Byzantine Catholic and sin

  • Thread starter Thread starter LNL
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
L

LNL

Guest
I grew up Roman Catholic and my husband grew up Byzantine Catholic. We had decided to raise our family in his Byzantine Catholic Church. I am more educated on the Latin rite view of mortal and venial sins and that one needs to be free of mortal sin to receive communion. Is this the same view in the Byzantine rite? The prayer we say before communion we ask God for the forgiveness of all our sins. I do go to confession at the Roman Catholic Church we’ve gone to because of my familiarity with it. I hope to go to make the switch to our Byzantine Parish soon. I am Trying to learn the differences between the two rites and am having trouble finding a direct answer. Thank you in advance for your comments!
 
Last edited:
Sorry I can’t help. I’ve asked the same question & did not get a straight answer. Byzantine Catholics don’t graduate sin. It’s either sin or it’s not.

To me, it seems it’s up to the individual to decide the gravity of his sin & whether confession is needed prior to receiving.
 
@dochawk, you’re always good for commentary such as this (things involving Eastern Christianity). Any ideas?
 
Thank you for responding. I have found a similar conclusion that the Byzantine rite does not divide sins into categories as the Latin Rite does. Which then confuses me as to whether we should receive communion when I have sinned at all (even “venial”). I am still learning the differences between the two rites, but I feel this one is the most important.
 
I don’t see how any Catholic or whatever rite can deny the distinction between mortal and venial sin in good conscience, because the Church has consistently made the distinction in her dogmatic definitions.
 
I’m Ruthenian Catholic. My experience is that we are less into making neat, precise definitions. Also, we are taught to confess all sins. However, I have not experienced that we don’t distinguish grave sins such as murder, adultery, and the like, from lesser sins. In my own experience, if I feel conscience of grave sin, I confess before communion. In any case, I confess at least monthly.
 
Last edited:
From the CCEO

718
In the sacrament of penance, the Christian faithful who committed sins after baptism, internally led by the Holy Spirit, turn back to God, moved by the pain of sin, intent on entering a new life through the ministry of the priest, having themselves made a confession and accepted an appropriate penance, obtain forgiveness from God and at the same time are reconciled with the Church which they injured by sinning; by this sacrament they are brought to a greater fostering of the Christian life and are thus disposed for receiving the Divine Eucharist.

Canon 719
Anyone who is aware of serious sin is to receive the sacrament of penance as soon as possible; it is strongly recommended to all the Christian faithful that they receive this sacrament frequently especially during the times of fasts and penance observed in their own Church sui iuris .

Canon 720
Individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the ordinary way by which the Christian faithful who is aware of a serious sin is reconciled with God and the Church; only physical or moral possibility excuses one from confession of this type, in which case reconciliation can take place in other ways.
 
Last edited:
LNL said:
Which then confuses me as to whether we should receive communion when I have sinned at all (even “venial”).
Click to expand...
I am sorry about your confusion. On a theological level, the terms mortal and venial are not used. Neither is a lack of awareness or volition exculpatory: we talk of sins - missing the mark - both oluntary and involuntary and committed in knowledge or ignorance, The mark is set high.

On a practical level, the matter is different; there certainly is a recognition of sin unto death, and that does not include all sin.

On the issue of confession and communion, there is a range of opinion with much development over the century. In the not too distant past, communion was rare and preparation intense. Now communion is regular, but communicants may be expected to confess every month or so and to refrain from communion until grave sins are confessed. On the other hand, Schmeeman has ventured the opinion that one should only confess on rare occasions; he also espouses communion at all communion services.

Hope this helps.
 
ioannes_pius said:
I don’t see how any Catholic or whatever rite can deny the distinction between mortal and venial sin in good conscience, because the Church has consistently made the distinction in her dogmatic definitions.
Click to expand...
How much do you know about Eastern Catholicism?
 
ioannes_pius said:
I don’t see how any Catholic or whatever rite can deny the distinction between mortal and venial sin in good conscience, because the Church has consistently made the distinction in her dogmatic definitions.
Click to expand...
Because Eastern Catholics have a different theology than us. Their theology isn’t Latinized, so they shouldn’t be expected to keep the same definitions that we do.
 
I think what you’ll find is a very different mentality.

There is certainly recognition in the East that certain sins need to be confessed before you receive Communion (otherwise Orthodoxy would allow Communion to us schismatic Catholics, despite the sin of schism [and vice versa]).

