Becoming Melkite

[Melquita]

Hi! I recently discovered this forum and this is my first post…

I’m a non-practicing Jew who’s been investigating Christianity for several years, and I’ve tentatively made the decision to join the Melkite Catholic Church. I don’t have Arabic heritage (although I do speak the language), but I prefer the aesthetics of the Byzantine liturgy and sacrament of confession to the Western tradition, I disagree with mandatory priestly celibacy and I feel the Eastern Catholic churches in general better embody the unity of scholasticism and noesis than either the Latin Rite church or the Orthodox churches.

I’m currently living in Peru (although I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be here), and I don’t believe there are any Melkite parishes in the country. The area I’m in is 95% Catholic by default, and I think in general the witness ministries of the diocese are very underdeveloped. I don’t even think they have RCIA classes (or whatever the equivalent is in Spanish-speaking countries) although I’m sure they’d manage to convert me if I choose. I highly doubt there is anyone in the diocese with specific knowledge of the eastern churches, but I haven’t actually talked to a priest about this.

What course of action would you recommend? I assume it will be impossible for me to convert specifically as a Melkite here, but I also assume that if I convert here and in the future move to an area where the Melkite Church exists it will be easy for me to transfer my allegiances, as it were. Is this true? Is it even important as a matter of church policy which rite I consider primary? I guess it would be important if I wanted to become a priest, but beyond that I’m not sure why it should be relevant. Are Eastern Catholics and Roman Catholics free to marry each other, with no special dispensation from the bishop and no expectation of conversion by either spouse? Are there any situations in which a lay member would even need to define which of the 23 autonomous particular churches he or she belongs to?

Thank you for your comments and suggestions!

 

[Melquita]

Really? Nobody has any thoughts?

 

[puzzleannie]

it is beyond my experience w/ RCIA
if there are no Melkite churches near you, how do you plan to find one with the style of worship and discipline you prefer?

as to procedure, I would ask the pastor of the nearest Catholic Church to approach the bishop on your behalf and find out what the procedure would be for being received into one of the Eastern rites. I believe at a minimum the permission of the relevant Melkite bishop would have to be obtained. The only thing I do know is that quite often people who do not have a cultural or ethnic affinity to a particularly Eastern rite is discouraged from embracing that rite, because they will be asking for a discipline more strict than Latin rite, and this would I expect be especially true if there is no hope of joining a church in that rite where you could get formation and support.

the other issue would be what rite did your father belong to, or your people, or would they have belonged to (for instance if your family was from Greece for instance you would be expected to join the Eastern uniate rite closest to Greek Orthodox).

 

[Nowhere_Man]

I would say that because there are no Melkite Parishes in your area that being brought into the Church specifically through the Melkites would be near impossible. However, I personally would recommend either going through catechesis at a Roman, or other Byzantine-Rite Catholic Church, and the if you move in an area near a Melkite Catholic Church ask for a transfer of your canonical status from your Bishop and the Melkite Bishop.

Oh, and Eastern and Roman Catholics are in 100% unity with each other, so yes marriage and all other Sacraments would be common ground and you could marry anyone from any of the other 22 sui juris Rites.

 

[Melquita]

it is beyond my experience w/ RCIA
if there are no Melkite churches near you, how do you plan to find one with the style of worship and discipline you prefer?

as to procedure, I would ask the pastor of the nearest Catholic Church to approach the bishop on your behalf and find out what the procedure would be for being received into one of the Eastern rites. I believe at a minimum the permission of the relevant Melkite bishop would have to be obtained. The only thing I do know is that quite often people who do not have a cultural or ethnic affinity to a particularly Eastern rite is discouraged from embracing that rite, because they will be asking for a discipline more strict than Latin rite, and this would I expect be especially true if there is no hope of joining a church in that rite where you could get formation and support.

the other issue would be what rite did your father belong to, or your people, or would they have belonged to (for instance if your family was from Greece for instance you would be expected to join the Eastern uniate rite closest to Greek Orthodox).

Thanks for your response. I have lived in areas with Melkite churches in the past (although I didn’t pay much attention to them at the time), and I don’t plan on being in Peru for the rest of my life. I’d have no problem participating in a Latin-rite church, it just doesn’t feel like where I belong, so as somebody currently looking in from the outside I see no reason why the assumption should be that I would be a Roman rather than an Eastern Catholic. My family’s always been Jewish (well, Jewish atheists for the past three generations), and I speak Arabic, so on purely ethnic grounds the Melkites seem to make as much sense as anybody else. In any case the Vatican has been clear that all of the sui iuris churches have equal rights and responsibilities in terms of evangelizing to the entire world, so I doubt they would reject any serious investigators simply for not having the right ethnic bona fides.

