Make certain to talk to the cleric at least 15 min before liturgy if you want to receive.
Just so you are aware of how to receive. It is different in the Eastern Churches.
Actually, it is as much as to ensure that they can figure out you’re either Catholic or Orthodox!
Boy…I travel to quite a lot of Byzantine Churches here in the US as well as abroad…and have never met with the priest before hand…if the priest wants to question me which I find very rare…he does so at the chalice.
Yea, and that’s a strange thing that the priest would question one about whether they were Catholic or Orthodox
. As I’ve said before, I guess the Syriac churches might be much more lax because I know our priests who commune SO weekly and their children.Our priest and deacon are busy with Proskomedia at that point, but any of the regular attenders/parishioners would be happy to answer any questions. Most parishes are fairly small, generally recognize a visitor, and reach out to welcome them, in my experience, with ECCs and Orthodox. Sometimes our deacon will come out from the holy place after Proskomedia if they finish before the choir shows up and Liturgy begins. When he does he will connect with visitors.
I don’t disagree on that, but unlike the Russian Orthodox who definitely want to hear who you are and know you’ve just gone to confession, I have in my experience around here found the EC clergy generally more like the Latins-- if someone presents themselves for Eucharist it is trusted they are properly disposed to receive. I suppose if someone was acting peculiar during the rest of Liturgy something might be asked at the chalice.
Of late, if someone acts strange and is unknown, Fr. James blesses them using the chalice and sends them back to the pews, with a “Talk to me after liturgy.”
Knowing Fr. James quite well I highly doubt he turned a catholic away from the chalice just because he didn’t know them. I’m sure there was more to it than that.