Follow up to "Ask an Apologist" Deacon = Father question

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Here is the question and answer in the Ask an Apologist thread.

Transitional Deacon = Father?

In the Byzantine Churches all Deacons are addressed as Father Deacon. All fully professed monks are also addressed as Father.

I know some of you might object to my repling to this but Fr Serpa did say, “Father” is reserved for priests in the Catholic Church.

That may be true in the Latin (Roman) Catholic Church but it is not true for the Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite.

Some places in the Byzantine Catholic Churches may have the same usage as the Latin Church, that is Father only for priests, but that is just one of the many latinizations. We are slowly removing these.

 

[gelsbern]

Good Job Byzcath. I emailed the poor soul to let him know the exact same thing. Sometimes Fr. Serpa is a little to latin-centric in his answers.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Well, I don’t want to gang up on Fr. Serpa (and I am willing to cut him some slack for being Latin Rite centric, since he is Latin Rite and is not expected to know about the practices of other Rites), but his statement

“Father” is reserved for priests in the Catholic Church

is a bit narrow in focus. Bishops are also properly called “Father,” as is the Pope (Papa). But, then again, Bishops (and Popes) are also properly called “priests,” so maybe I’m all wet.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

DavidFilmer:

Well, I don’t want to gang up on Fr. Serpa (and I am willing to cut him some slack for being Latin Rite centric, since he is Latin Rite and is not expected to know about the practices of other Rites), but his statement is a bit narrow in focus. Bishops are also properly called “Father,” as is the Pope (Papa). But, then again, Bishops (and Popes) are also properly called “priests,” so maybe I’m all wet.

That isn’t correct, strictly speaking.

Heres a link that spells it all out for the Latin Church as well as the Byzantine Churchs.

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