 

[puzzleannie]

. In any case the Vatican has been clear that all of the sui iuris churches have equal rights and responsibilities in terms of evangelizing to the entire world, so I doubt they would reject any serious investigators simply for not having the right ethnic bona fides.

true but you won’t know until you ask, I still say the place to start is with the pastor of the Catholic church nearest you, and ask for a referral to the person in the diocesan office who can answer your specific question and guide you.

 

[mardukm]

If it is any help at all, there is a Melkite eparchy in Brazil, and an apostolic exarchate in Argentina.

You already hit on your best available procedure: become Catholic in the Latin Rite, and transfer canonical jurisdiction when you have the opportunity. It is generally much easier for a Latin to become an Eastern or Oriental Catholic, than vice-versa. Just explain your situation to the Melkite bishop when you move to an area that has one, and he will most likely be more than happy to take care of the matter for you.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[ciero]

true but you won’t know until you ask, I still say the place to start is with the pastor of the Catholic church nearest you, and ask for a referral to the person in the diocesan office who can answer your specific question and guide you.

I doubt a Latin Rite pastor in Peru would even know what a Melkite is.

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

Christ is risen!
Christos Anesti!
Al Massih Kam!

I think I would second your hunch and Mardukm’s recommendation that you simply enter the Church through the Latin Church and then change canonical status once you live in an area that has a Melkite community. Alternatively, if there is a Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Romanian or other Byzantine Church anywhere near you, you could enter the Church through one of those.

If you do enter the Church through the Latin/Roman Church but intend to become Melkite eventually, I would also recommend catechizing yourself by utilizing some of the catechetical material published by God With Us Publications. Also, Sophia Press (the U.S. Melkite Eparchy’s publishing company) has a new prayer book that I would recommend. You could also read such spiritual works as the four-volume “Philokalia,” “The Art of Prayer,” “The Face of God,” “The Way of the Pilgrim,” etc. These would at least help you to stay in touch with Byzantine spirituality while you’re attending a Roman parish.

Whatever happens and whatever you decide, may God bless you in your journey, and may the grace and mercy of our Risen Lord be with you!

ICXC + NIKA,
Phillip

 

[malphono]

… I’ve tentatively made the decision to join the Melkite Catholic Church. …

What course of action would you recommend? I assume it will be impossible for me to convert specifically as a Melkite here, but I also assume that if I convert here and in the future move to an area where the Melkite Church exists it will be easy for me to transfer my allegiances, as it were. Is this true?

As both [post=6518140]mardukm[/post] and [post=6519603]Phillip Rolfes[/post] have already said, yes.

Is it even important as a matter of church policy which rite I consider primary? I guess it would be important if I wanted to become a priest, but beyond that I’m not sure why it should be relevant.

It’s not relevant to “Church policy” but it does have a bearing on a few things. One is Holy Orders, and the other is Matrimony.

Are Eastern Catholics and Roman Catholics free to marry each other, with no special dispensation from the bishop and no expectation of conversion by either spouse?

There’s no problem with “intermarriage” between Easterners and Latins, and there are no “dispensation” involved.

Are there any situations in which a lay member would even need to define which of the 23 autonomous particular churches he or she belongs to?

As noted above, yes: One is Holy Orders, and the other is Matrimony.

I’m a non-practicing Jew who’s been investigating Christianity for several years … I don’t have Arabic heritage (although I do speak the language), but I prefer the aesthetics of the Byzantine liturgy and sacrament of confession to the Western tradition, I disagree with mandatory priestly celibacy and I feel the Eastern Catholic churches in general better embody the unity of scholasticism and noesis than either the Latin Rite church or the Orthodox churches.

I took this part out of order because I think it might be a good idea to interject two caveats:

One is about Holy Orders. Bear in mind that if one’s main purpose of joining and Eastern Church is to circumvent the prevailing discipline requiring priestly celibacy in the Latin Church, it’s more than likely that the person will not be admitted to Holy Orders.

The second is, shall we say, ethno-political, and I apologize in advance if this sounds at all rude. It is certainly not to be.

It’s not clear if you come from an Israeli background, but the language factor indicates that it’s a possibility (mizrahi perpahs?). If so, or if you’re familiar with certain dynamics in the Middle East, you should already know that there might be some strained relations with other members over the issue of “Arab identity.” Admittedly, for a variety of reasons, the possibility of that happening is far lower among Melkites than it is either among the local (as in Middle East-local) Latins or the Antiochian Orthodox, but it’s still something to keep in the back of your mind.

