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holdencaulfield
Guest
So it’s still private though, only the priest hears your Confessions.
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guanophore
Guest
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Do you want to answer my post. #15
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theistgal
Guest
Will you become a member of the parish in which you are confirmed? Or are you just wanting to use them for the ceremony?
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holdencaulfield
Guest
I am hoping to become a member of the parish in which I am Confirmed. I am stuck between a Byzantine (Ruthenian) Rite Parish and a Traditional Latin Rite Parish.
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Aramis
Guest
In which case you need to be preparing within the program set up by whichever bishop’s parish will be accepting you into the Catholic Church.
I also have another question why would any one want to switch rites from Latin to Byzantine or vice versa? Since they are both Catholic Churches you could attend either. Why would you go to the trouble of switching Rites?
In my case: because I want to be a byzantine. The Latin expression of the faith is not one that works for me. Despite being raised Latin-rite, and the son of a Latin deacon, I find that I can not meet my spiritual needs within the Latin Church on a long term basis. I do not wish to be subject to the Latin calendar, which is different from the Byzantine one.
For me, it is part of my identity that I am Byzantified. I wish to take the next step, and make it part of my identity within the church.
Further, I am still discerning a call to the deaconate; I know I do not wish to be a Latin-Rite deacon, for I do not appreciate either the TLM nor the “Ordinary Form” nearly as much as the DL of St John. A man may only be ordained within the same rite in which his church enrollment is held.
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holdencaulfield
Guest
What do you mean. I just talked to the parish about it. Why does the Bishop have anything to do with it in the first part?
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Aramis
Guest
In any given particular local church (diocese), the head is the bishop, and the parishes and their pastors’ authority derives from the bishop’s. Each bishop is required to have a process for the education of those to be granted the rites of Christian initiation: Baptism, Chrismation, First Confession, and First Eucharist. It will be a very different process in the various different rites, and slightly different amongst different sui iuris churches of the same rite. It may even vary between particular churches within the same sui iuris church.
The rite and sui iuris church in to which you choose to be accepted, Latin or Byzantine, determines which bishop is accepting you (possibly via his proxy, the Pastor). That bishop is the one who sets the nature of the process, and in very many ways, will be the successor to the apostles to whom you, as a catholic, are subject to the orders of.
Note that, in most of the US, the Latin church has opted for a regional synod developed and approved program called “RCIA” or “Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults”, a program which has provisions for both unbaptized converts (catechumens) and baptized converts (candidates). Some parishes combine the instructions, others do not; some diocese mandate one approach or the other.
In all cases, however, the Bishop is the arbiter of what is and is not acceptable liturgy in his/her diocese, subject only to the norms of the regional synod, their provincial metropolitan-archbishop, their patriarch, the Pope, and the Holy Synod of the Catholic Church. (Note that Latin rite provinces are either archbishop OR patriarch, while several eastern rite churches have patriarchs between the pope and their archbishops.)
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Right, so I’m assuming that I would just show up and ask the pastor at the particular parish I want to attend what the best way to go about Confirmation is.
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Woodstock
Guest
I apologize that I am not familiar with your history. The issue appears to be whether you are going to worship our Lord predominantly through an Eastern or Western lens.
The TLM and Divine Liturgy have many things in common, especially in aesthetics, so to go beyond that you have to delve into the Churches’ history, theology, and spirituality.
What experiences do you have with Latin and Byzantine Catholicism? If you do not have much experience, I recommend you start immersing yourself in them.
Attend their services. Pray their prayers. Ask for recommendations of books to read on and by them. Pray for guidance. While you will hopefully maintain a respect for both, one will eventually stand out as the place you belong. Start with the first steps. Start going. Start learning. Start praying.
The TLM and Divine Liturgy have many things in common, especially in aesthetics, so to go beyond that you have to delve into the Churches’ history, theology, and spirituality.
What experiences do you have with Latin and Byzantine Catholicism? If you do not have much experience, I recommend you start immersing yourself in them.
Attend their services. Pray their prayers. Ask for recommendations of books to read on and by them. Pray for guidance. While you will hopefully maintain a respect for both, one will eventually stand out as the place you belong. Start with the first steps. Start going. Start learning. Start praying.
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Thanks I will probably start there.
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Deacon_Ed
Guest
Okay, given this we have a different situation. First, you would need to be received into the Church. Under the normal path you would be expected to join a Latin Rite Church since you would be coming from the Anglican tradition. However, there is no firm requirement that this be done. Before you can be confirmed, however, you would need to become Catholic. The local priest can instruct you one what is required for this to take place – and part of that depends on your catechetical formation. To that the priest would add whatever he thinks is missing. There is usually a period of time in which you would attend the parish of your choice without actually becoming Catholic and without participating in the Mysteries.
Once you are received into the Catholic Church (whether Latin or Byzantine) you would make your first communion and be Christmated/Confirmed.
Again, your first step is to talk to the local priest about your intentions and see how he wants to handle it.
Deacon Ed
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holdencaulfield
Guest
How long do you think it would take for someone like me who is seeped in Church doctrine and dogma, and is not a cafeteria Catholic 
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Woodstock
Guest
Depending on your particular needs and the priest and parish involved, 3 months to 1 year would be my guess.How long do you think it would take for someone like me who is seeped in Church doctrine and dogma, and is not a cafeteria Catholic
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Deacon_Ed
Guest
That would be up to the parish priest to decide. Since I don’t know you or your status I cannot hazard a guess.How long do you think it would take for someone like me who is seeped in Church doctrine and dogma, and is not a cafeteria Catholic
Deacon Ed
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ASimpleSinner
Guest
Greek Catholic parishes generally do private instruction with the priest… Once you satisfy the priest’s mind that you understand what you are signing up for, he may proceed to the next step.How long do you think it would take for someone like me who is seeped in Church doctrine and dogma, and is not a cafeteria Catholic
Sorry about the initial confusion. When you were speaking in terms of “getting confirmed” that caused some confusion for me. I know understand that you are looking to become Catholic - I think a lot of us did not at first.
