How would one find out more about Eastern Catholicism?

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If you’re near a big city, there’s probably gonna be an Eastern Catholic parish. I would check it out when possible.
 
VanSensei said:
If you’re near a big city, there’s probably gonna be an Eastern Catholic parish. I would check it out when possible.
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Or there might be an Eastern Orthodox parish. (Having said that, I feel I should acknowledge that there is some debate about how similar ECs and EOs are to each other.)
 
Light of the East by Fr. George Appleyard. Not comprehensive but a perfect primer. 🙂
 
Peter_J said:
Or there might be an Eastern Orthodox parish. (Having said that, I feel I should acknowledge that there is some debate about how similar ECs and EOs are to each other.)
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The last place I would visit to learn about Eastern Catholicism is an EO church. The EO view the Eastern Catholics as traitors and sell-outs (not all think this way, but many). If you go to an EO church and ask them about Eastern Catholicism you will probably hear more anti-Catholicism than you will find on the CARM forums.
 
CathBoyDutch94 said:
The last place I would visit to learn about Eastern Catholicism is an EO church. The EO view the Eastern Catholics as traitors and sell-outs (not all think this way, but many). If you go to an EO church and ask them about Eastern Catholicism you will probably hear more anti-Catholicism than you will find on the CARM forums.
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Inasmuch as I would like to disagree, I can’t.
 
CathBoyDutch94 said:
The last place I would visit to learn about Eastern Catholicism is an EO church. The EO view the Eastern Catholics as traitors and sell-outs (not all think this way, but many). If you go to an EO church and ask them about Eastern Catholicism you will probably hear more anti-Catholicism than you will find on the CARM forums.
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It is true that ECs and EOs have a long and sad history including, first and foremost the fact that we used to shamelessly proselytize EOs (which is a large part of the reason that there are such a large number of ECs, compared with e.g. the Wester-Rite Orthodox). But that’s completely beside the point: my suggestion was that the person in question might visit an EO parish, not that while there he/she should “ask them about Eastern Catholicism” (any more than I suggested that someone go to a Latin Catholic parish and ask them about Western-Rite Orthodoxy).
 
Peter_J said:
It is true that ECs and EOs have a long and sad history including, first and foremost the fact that we used to shamelessly proselytize EOs (which is a large part of the reason that there are such a large number of ECs, compared with e.g. the Wester-Rite Orthodox). But that’s completely beside the point: my suggestion was that the person in question might visit an EO parish, not that while there he/she should “ask them about Eastern Catholicism” (any more than I suggested that someone go to a Latin Catholic parish and ask them about Western-Rite Orthodoxy).
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Perhaps but it may confuse him further due to many terminological differences. Btw I am not so much in favor of evangelizing individual EO’s, I am much more in favor of dialogue with their bishops. Thats how the Uniate churches came about, through Catholic-Orthodox dialogue among bishops and the Orthodox getting swayed. There is nothing to feel apologetic for
 
CathBoyDutch94 said:
Thats how the Uniate churches came about, through Catholic-Orthodox dialogue among bishops and the Orthodox getting swayed. There is nothing to feel apologetic for
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It isn’t a matter of feeling apologetic or not. The Union of Brest-Litovsk, the Union of Uzhorod and the like took place centuries ago (“The Balamand document of 1993 is still valid, according to which this [uniatism] is a phenomenon of the past that took place in unrepeatable circumstances.” - Cardinal Kasper). As much as we are hopeful that those who are currently Eastern Catholics will remain Catholic (in the sense of being in communion with Rome) we likewise don’t encourage anyone who is currently Eastern Orthodox to become Eastern Catholic (“Pastoral activity in the Catholic Church, Latin as well as Eastern, no longer aims at having the faithful of one Church pass over to the other” - the Balamand Statement).

Granted, now we’re getting a little off-topic.🙂
 
Peter_J said:
It isn’t a matter of feeling apologetic or not. The Union of Brest-Litovsk, the Union of Uzhorod and the like took place centuries ago (“The Balamand document of 1993 is still valid, according to which this [uniatism] is a phenomenon of the past that took place in unrepeatable circumstances.” - Cardinal Kasper). As much as we are hopeful that those who are currently Eastern Catholics will remain Catholic (in the sense of being in communion with Rome) we likewise don’t encourage anyone who is currently Eastern Orthodox to become Eastern Catholic (“Pastoral activity in the Catholic Church, Latin as well as Eastern, no longer aims at having the faithful of one Church pass over to the other” - the Balamand Statement).