 

[Melquita]

If you do enter the Church through the Latin/Roman Church but intend to become Melkite eventually, I would also recommend catechizing yourself by utilizing some of the catechetical material published by God With Us Publications. Also, Sophia Press (the U.S. Melkite Eparchy’s publishing company) has a new prayer book that I would recommend. You could also read such spiritual works as the four-volume “Philokalia,” “The Art of Prayer,” “The Face of God,” “The Way of the Pilgrim,” etc. These would at least help you to stay in touch with Byzantine spirituality while you’re attending a Roman parish.

Thanks for your suggestions, this is very helpful.

 

[Melquita]

I took this part out of order because I think it might be a good idea to interject two caveats:

One is about Holy Orders. Bear in mind that if one’s main purpose of joining and Eastern Church is to circumvent the prevailing discipline requiring priestly celibacy in the Latin Church, it’s more than likely that the person will not be admitted to Holy Orders.

The second is, shall we say, ethno-political, and I apologize in advance if this sounds at all rude. It is certainly not to be.

It’s not clear if you come from an Israeli background, but the language factor indicates that it’s a possibility (mizrahi perpahs?). If so, or if you’re familiar with certain dynamics in the Middle East, you should already know that there might be some strained relations with other members over the issue of “Arab identity.” Admittedly, for a variety of reasons, the possibility of that happening is far lower among Melkites than it is either among the local (as in Middle East-local) Latins or the Antiochian Orthodox, but it’s still something to keep in the back of your mind.

Thanks for your note. I’m not Israeli but I have spent time there, as well as in Jordan and the West Bank. I don’t have any desire to be a priest, I just find ordinary priestly celibacy distasteful from a theological standpoint and, as a practical matter, I believe priests with families of their own are generally more suited to minister to families. (This could be my Jewish background coming through – rabbis are expected to be married and to have lots of children!)

 

[Hesychios]

I doubt a Latin Rite pastor in Peru would even know what a Melkite is.

Quite possibly true, and his Latin bishop might be hostile, or even offended by the request and the reasoning.

A change of ascription might be easier to make later, in the USA or in the Middle East. Both the Latin bishop and the Melkite bishop must agree to the change, if the Latin bishop does not agree, it will not happen.

Perhaps the first thing to do is call the Apostolic Exarchate in Argentina that Mardukm mentions in his post, and relate the interest in conversion.

 

[Lypher]

Quite possibly true, and his Latin bishop might be hostile, or even offended by the request and the reasoning. .

I hope not… He would not be following the teachings from Rome.

A change of ascription might be easier to make later, in the USA or in the Middle East. Both the Latin bishop and the Melkite bishop must agree to the change, if the Latin bishop does not agree, it will not happen…

Well the Holy see says that when two different rites marry that they need to be Eastern. Trying to increase the numbers of our second lung.

Perhaps the first thing to do is call the Apostolic Exarchate in Argentina that Mardukm mentions in his post, and relate the interest in conversion.

I wish you all the best. Welcome to the Church…

 

[Hesychios]

I hope not… He would not be following the teachings from Rome.

There is sometimes a difference between the expressed ideal and the practical reality. I think Eastern Catholics have come to know that one has to be a realist with regard to the response of Latin Catholic bishops in countries where EC presence is already quite negligible or even non-existent.

Well the Holy see says that when two different rites marry that they need to be Eastern. Trying to increase the numbers of our second lung.

I am almost positive that you are mistaken about this.

Yes, the second lung needs members. No, I believe the Holy See does not mandate that when two different rites marry that they need to be Eastern.

What has been pointed out elsewhere is that the children of such a marriage ordinarily will follow the canonical ascription of the father in the family. They wife may change canonical enrollment at the time of her wedding, and should the unfortunate circumstance arise that she survives her spouse she may return to canonical enrollment in her previous ritual church if she wishes. If I am mistaken about any of this I am willing to accept correction.

 

[Aramis]

Michael: the Post Conciliar Documents from V II are explicit: the norm is that, since VII, the children of a mixed latin-eastern couple are to be raised within the Eastern Catholic Church; when two easterns marry, they may agree upon one or the other, but without such agreement, the Father’s enrollment is also to be the child’s… While not canon law, they carry pastoral authority, and establish the canonical norm later described by the rules in the CCEO.