Many Eastern Catholics would go to both, especially for non-Eucharistic services (like Vespers and Matins). Some even don’t see any difference, but would always of course prefer the Church they were brought up in. I heard of a story that a Ukrainian Catholic parish closed down somewhere. And the priest said that everyone simply moved to the Ukrainian Orthodox parish nearby.
Here’s the thing, if you want to be Orthodox, then why would an opinion of a Catholic matter? Not that I’m suggesting that you become Orthodox. I’m just saying, like there are many non-Catholics who have a lot of bad things to say about Catholics, why should I care what they say?
But that is not what an Orthodox would say. That makes the sacraments into something magical.
From the point of view of the Pope? Probably considered bad.
Well if you believe as a Catholic,then you believe your Church is the true Body of Christ of which outside there is no salvation ,and that union with the Pope is most important.
Do you mean what the Orthodox believe about Christ and salvation and the Christian faith,or what they believe in regards to the Roman Catholics?
Orthodoxy has no official teachings about Roman Catholics.
Do you know what Orthodoxy believes? We are not just Roman Catholics with a different Mass and Greek words in our theology. We believe (arguably, and most would say) substantially different things.
To an extent. You cannot believe in certain Roman Catholic dogmas or teachings - papal infallibility, papal universal supremacy, arguably the filioque, the Immaculate Conception, indulgences, and possibly some others. You can of course respect them as honestly held beliefs of Roman Catholics, but you cannot believe them.
If your uncle is an Orthodox priest, you should discuss this with him. In fact, you should discuss this all with any Orthodox priest. I think you may misunderstand some Orthodox positions, beliefs, and teachings. You can, of course, follow Christ as an Orthodox Christian but just that - *as *an Orthodox Christian.
Whichever faith you choose, you must commit to it. Otherwise you will be confused and your spirituality will be confused. Yes, there are Orthodox who do not bear any ill feelings against Catholics, the teachings of the Church, and Catholic belief.
Right, what you described are Eastern Catholics
How am i supposed to know what beliefs of either Church are suitable to my belief system?
Investigate, ask, learn, experience, discern.
Define what you believe, ask God what He actually teaches being open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and investigate the belief of both Churches. I’m not telling you (or rather, I’m not meaning to tell you) which is the True Church, I’m telling you to not go into this investigation thinking that Orthodox teach the same thing that Roman Catholics teach.
Easy - are you not a believer in Christ? Can’t you investigate the Early Church and discover what they believed? Can you compare them to the current beliefs of both Churches? Lay people just like you have in the past not only disregarded teachings of the Popes of Rome (I myself did when I left Roman Catholicism) but deposed bishops who betrayed the faith - Arius comes to mind, as does the actions of the yia-yias and nuns when the Iconoclasts came after the Holy Images.
Oooh, good question and the biggest headache for all us Christians, lol. I don’t know if I can tell you that. My best advice is to pray - *hard *- and seek answers from priests in both Churches (if your uncle is an Orthodox priest there you go, and I assume you have a Catholic priest)
I’m sure it can. I’m also sure God puts people in our paths to help us, and I’m equally sure that He wants us to investigate the issues weighing all arguments irrespective of how nice the people at St. Theresa of Avila Roman Catholic Parish are vs. St. Sava Serbian Orthodox parish.
Actually I honestly don’t know. My parents were raised Roman Catholic and are now Evangelical, I was raised Evangelical and am now Orthodox (after a stint in Catholicism), my sister raised Evangelical is now Lutheran, my Grandmother was raised Pentecostal and became Roman Catholic. It wouldn’t surprise me if most people change churches when they ‘grow up’.
Leaving Roman Catholicism was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. The only thing that comes to mind harder was burying my beloved, beloved Grandmother. I loved Roman Catholicism and didn’t leave it willingly, but I owe my utmost devotion to Christ and His Truth. I held no ill feelings towards Roman Catholicism when I left, and I’ve met many others that way.
The Orthodox churches, together forming the One Orthodox Church, each have their own attitude towards Rome, and each individual Orthodox Christian probably has some attitude as well, ranging from indifference to hatred. Most are somewhere in between. As I said, we have no ‘official view’ on your church.
Then if you believe this then why do you want to become Orthodox?
Again, if you value the opinion of Catholics in how you choose your faith, why would you become Orthodox? Are you getting what I’m saying here? I’ve seen many people go from Roman Catholic to Protestant, do you think they every look back and say, “I wonder if what I’m doing is a sin?” Of course not! If people care that way, they would never leave the faith they are in.
Its not about despising. Its only logical one would go to a faith that they believe is the true one. If one becomes Orthodox, its because they believe that the fullness of truth and faith is in the Orthodox Church. So so what does it matter if the Catholics think that being Orthodox is wrong or whatever? Many Protestants think being Catholic is wrong, do we care? And it doesn’t mean we despise them. We are secure with ourselves that what we believe in is the truth.
You’re asking the wrong person. I believe the Orthodox Church to be as true as the Catholic Church. To me the only difference is I value the communion with the Bishop of Rome, therefore I decided to become Eastern Catholic after growing up Roman Catholic. I live the Eastern Spirituality while maintaining communion with the Pope. If someone I know says they want to be Orthodox, I will not stop them. If they want to become Protestant, that is another thing, I will convince them otherwise! You have to decide for yourself what you want to do with your faith. I don’t believe one who lives a faith dictated by others lives a genuine faith.
Paul, ultimately you have to watch out for your own soul. Of course each side will say they are more right than the other, each side may even call the other as heretic. You have to choose where you want to be. If you care so much what one side thinks over the other, then its probably a sign that you should choose that side.
Ok
I have seen very little of that in my Church. We’re typically too focused on our own spiritual well-being to think about the errors of Rome. Perhaps it’s just that Church?
The Ecumenical Pariarch is far from being a universal bishop.
I was not aware that submission to Rome was an integral part of the Christian faith. However, as ConstantineTG mentions, if communion with Rome is a deal breaker for you, then you can investigate the Eastern Catholic Churches, which have an outlook on theology which is similar to the Orthodox outlook on theology with the big difference being that the Eastern Catholic Churches are in communion with Rome.
St Gregory and the AntiChrist-
Ok, but does the Ecumenical Patriarch possess universal jurisdiction, as a title of “universal bishop” might imply? The answer is obviously no. I can tell you of another bishop though, who would like to believe that he is the universal bishop.
The Church fathers, like St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Gregory the Theologian cared little for unity with Rome. I’ll take the faith of submission to Christ and His Church over the faith of submission to the bishop of Rome any day.
No matter where you go, someone out there will say its wrong for you to be there. Its the nature of everything, that people look at other people who are different from them and criticize them. Even if you become a Buddhist or Muslim, someone will criticize it. Even if you move to another country and take their citizenship, someone will say something bad. You have to discern on your own (with proper guidance of course from those who you trust) and be confident with your choice. When I decided to become Eastern Catholic, many thought I was crazy. One of the most common things was that I’m not ethnically Ukrainian, so why am I in a Ukrainian Church? Others think that I’m no longer Catholic because I’m not Roman Catholic. I feel sad and I feel hurt about it, but I am happy where I am. I feel God led me hear and I’m thankful that despite the challenges, He has given me many wonderful things to affirm I am in the right place. If I continue to listen to those who think I made a terrible mistake, I’ll be miserable. Though its not been without challenges, I’m as happy as I can be with where I am. You should seek to find that in your spiritual life.