How do I become a Coptic Catholic?

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Aydan

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okay I have a little problem so I’m hoping someone here can help. I am a practicing Catholic and I’m in good standing with the church. I was raised in the Latin rite but the problem is I find myself getting further and further away from the Latin rite everyday and I was reading about the Coptic Catholic church on the Internet and it has really appealed to me because I feel a lot closer to the Coptic tradition because I cover my head in church I’m not fluent but I do use it in my prayer life because I speak some Turkish and I would really like to become a Coptic Catholic but there is no church in my area. I have no problem continuing to attend my current church but I just don’t want to be considered part of the Latin rite anymore since I don’t feel Latin so does anyone know if there is some way I can become a Coptic Catholic?
 
Well, I would first find a Coptic Rite Catholic Church and talk to the priest about your intentions.
 
Does the Catholic Church even have any Eastern bishops of any kind in Turkey? Considering how hard it is to find any type of Church in Turkey.

While I don’t know for sure, my understanding is there is little chance that you’d be allowed to formally change rite if there was no chance of you being able to attend services.
 
In your diocese you should have an office that specialize in communication with the Eastern Catholic Churches. Check the website for your diocese or archdiocese. If you can’t find anything, call the office and tell them your concern, they should be able to redirect you to an office under your Latin Rite bishop that can help you.
 
this is true, but i think Aydan may be in the United States.

from what i’ve seen there is a Coptic Catholic parish in LA, and one in Brooklyn, NY.

here is the website for the parish in LA.

the other church i found was the Resurrection Catholic Coptic Church, at 328 14Th St
Brooklyn, NY. they don’t seem to have a website.

there may be others in the US too, but those are the two i could find.
 
Nine_Two said:
Does the Catholic Church even have any Eastern bishops of any kind in Turkey? Considering how hard it is to find any type of Church in Turkey.

While I don’t know for sure, my understanding is there is little chance that you’d be allowed to formally change rite if there was no chance of you being able to attend services.
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it doesn’t matter if Turkey does or not because I’m in the US I only mention Turkish because the only Arabic I know come from speaking Turkish as a second language.
 
Thanks but unfortunately the web site doesn’t work and I had the same problem I have had trouble locating Coptic Catholic churches as well. Most of them are in Egypt:(
grace_singh said:
this is true, but i think Aydan may be in the United States.

from what i’ve seen there is a Coptic Catholic parish in LA, and one in Brooklyn, NY.

here is the website for the parish in LA.

the other church i found was the Resurrection Catholic Coptic Church, at 328 14Th St
Brooklyn, NY. they don’t seem to have a website.

there may be others in the US too, but those are the two i could find.
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Aydan said:
it doesn’t matter if Turkey does or not because I’m in the US I only mention Turkish because the only Arabic I know come from speaking Turkish as a second language.
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If the Coptic Catholic Church is anything like its counterpart, it would be using mostly Coptic and Greek, with SOME Arabic, though the Coptic Orthodox are using more and more English in the USA.

Turkish is not a Semitic language. Any Arabic in it would borrowings.

The Coptic Book of Hours, aka Agpeya, is available on line in several translations, and in hard copy as well.
 
Aydan said:
Thanks but unfortunately the web site doesn’t work and I had the same problem I have had trouble locating Coptic Catholic churches as well. Most of them are in Egypt:(
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sadly brother, you may not find too many. there don’t seem to be such a great number of Coptic Catholics as to have need for many churches, at least not in the U.S.

have you explored other Eastern Catholic traditions, or have any others appealed to you? not saying you should give up, but the reality is you may not be able to travel easily to a Coptic Catholic church.

you could try writing to or talking to a local priest, and ask if he knows of any Egyptian Catholic communities in your area, or nationally, and see if you can get in touch with them, at least.
 
oh yes I know I love the Coptic part of it and I have already started to learn or try to anyway and I would be more than willing to learn the rest. Yes most of the divine liturgy is are a combination of languages. Unfortunately all of the churches I have seen are Orthodox so I really like the Coptic Church but I have no desire to give up Catholicism and break from Rome.
bpbasilphx said:
If the Coptic Catholic Church is anything like its counterpart, it would be using mostly Coptic and Greek, with SOME Arabic, though the Coptic Orthodox are using more and more English in the USA.

Turkish is not a Semitic language. Any Arabic in it would borrowings.

