www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization changing Rites becomming Byzantine

hello, i am new to this board and currently RCC however i plan on joining the Ukrainian Catholic Church as soon as possible as well as the local parish here. i havent had a chance to talk to the priest about it at the parish, but whats the process of changing church rites? is it a long one? i have been attending the divine liturgy for a while now and i am pretty accustomed to it. i would appreciate any incite on this, thank you.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Boy, it's a good question but it is asked a lot here. You may get all the info you need faster by fishing around in the archives.

But I will briefly sum up from memory and others can blast me for mis-directing you. First, you should be absolutely certain that this is what you wish to do, since technically this is a one-way street, but if you are like me you are probably certain since you have been attending liturgy for a while.

Register with the parish and support it faithfully for the better part of a year. Volunteer your time when possible.

Then ask your pastor to help you write the necessary letters. You are technically Latin and the local Latin bishop is still responsible for your spiritual welfare. You will write to both the receiving bishop and your current bishop, if they agree you're gonna get transfered. It seems to be the current policy that Rome will automatically approve the decision of the two bishops. Although that was not the procedure years ago, this is a more commonplace practice than it was.

I have yet to do this but there must be dozens of people here who have.

Good luck and God bless you
Michael, the sinner

well thank you very much for the incite.

Dear Mateusz,
Welcome to the forum!

You might like to consider a reading program if you have not already done so. I would like to recommend The Orthodox Way by bishop Kallistos Ware. Also The Face of God by Archbishop Joseph Raya or possibly Philokalia - The bible of Orthodox Christianity a compendium by Anthony M. Coniaris, a very good work, especially if you have an interest in the actual Philokalia and the Early Fathers (that's a lot of reading).

It is advised to find a good spiritual director, perhaps your new pastor could be that for you?

God bless you always
Michael, the sinner

well today i went to the divine liturgy at the ukrainian parish and i spoke with the pastor and a trustee in the parish handed me offering envelopes and welcomed me. in the past i attended liturgy there alot but not every week because i still wanted to be a part of my own RC parish too, sometimes i went to both, my current RC parish on sunday and the Ukrainian one on sudnay. the pastor took my information and my registration card but did not say much about anything else, other than to keep attending liturgy. so i am guessing after a while he will approve of me joining the parish and help me with my change of rite. i do not see the reason for a long wait because my mind is pretty made up, but i will see how things go.

Mateusz
I changed rite from RC to BC, a little paper work, couple months later it was approved. My guess as to why you have to attend the new rite for at least a year, is as someone posted previously, it is a one-way street. Couple of years from now you cannot change your mind and go back. And like so many things that are worthwhile doing, a bit of patience is needed.
God bless you on your journey.
denise

thank you all for your help and information :-)

Greetings,

I just this past month made it offical and changed rites. All I had to do is to write a letter to the Latin bishop. He responded to the the new bishop the same week. It was all over in a matter of days.

Peter

congratulations Peter, thats awesome! which church did u join ? may God be with you, and the saints prayers as well.

I am now part of the Romanian Church, and a seminarian for the Eparchy of St. George in Canton, Ohio.

Peter

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear Peter,
Congratulations to you on your transfer, and you have my special gratitude for answering the call of God. I admire that greatly!

Michael, the sinner

Thanks be to God! May the Lord God always give you joy in your service to him, and grant you grace and peace as you choose to live and worship in the Romanian Greek Catholic Church. Many Years!

Dear Peter,

As someone who is of Romanian ancestry myself, I congratulate you!

And I do this before the Administrator sets about bringing our national Churches under one English Byzantine Catholic umbrella . . .

Khristos a inviat!
Adevarat a inviat!

Alex

Congratulations Peter.

Welcome Mateusz.

I changed 2 1/2 years ago. I really love it. Today I brought home the incenser to clean it and the smell just made my day.

Nicky's Baba

thats really cool Baba, yesterday i went to the divine liturgy at the ukrainian parish i joined and afterwords the priest showed me a relic of st. josaphat of polotsk. it was a piece of his clothing.