to be honest I'm having a hard time fathoming that each parish has its own way of doing this. I'm used to there being rules governing the administration of the Sacrament (Mystery). That is what I'm after. The actual rules that are in place to ensure there actually is an absolution and that the Mystery isn't treated improperly or worse, sacrilegiously. Sorry, but I'm rules intensive. Have been all my life and since becoming a Catholic, I'm still searching for all the rules I'm expected to follow to live sinlessly. I beg your patience. God bless. GMAC

GMAC - yes there are rules - BUT pastoral needs can over rule them

A deaf person needs a lot of privacy for confession, a child needs gentle guidance in the practice of Confession , someone with mobility problems may not be able to access the area where Confession is usually held

Remember there are 23 sui juris Churches making up Eastern Catholicism - so there are 23 [ at least ] versions of the 'rules'

We know what is the ideal to which we should aim - we don't take the minimum acceptable as the norm.

Christ is in our midst!

Not gonna happen. No one lives sinlessly and no one lives so by following a set of rules.

Bob

Ex Oriente -- lux! Ex Occidente --lex! (From the East -- light! From the West -- law!) To make a successful transition from West to East this preoccupation with law and rules must go! It's not that the East is lawless (though I personally am a notorious antinomian) it's just that we take seriously the Savior's word: The law kills; the Spirit gives Life! Find a gentle but firm spiritual father, one who is imbued with the Tradition of the Church you are joining) and be guided by him and not by some book of abstract rules and regulations. They avail little or nothing!