The Coptic Book of Hours, aka Agpeya, is available on line in several translations, and in hard copy as well.
Click to expand...
 
yes I know and that’s what makes me so sad because it’s not so much that I want to change churches per se is just that I wish I had the right to call myself Coptic rather than Latin because I follow more of the Coptic traditions. I just wish that I could say I was something other than a Latin Catholic. Yes I have looked into the Eastern churches but unfortunately there are not very many in my city. I just wish that I could be some other type of Catholic. I would rather belong to no rite at all than the Latin.
Thank you everyone for your help
your sister in Christ
grace_singh said:
sadly brother, you may not find too many. there don’t seem to be such a great number of Coptic Catholics as to have need for many churches, at least not in the U.S.

have you explored other Eastern Catholic traditions, or have any others appealed to you? not saying you should give up, but the reality is you may not be able to travel easily to a Coptic Catholic church.

you could try writing to or talking to a local priest, and ask if he knows of any Egyptian Catholic communities in your area, or nationally, and see if you can get in touch with them, at least.
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Aydan said:
yes I know and that’s what makes me so sad because it’s not so much that I want to change churches per se is just that I wish I had the right to call myself Coptic rather than Latin because I follow more of the Coptic traditions. I just wish that I could say I was something other than a Latin Catholic. Yes I have looked into the Eastern churches but unfortunately we are not very many in my city. I just wish that I could be some other type of Catholic. I would rather belong to no rite at all than the Latin.
Thank you everyone for your help
your sister in Christ
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Aydan ~

don’t be sad, sister. if you know and love and belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, whether or not you are able to go to a Coptic Catholic Church you still know and belong to the Saviour, and have the most precious treasure a human could possibly be gifted.

i do understand what you’re saying, though. it is good to belong to a Church whose traditions and rites you feel comfortable and at home in. i suggest you pray about this, and ask the Lord to guide you to a community where you will be able to grow spiritually, partake in the sacrements, and lift up your prayers to God joyfully.

i have similar feelings towards the Indian and Syriac Orthodox churches. but i know that my relationship with Christ comes first, and rites and traditions come secondarily.

what about visiting the other Eastern Catholic churches in your area, and pray about it? i know that may not be the answer you hope for, but it would be a step towards finding a rite you may feel more comfortable in.
 
well we do have a Coptic Orthodox church here and I thought about visiting but of course I wouldn’t become Orthodox. My parish has been wonderful and very supportive of me wearing the veil and and they let me pray in wherever language I choose so it’s not my parish at all it is that I don’t agree with some of the changes going on with the Latin rite that’s why I feel I can’t be part of the Latin rite anymore. Oh well maybe I can be a Coptic Catholic by desire after all we do have baptism by desire.
grace_singh said:
Aydan ~

don’t be sad, sister. if you know and love and belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, whether or not you are able to go to a Coptic Catholic Church you still know and belong to the Saviour, and have the most precious treasure a human could possibly be gifted.

i do understand what you’re saying, though. it is good to belong to a Church whose traditions and rites you feel comfortable and at home in. i suggest you pray about this, and ask the Lord to guide you to a community where you will be able to grow spiritually, partake in the sacrements, and lift up your prayers to God joyfully.

i have similar feelings towards the Indian and Syriac Orthodox churches. but i know that my relationship with Christ comes first, and rites and traditions come secondarily.

what about visiting the other Eastern Catholic churches in your area, and pray about it? i know that may not be the answer you hope for, but it would be a step towards finding a rite you may feel more comfortable in.
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after some research I discovered that even the Orthodox Coptic Church is not an option for me to even visit that often because they only have an English liturgy once a month but on the positive side I did discover the Catholic liturgy of the hours in my research and I’m so excited because I was looking for more guidance in my prayer life and I’m glad to finally have a structure to make it easier to pray throughout the day on a regular basis. I’m already glad to have found out about the liturgy of the hours because that was a major attraction to the Coptic Church for me and I’m so glad that the Roman Church also has the practice. Anyway thank you everyone for your help and advice may God bless you as we enter this Lenten season.
 
Aydan said:
… I would really like to become a Coptic Catholic but there is no church in my area. I have no problem continuing to attend my current church but I just don’t want to be considered part of the Latin rite anymore since I don’t feel Latin so does anyone know if there is some way I can become a Coptic Catholic?
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If this is just a whim be patient, the feeling may pass ;). You could try to occasionally attend the local Coptic (Orthodox) church to absorb the spirituality, nothing actually wrong with that.

Of course, you will need to attend your regular parish to meet your Sunday ‘obligation’ as well.

If, after a while, you still feel that this is right for you, there is a way to canonically change rites. You will probably have to meet the most local Coptic Catholic priest (he may not actually be in Turkey, perhaps Lebanon or Israel ??? … ) so you would have to plan a trip. It might be even better to find a monastery in that tradition and associate with it (as an “oblate” or whatever they might call it).