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theistgal
Guest
You say you’re steeped in Church doctrine and dogma, yet you also seem to think that the Byzantine and Latin rites are interchangeable, hardly different at all.How long do you think it would take for someone like me who is seeped in Church doctrine and dogma, and is not a cafeteria Catholic
But there are significant differences in the liturgy, in prayers and devotions, and in theological expressions.
Just to give one example - are you attracted to Eucharistic Adoration? Then you should probably stay with the Latin Rite because (as always with a few exceptions), most Byzantine Rite churches do not practice this devotion.
That’s just one example but there are many others to consider before making this decision. (And I didn’t mean any of this to sound rude, so if it does, my apologies - I just want to be sure you know this is kind of an important decision and one that may require a little more pondering.
)
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kitkatty
Guest
Theistgal has a good point, I think given your situation you ought to spend more time attending in the Latin and Byzantine Church`s,in addition to studying the different spiritualities of each. Even if this means delaying your formal conversion to Catholicism when you are received into the Church you will be much more likely to have found a spiritual home, much easier than switching rites later on!
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catherineajt
Guest
Because this decision will direct your worship life, this is something you need to carefully discern. You have said in other posts that you are drawn to the Traditional Latin Mass, or that you are drawn to the Divine Liturgy (as practiced in both Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches). You need to decide which one, and carefully, because being Eastern Catholic is very different, in practice, than being Roman (Western) Catholic.
My own priest has mentioned that it is difficult to be Eastern Catholic in today’s society. We practice a stricter form of fasting, for example, and the Divine Liturgy is a longer service, with much standing (and sometimes, for weekday services, full prostration) than the standard Novus Ordo or even Latin Mass. The saints’ days are even different, in some cases. As somebody else said, at least in the Byzantine church, there is no Eucharistic Adoration. Depending on the church you attend, the cultural/language influences will be different than they would be at most Western Catholic churches, which are more of a “melting pot”.
If you are drawn to the traditions of the Rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet, those are not a part of Eastern Catholicism. Most of the things that people identify with Catholicism, in fact, are Roman Catholic traditions, not Eastern Catholic traditions. You would have to be ready to explain to people if they ask about those traditions. I know that I spend quite a bit of time explaining to my mother in law, who is Roman Catholic, about our church’s traditions–even though we are also Catholic. She had never heard about St Philip’s Fast, in which we fast before the Nativity of Jesus. Or the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
For my part, I find my mindset to be more aligned with Eastern Catholicism. There is a richness there that for me, was missing in the Western Church. I was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, then, like you, felt drawn to the Divine Liturgy and as a consequence converted to Orthodoxy–a mistake for me and my family. I’m not saying Orthodoxy is a mistake for everybody, certainly! It was for us, though. Then we discovered the Byzantine Catholic church and knew we were home.
The attraction to a certain church or rite needs to be more than an appreciation of the “smells and bells”. Or the liking of icons. This is something you can only discern through study and attending both rites, and prayer.
My own priest has mentioned that it is difficult to be Eastern Catholic in today’s society. We practice a stricter form of fasting, for example, and the Divine Liturgy is a longer service, with much standing (and sometimes, for weekday services, full prostration) than the standard Novus Ordo or even Latin Mass. The saints’ days are even different, in some cases. As somebody else said, at least in the Byzantine church, there is no Eucharistic Adoration. Depending on the church you attend, the cultural/language influences will be different than they would be at most Western Catholic churches, which are more of a “melting pot”.
If you are drawn to the traditions of the Rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet, those are not a part of Eastern Catholicism. Most of the things that people identify with Catholicism, in fact, are Roman Catholic traditions, not Eastern Catholic traditions. You would have to be ready to explain to people if they ask about those traditions. I know that I spend quite a bit of time explaining to my mother in law, who is Roman Catholic, about our church’s traditions–even though we are also Catholic. She had never heard about St Philip’s Fast, in which we fast before the Nativity of Jesus. Or the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
For my part, I find my mindset to be more aligned with Eastern Catholicism. There is a richness there that for me, was missing in the Western Church. I was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, then, like you, felt drawn to the Divine Liturgy and as a consequence converted to Orthodoxy–a mistake for me and my family. I’m not saying Orthodoxy is a mistake for everybody, certainly! It was for us, though. Then we discovered the Byzantine Catholic church and knew we were home.
The attraction to a certain church or rite needs to be more than an appreciation of the “smells and bells”. Or the liking of icons. This is something you can only discern through study and attending both rites, and prayer.
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kitkatty
Guest
Just another thought to add to Catherines excellent post. Although raised Byzantine I do have a devotion to the Rosary and there are lots of other Eastern Catholics who do too. Maybe because there are still a lot of us around who were brought up when things were more Latinized in the Byzantine Church than they are now. I guess I
m saying if you have a Latin devotion or two you like this still shouldnt stop you from becoming Byzantine, just don`t expect these devotions to be done publicly in Byzantine parishes because they really have no place as public devotions in the Byzantine Church. But if you find yourself with a lot of attachment to mostly Latin devotions than maybe that is the spirituality for you. Whichever way you end up going my prayers, have a good journey, you will have learned much on the way; and I will congratulate on your decision to enter the Catholic Church!- Status