However, the idea of mortal/venial sin didn’t develop in the East to the extent that it did in the West. From what I’ve found, in the East the primary sin that removes one from Communion is apostasy. Instead we have the concept of “voluntary” and “involuntary” sins. One or the other doesn’t necessarily prevent one from receiving Communion. It’s simply recognized that both forms of sin (voluntary and involuntary) need to be consistently repented of, especially voluntary sin - hence the necessity of regular (even frequent) Confession.
 
Thank you! I was not aware of the CCEO. This would be greatly helpful to me as I learn about the Byzantine rite. My husband and I have three children who’ve had their Baptism and Chrismation in the Byzantine rite and as they get older I want to be able to correctly educate them. They go to a Roman Catholic PSR and I love both rites traditions. But I want them to be educated on both rites.
 
This is extremely helpful, thank you! I like how you used the words, “a different mentality”. I‘m definitely viewing the Byzantine rite from a Latin mindset. I keep trying to compare the two in every sense, which isn’t a correct way to view it. Both rites are in communion with Rome, which makes both of them valid. I have recently realized I tend to be a bit scrupulous, and the Roman Catholic Church gives me a pretty clear set of rules and regulations that give me comfort. The Byzantine doesn’t have the clear cut rules that I’m used to. But, maybe this will actually help my scrupulosity a have a different mentality about it. Thank you very much!
 
DeniseNY said:
and at the same time are reconciled with the Church which they injured by sinning
Click to expand...
I like this. In the modern sacrament of “Reconciliation”, as many call it nowadays, there is an aspect of being reconciled to the community. Therefore we are all, in some sense, answerable to the entire Church for our sins, in that we have damaged the Body of Christ. Quite distinct from the idea of “my sins are none of your business, so quit watching what I do, and tend to yourself instead”.

We are all responsible for encouraging each other not to sin, and yes, to call out others when we see them doing something that is clearly sinful. Whether we do this in an individual case, and how we broach the subject, is a matter of prudence in each individual situation. People are pretty bull-headed these days, have their minds made up, don’t like it called to their attention, and are quick to snap back that you’re “judging” them. That says far more about them, than about anyone else.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is the prayer that the priest says when he gives you Communion: “The Body and Blood of Christ are given to you for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.”
 
Even when they’ve been used in the dogmatic definitions of Ecumenical councils?
 
My late father was Ukrainian Greek Catholic and my late mother was Byzantine Catholic so technically I’m Ukrainian Greek Catholic.

However, my siblings and I had a very Latin formation, e.g. the Act of Contrition (and I still say it when I go to confession). We grew up learning about mortal and venial sin too.

It wasn’t until we were in our tweens/teens that the original God With Us Series came to our parish. By then we were pretty much Latinized.

Now we have the official Ukrainian Greek Catholic catechism, Christ Our Pascha (very comprehensive):


Also the God With Us adult catechism series (the Light for Life series [ $10.00 for Part 1; Pts. 2 & 3 are free - just pay s&h]), Shown To Be Holy & Life and Worship [free - just pay s&h) are extremely good):

https://store.godwithusbooks.org/index.php?p=catalog&mode=search&search_str=Light+for+Life



Life and Worship is on the Liturgy but it’s really good.

If you have a limited budget then I’d go for Shown To Be Holy. That helped me immensely.

Hope these help you.
 
Last edited:
In addition to what has already been posted, I wanted to mention that the act of confession in the East is a different experience than in the West. There is no anonymous confession. This may seem intimidating at first, but it is actually very helpful. Your confessor gets to know you, and can pick up on things that you may experience difficulty with (things you might not even consciously perceive) and will give you direction based on this. In the long term, this is extremely helpful in dealing with resolving sin, especially habitual sin, in your life.

So, I always tell people with questions like this: Ask your confessor 🙂 He will help you and guide you. He may even have some specific reading he can recommend to you.

I always compare the West/East differences in confession thus: The West is more like a court or legal system, and the East is more like your physician.

And yes, it should help your scrupulosity. At least it did in my case. I’m Maronite, but my first priest when I was young was very latinized and did confession like the latin rite does. I was very scrupulous and guilt-ridden over it. After I got a new confessor who was very traditional Syriac-Maronite, he gave me direction in confession that greatly eased my mind with everything and helped me tremendously.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top