www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Would you participate?

I must have led a sheltered life. I've never attended a Byzantine Liturgy in honor of the "Sacred Heart" - anyone who knew Archbishop Joseph (Raya) of most holy memory knows that His Eminence was succinctly eloquent on the subject. Just once - at the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia - I found myself at a bizarre celebration of "Byzantine Corpus Christi", which I've chalked up to experience.

To say that these observances are "problematic" is to put it very mildly. They have no proper place in the Byzantine scheme of things.

Actually, there are possible reasons for one of our priests to take part in a demo at a Latin chancery - but these weird devotions are not among those reasons. If Rev. Whatever-his-name-is wants to go and join the Tridentines, I am the last person who would try to stop him.

Fr. Serge

To each in its proper place and context. It is perfectly fine for the Greek Catholic clergy to be a part of Latin processions on feast days not kept in the Byzantine calendar as a sign of visible unity. And vice versa.

Blessed Leonid while Exarch in Russia participated in Latin processions such as Corpus Christi. But he did not celebrate that feast in his own chapel. Likewise sometimes Latin clergy would take place in his processions.

I myself have accepted invitations to be part of Corpus Christi processions for local Latin dioceses. I look forward to those opportunities to partake of the riches of the "other lung". Likewise we have invited Latin clergy, for example, to our winter procession to the lake for the Great Blessing of Waters.

One can appreciate the beautiful aspects of another's tradition - but that does not mean a syncretistic approach to mish-mash both is sensible - in fact it is quite destructive and in the end not faithful to either.
FDD

ukrainiancatholic -

Have you ever attempted to contact your Eparchy about this situation? If so, did you receive any reply?

- Manoli

lkUpon thinking the matter over, perhaps I would go to such a service - armed with a video camera and an audio recorder.

Fr. Serge

Hmmm, well Fr. Serge, I would never have believed there was such a thing as "liturgical dance" in Roman Catholic churches if someone had not shown me a video! Folks had told me about it for years, but I doubted, until I saw it. A year or two ago, I was on vacation at the beach, and went to the closest Catholic church and there it was - scary dancing. It was weird. My husband and I left. We got a phone book. We had to drive a bit to another church, but it was worth it.

Will the Ukraine be consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima too? Sounds like another form of hate service against their neighbors. Will they consecrate any other godless(?) country besides Russia? What about almost-godless Western Europe?
Joe

Tatian's dilemma.