Can a Catholic attend a Eastern orthodox Mass?

[ioannes_pius]

I’m interested to see this.

 

[OurGodIsWithUs]

Yeah!

I was at a shared church and was surprised that a woman was presiding over the mass.
It was during communion when they announced that Catholics can receive the bread consecrated by the Catholic priest, and the others could go to their lady-priest.

Never experienced a mass like that.

 

[Prodigal1984]

They don’t call it Mass. Mass comes from the Ite misse est, Latin. They have a Divine Liturgy.

 

[babochka]

Sure. It was in the 1967 Ecumenical Directory.

Full text of "Directory for the application of the decisions of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican concerning ecumenical matters, May 14, 1967, Part I"

The relevant sections are 39-54, regarding sharing worship with Orthodox Christians. Specifically, I was referring to this provision:

1. A Catholic who occasionally, for reasons set out below 35
   attends the Holy Liturgy (Mass) on a Sunday or holy day of
   obligation in an Orthodox Church is not then bound to assist at
   Mass in a Catholic Church. It is likewise a good thing if on such
   days Catholics, who for just reasons cannot go to Mass in their own
   Church, attend the Holy Liturgy of their separated Oriental
   brethren, if this is possible.

And here are the “reasons set out below”:

1. Catholics may be allowed to attend Orthodox liturgical
   services if they have reasonable grounds, e.g., arising out of a
   public office or function, blood relationships, friendships, desire
   to be better informed, etc. In such cases there is nothing against
   their taking part in the common responses, hymns, and actions of
   the Church in which they are guests. Receiving Holy Communion
   however, will be governed by what is laid down above, nn. 42 and
2. Because of the close communion referred to earlier (n. 40)
   local Ordinaries can give permission for a Catholic to read lessons
   at a liturgical service, if he is invited. These same principles govern
   the manner in which an Orthodox may assist at services in Catholic
   churches.

 

[ioannes_pius]

Thank you for providing it.

 

[Kullervo]

Thanks for clarification!

 

[Diaconia]

Another nugget to consider.

The Liturgy offered (in this case most likely the Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom) pre-dates the schism, and has been in continuous use since ancient times.

Eastern Catholics use this liturgy today.

So, the Divine Liturgy you would be attending is (and has been) used by not only the Orthodox but also the Catholic Churches long before the division of the original Church.

Orthodox sacraments are valid, including Holy Orders.

As such, it seems incorrect to refer to the Divine Liturgy as “non-Catholic worship.”

May the Lord God remember in his Kingdom all you Orthodox Christians,
Deacon Christopher

 

[ReaderT]

From our (Orthodox) perspective, of course you’re welcome to attend, to cross yourself, to bow, to venerate the icons. I agree with @babochka that one “should not go to an Orthodox Divine Liturgy even hoping to receive Holy Communion”, unless they are Orthodox, have fasted from Midnight, and had a recent confession.

We believe that a priest will have to answer for every single time that he communed someone wrongly at the Last Judgment, so it’s a very serious matter for us.

 

[Dovekin]

The relevant text from the current (1993) Directory for the Application of. Principles and Norms on Ecumenism:

1. Whenever necessity requires or a genuine spiritual advantage suggests, and provided that the danger of error or indifferentism is avoided, it is lawful for any Catholic for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister, to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist and anointing of the sick from a minister of an Eastern Church.
2. Since practice differs between Catholics and Eastern Christians in the matter of frequent communion, confession before communion and the Eucharistic fast, care must be taken to avoid scandal and suspicion among Eastern Christians through Catholics not following the Eastern usage. A Catholic who legitimately wishes to communicate with Eastern Christians must respect the Eastern discipline as much as possible and refrain from communicating if that Church restricts sacramental communion to its own members to the exclusion of others.

What is most important is respect for the other Church. There are a variety of positions in the East, and about the only way you could be sure would be by asking the priest. But you should be able attend without communion.