Attending a Romanian Catholic Church, Byzantine Rite Question

[Joey1976]

I have always been a Catholic of the Latin Rite but was interested in going to a Mass at Byzantine Church in my area. Can i just attend and receive Communion as usual? Is there anything i need to know before attending? Anything drastically different that i would need to be prepared for before attending? Thanks

 

[Woodstock]

Yes, yes, and yes.

If you are a Roman Catholic in good standing who is not in need of confession and who has kept the communion fast, you may receive the Eucharist when you go. It is dispersed from a spoon directly into your mouth. Look up, open wide, tongue in, don’t say Amen or cross yourself.

The only thing you need to know before going is that you may attend and receive as it is a Church in full communion with Rome. Some other things you might like to know can be read here: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=190996

One other thing you might like to know is that all parishes of the Romanian Catholic Church use the Byzantine rite, so you don’t need to make that clarification.

Things that are likely to be drastically different you might need to prepare yourself for include:
That the Liturgy is likely to be most or all in Romanian
That the priest might have a wife and children and his wife, if he has one, is called Preoteasa.
That there is no genuflection. People bow to the altar.
That there is unlikely to be western devotions like Stations.
That you’ll be singing, “Lord, have mercy” a lot.
That it is unlikely to be exactly like you expect, no matter what you expect.

 

[bpbasilphx]

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When I went to the Pilgrimage to Holy Resurrection Monastery in Newberry Springs, which is under the omophorion of the Romanian Catholic Bishop, all the services were in English.

I had the privilege of speaking a while in private with His Grace, Bp. John Michael Botean–an edifyingly humble and approachable hierarch.

 

[Woodstock]

<>

When I went to the Pilgrimage to Holy Resurrection Monastery in Newberry Springs, which is under the omophorion of the Romanian Catholic Bishop, all the services were in English.

I had the privilege of speaking a while in private with His Grace, Bp. John Michael Botean–an edifyingly humble and approachable hierarch.

They’re a bit of an exception. They are American and Australian men who were most if not all Roman Catholic. They formed the monastery under the Ruthenian Church before switching to the Romanian omophorion. If that is where the OP is going he is in for a wonderful time. As you note, they use almost all English. They do intersperse a little Romanian, Greek, and other languages here and there.

hrmonline.org/

 

[Aramis]

Yes, yes, and yes.

If you are a Roman Catholic in good standing who is not in need of confession and who has kept the communion fast, you may receive the Eucharist when you go. It is dispersed from a spoon directly into your mouth. Look up, open wide, tongue in, don’t say Amen or cross yourself.

One other caveat: if, after being communed, the chalice is thrust towards you, kiss it on one of the icons it bears.