www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Eastern Catholic Deacon Formation in german-speaking countries

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Christ is born!

Does anyone know how the formation of eastern catholic deacons (especially Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) in german-speaking Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) works?

There are structures and institutions for the formation of roman-catholic deacons, who have families and jobs. In Austria, you need a university degree in theology or the completed "theological course" offered by the Archdiocese of Vienna plus the deacon-course (mostly evenings and weekends over a period of some years) to become a roman-catholic deacon. In Germany the situation is similar as far as I know.

As a married man with wife and child, working a full-time office job, I would be interested in possible ways to the diaconate within the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Does anyone know, if it is possible to complete the "theological course" and the deacon-course in the local "roman system" in one of these countries? Where will one get the specific byzantine spiritual and liturgical formation from? Or are there other ways I overlooked?

I wish you all a blessed new year 2024 and I'm thankful for any help.

Josaphat

Christ is Born!!

Josaphat24,

Welcome to the forum. We hope your time here enhances your pilgrimage.

To answer your question: what does your parish priest say?

Bob
Moderator

Hello Josaphat 24,

I cannot answer your question directly as I am in Canada and do not know exactly what the Eastern Greek Catholic bishop in Central Europe require their candidate to do. However, the diaconal formation for me was somewhat similar to our RC brothers. The safest route would be to discuss with your local bishop. The theological requirement are (in my experience) vastly the same in either the Roman rite or Ukrainian Greek Catholic rite. For myself, I came with a strong theological formation but I needed a pastoral internship where I was exposed to the parochial life and challenges. I also had a lot of practicum in the Ukrainian language, which is normal since I serve in a bilingual format (Ukrainian/English).

Thank you very much for welcoming me in this forum!

We have two priests in our parish. Since the establishment of our parish I am an altar server and I really enjoy it. One priest knows about my possible vocation and supports me, the other priest, he is the head of the parish, doesn't know about it as I am always to shy to talk about that to him. Talking to him will be on my 2024 bucket list.

I think of it as a long long journey as I still need to grow spiritually and personally. There is also the formal theological education I lack. We have very little options in the region. Universities offer theology but they clearly want you to study full-time which I can't as I support the family with my full-time job. Other options are rare and byzantine options are absent. That's why I was curious about potentially unknown institutions/options.

Thank you so much for your response!

Have a blessed feast of Epiphany!

Josaphat

Christ is in our midst!!

Josaphat24,

Have you asked about the Ukrainian Catholic University? It has a distance learning program in many areas that might fulfill your needs. I learned of it from my pastor who had inquired about receiving a distance degree in ecumenical studies. I even looked at it myself. Google it. They have many programs and the tuition is not burdensome. In addition, it's part of who you say you are.

Bob

Christ is Born!!

Soyouz18,

Welcome to the forum. We hope your time with us proves spiritually fruitful.

Bob
Moderator

Thank you Theophan!
Have a Blessed Feast of Theophany !

Dear Soyouz18,

thank you for your answer. I guess I will need to talk about the formation with our bishop. It seems as if the path of formation is often very individual and depends on the experience and education of the possible candidate.

The only useful thing I can provide at the moment is my experience as altar server and all that comes with it. I know how the parish works from the inside. And I know the Ukrainian language fluently. That's positive.

Well, it will be a journey.

All the best to you on your path and thanks again!

Josaphat24

Josaphat24,
I will keep you in my prayers! Nothing is impossible to God. Over the years, I have met a lot of people who told me "you won't be able to do this" or " it is impossible"... well I am the living proof that God's ways are not human ways.
I am nowhere near fluent in Ukrainian but I can sing the Ektenias in Ukrainian. I can read and speak a few words. I can understand 35-40% of a conversation.

Soyouz18