If you can become a long distance sponsor of the Coptic Catholic parish or monastery (wherever it is) this will help you present the case for a canonical transfer. There is still no guarantee that your Latin bishop (or Apostolic Visitator) will agree to the change, however.

It may be that there will be Armenian Catholic, Maronite Catholic or Syriac Catholic churches closer to your residence. In your situation it seems that one needs to be pragmatic. So I advise that you check these out as well.

Read the Patristic literature, if you can get it. There were so many Fathers of the church from the region, in the Greek, Syrian and Egyptian traditions. Do not deny yourself the opportunity to enrich your Faith in this way. This is the joint patrimony of all the Catholic and Orthodox churches, it is your (religious) past and your future!

In any case, all of the Eastern Catholic churches have the LOTH, but it differs a bit from church to church … and yes, it is perfectly alright to use Orthodox texts if that is what is available.
 
Nowhere_Man said:
What exactly is it you prefer in the Coptic rite?
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  1. most women cover their heads so I wouldn’t be out of place there
    number two I like the fact that they have structured prayers seven times a day I love doing the liturgy of the hours
    2.I feel a lot closer to the Coptic Church because I like to pray using the Arabic that I’ve gained fromTurkish and I love the idea of learning Coptic
    3 I don’t like Latin and I don’t agree with some of the changes that that the bishops have madeto the English liturgy because of this I no longer feel part of the Latin rite and I haven’t considered myself to be Latin in a very long time. When I saw the Coptic liturgy I just identified more with that because to me I am a lot closer to that tradition than the Latin.
    So that’s what I find attractive about it
 
it is most certainly not a whim I have struggled with this for almost 3 years now ever since I started learning Turkish all I have felt increasingly distant from the Latin rite because I cover my head use Arabic words etc. I’m not in Turkey I’m in the US I just happen to be learning Turkish as a second language. I would love to explore the possibility of changing Rites by Canon Law but that’s the problem I can’t even find a Coptic priest in the United States to contact. As for attending other Eastern churches we just don’t have that many here in fact all we have is a Byzantine church all the rest are Latin. And I just don’t feel like I identify with the Byzantine rite the way I do the Coptic I thought this would be a perfect solution because I wouldn’t have to leave the Catholic faith. I’m really worried about going to the Orthodox church because I’m concerned that it would pull me away from my Catholic roots and I don’t want that I love being Catholic.
Hesychios said:
If this is just a whim be patient, the feeling may pass ;). You could try to occasionally attend the local Coptic (Orthodox) church to absorb the spirituality, nothing actually wrong with that.

Of course, you will need to attend your regular parish to meet your Sunday ‘obligation’ as well.

If, after a while, you still feel that this is right for you, there is a way to canonically change rites. You will probably have to meet the most local Coptic Catholic priest (he may not actually be in Turkey, perhaps Lebanon or Israel ??? … ) so you would have to plan a trip. It might be even better to find a monastery in that tradition and associate with it (as an “oblate” or whatever they might call it).

If you can become a long distance sponsor of the Coptic Catholic parish or monastery (wherever it is) this will help you present the case for a canonical transfer. There is still no guarantee that your Latin bishop (or Apostolic Visitator) will agree to the change, however.

It may be that there will be Armenian Catholic, Maronite Catholic or Syriac Catholic churches closer to your residence. In your situation it seems that one needs to be pragmatic. So I advise that you check these out as well.

Read the Patristic literature, if you can get it. There were so many Fathers of the church from the region, in the Greek, Syrian and Egyptian traditions. Do not deny yourself the opportunity to enrich your Faith in this way. This is the joint patrimony of all the Catholic and Orthodox churches, it is your (religious) past and your future!

In any case, all of the Eastern Catholic churches have the LOTH, but it differs a bit from church to church … and yes, it is perfectly alright to use Orthodox texts if that is what is available.
Click to expand...
 
I guess I have no other choice but to keep doing what I’ve been doing which is continuing to attend my current parish Without considering myself a Latin Catholic. I’m just so disappointed right now.
 
Aydan said:
I just wish that I could say I was something other than a Latin Catholic. I just wish that I could be some other type of Catholic.

I guess I have no other choice but to keep doing what I’ve been doing which is continuing to attend my current parish Without considering myself a Latin Catholic. I’m just so disappointed right now
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The Maronite, Melkite and even Syriac Catholic Churches are more numerous than the Coptic Catholic Church in the US.

One way to search is to go to maps.yahoo.com and enter your local address. Then in the “find nearby” box enter Melkite Catholic Church or whatever Sui Juris Church you want to find, and have it search. You can then expand the map to show a progressively larger area until you find one that is within driving distance. You can then repeat it for the other types of Catholic Church until you find the nearest. Hope this helps.
 
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