www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Mother of Churches in Roswell, Georgia

I am so excited. My parish church is in the
Atlanta & The World newspaper section for today!

My parish is Byzantine, and the Armenian Orthodox in the Atlanta area use our church for their
services!

You can go to:

www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/news/atlanta_world/0203/12church.html [accessatlanta.com]

to see the article and one picture of the priest
during the service, from the article on page F6.

In the actual printed copy there is a nice color photo on page F1 of the whole front of the church, taken from the back of the church, but they didn't carry it in the on-line article.

I am so proud and so excited!!!!!

We've also been a Mother Church to the Coptic
Orthodox until they were able to build their
own sanctuary, and also for a Roman parish until
they too built their own sanctuary.

Too bad the newspaper didn't include all the photos on the web page, I think you'd be impressed with the other pictures also.

denise

I mean the article is in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution newspaper, the special section on
Wednesdays is "Atlanta and the World".
denise

Byzinroswell

Great article. Thanks for the "heads-up!" May God bless your parish for helping out the Armenians. We too are sharing a Byzantine (Ruthenian) Temple, while we await the resources to build our own. We feel very indebted to them for allowing us to share their Temple and Hall.

In Christ's Light,

Ghazar

Great, Denise!

I'd love to visit your parish sometime, but Roswell is pretty far away in terms of metro Atlanta. The only Eastern Catholic church I can get to easily is St. John Chrysostomos (Melkite) on Ponce de Leon. But if I'm ever up that way and have time, I'll definitely drop by!

May God bless you and your wonderful parish!

ChristTeen287

Dear ChristTeen
When we drove to Carrolton one day (to visit
West Georgia) it took only a bit over an hour.
Roswell would probably be only a bit longer.
Sunday morning with all freeways and no traffic
might make for a shorter time than you would
expect. The church is only two miles off Georgia
400.
(we also went to visit Georgia Southern University
in Statesboro, Bulluch County. There is only one
Catholic church in the whole county, but 130
Protestant churches! Folks up north probably
have no idea how blessed they are to have so many
Catholic churches. When one leaves the Atlanta
area and goes out into the rural areas it is just so hard to find a Catholic church)
Take care
Denise

Dear ChristTeen287,

St. Joseph's Maronite is only minutes from St. John's..it is in "Little Five Points." It is worth a visit as well.

While it would not be any closer for you than Roswell, there is a Ukrainian Catholic Church in Conyers.

Tony

Thank you, Tony.

Yes, I knew of the one in Conyers but it is probably a good two hours from here at least, I believe.

I also know of St. Joseph's (and I love authentic Maronite tradition), but it seems very ethnic (not that I am against ethnocentric parishes, I just may feel a bit left out). Nonetheless, I'm sure I will eventually visit it as well as St. John Chrysostom, as well as St. George's and St. Elias in Birmingham, as well as St. George's and St. Elias (both Antiochean Orthodox) in metro Atlanta.

I've just got to work up the courage to ask my parents!

ChristTeen287

We are notorious for our hospitality, man. Come on now! :p

Dear ChristTeen,

Just tell your parents that these parishes are "Eastern Rite" Methodist churches and hope your nose doesn't start growing . . .

Methodists, like Easterners, use prayer ropes, pray for long periods of time, fast on Wednesdays and Fridays etc.

Protestant groups in Russia are forever masquerading as Eastern churches with three-Bar Crosses et al.

Turn that around to your benefit!

Alex

In the US, SOME Methodists do these things, as well as have a profound devotion to the Eucharist, pray the office, say Mass. For these it is a shame the sacraments are not valid. Others are more like Evangelicals (not the real Evangel, the Lutherans, but like Baptists and Nazarenes).

Correct me if I'm wrong (it wouldn't be the first time!), Mor, but I thought Antiochean Orthodox were Eastern Orthodox, not Oriental. Am I incorrect?

Alex, as AKemner, points out, I wish this were true in all Methodist churches. Members of my church do not use prayers ropes, but fasting as well as long periods of prayer are definitely recommended, though not enforced.

In one of the Antiochean churches, Orthros is 45 minutes long (or at least it starts 45 mins. before the liturgy), and in the other Antiochean church, it starts an hour before. However, in the Melkite church, Orthros starts only 30 mins. before the liturgy. What would be the reason(s) for these differences?

I'm sorry, Denise. It seems I have usurped your thread, as I am prone to do!

ChristTeen287

Dear ChristTeen,

And the Greek Orthodox parish near where we live takes a little over an hour to celebrate Orthros. The reason for the disparity is that parishes take heavy abbrevations of the service. Before you think, "well, why do they do that?" understand that Orthros is a string of four independant services, one of the them (the second) is pure monastic psalmody. To properly celebrate the service in full takes about five our six hours. That is not very practical for parochial useage (though, when preceeded by a full celebration of Vespers, all together called the Vseshchnoje Bdenje, is great for understanding Theosis and other difficult eastern concepts, as Subdeacon Randy can attest.

You're correct, they are Eastern Orthodox. But I meant my remarks in a more general sense. Eastern folks are really welcoming to visitors, in ways that Western Christians aren't always*, at least in New York.

*To be sure, there are exceptions everywhere for everything, but these are general trends I've experienced here, and so has my Italian RC girlfriend...she and I been a visitor in many a RC church and no one really said anything to us; everyone walked in, everyone walked out. But recently we visited a nearby Antiochian church, and literally everyone in the parish who could get to us after Liturgy stopped to talk to us, and were disappointed when they heard that we couldn't stay for coffee and whatever else they had to eat, and had to be leaving so soon after the Liturgy in order to get to a RC Mass since apparently Orthodox Liturgy doesn't count for the RC Sunday obligation (I think). So they bade us come back soon, and one old lady chased us down (literally) and made sure we had taken some blessed bread.

Thank you Akem, that helps a lot. I still wish the Melkite church would expand the Orthros a little more, but the fact that there is Orthros at all before every Sunday liturgy is encouraging when compared to some dismal Eastern Catholic parishes.

Mor,

Well, now that you mention it, two out of the three RC Masses I've been to, the people didn't say a thing to me. The exception was this well-meaning but rather obnoxious old lady who chattered to me before, during, and after the Mass. I really couldn't focus at all.

Orthodox services don't count for Sunday obligations for Catholics unless a Catholic Mass (of any kind) is inaccessible.

But seeing as how I'm not Catholic yet, that won't serve as much of a problem for me!

ChristTeen287