Granted, now we’re getting a little off-topic.🙂
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The Balamand Statement makes it clear that complete unification is the goal. Any Orthodox who knows that they must be a member of the Catholic Church to be saved yet remains outside it falls under “There is no salvation of the Catholic Church”. As for Cardinal Kasper, he has made many questionable statements such as saying Jews don’t have to convert to the Catholic faith. But if your point is that the Orthodox and Catholic Churchs are simultaneously the one true church, even though the Orthodox rejects many teachings of the church, then you are falling into something pretty dangerous here.
 
CathBoyDutch94 said:
The Balamand Statement makes it clear that complete unification is the goal. Any Orthodox who knows that they must be a member of the Catholic Church to be saved yet remains outside it falls under “There is no salvation of the Catholic Church”. As for Cardinal Kasper, he has made many questionable statements such as saying Jews don’t have to convert to the Catholic faith. But if your point is that the Orthodox and Catholic Churchs are simultaneously the one true church, even though the Orthodox rejects many teachings of the church, then you are falling into something pretty dangerous here.
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On June 29, 1995, Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew signed a joint communiqué, giving their acceptance of the Balamand *principles *and included: The Joint Commission was able to proclaim that our Churches are recognized mutually as Sister Churches, responsible together for the preservation of the One Church of God.
 
CathBoyDutch94 said:
The Balamand Statement makes it clear that complete unification is the goal.
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Um … As opposed to what? 🤷
But if your point is that the Orthodox and Catholic Churchs are simultaneously the one true church, even though the Orthodox rejects many teachings of the church, then you are falling into something pretty dangerous here.
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I’m sorry, I really don’t know what you’re responding to here.
 
CathBoyDutch94 said:
The last place I would visit to learn about Eastern Catholicism is an EO church. The EO view the Eastern Catholics as traitors and sell-outs (not all think this way, but many). If you go to an EO church and ask them about Eastern Catholicism you will probably hear more anti-Catholicism than you will find on the CARM forums.
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This is indeed an issue for me, and I am not even done with the conversion. Since I was chrismated and then immediately NOT raised Orthodox I don’t think I will feel it much, but I wonder about it.

The Byzantine priest who is overseeing my cathecesis has been very gracious and understanding. He says “do not feel you are abandoning or rejecting your Serbian heritage, traditions, etc. In fact, when people ask, just tell them you are Orthodox. Byzantine IS Orthodoxy, in communion with the Pope.”

His reasoning for this makes sense to me. It is because (and I have already had this exact conversation myself) of this:

Random person: “What exactly are you are converting to? I still don’t understand.”
Me: “It’s Eastern Catholicism. They are in communion with Rome.”
RP: “So Roman Catholic?”
Me: “No, they look almost exactly like Orthodox, but they confess the Pope.”
RP: “Oh, Orthodox. The Orthodox Jews, with the black hats and the curly side burns?”
Me: :o
 
SerbCath said:
This is indeed an issue for me, and I am not even done with the conversion. Since I was chrismated and then immediately NOT raised Orthodox I don’t think I will feel it much, but I wonder about it.

The Byzantine priest who is overseeing my cathecesis has been very gracious and understanding. He says “do not feel you are abandoning or rejecting your Serbian heritage, traditions, etc. In fact, when people ask, just tell them you are Orthodox. Byzantine IS Orthodoxy, in communion with the Pope.”

His reasoning for this makes sense to me. It is because (and I have already had this exact conversation myself) of this:

Random person: “What exactly are you are converting to? I still don’t understand.”
Me: “It’s Eastern Catholicism. They are in communion with Rome.”
RP: “So Roman Catholic?”
Me: “No, they look almost exactly like Orthodox, but they confess the Pope.”
RP: “Oh, Orthodox. The Orthodox Jews, with the black hats and the curly side burns?”
Me: :o
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LOL!!

You know, it really irritates some Orthodox to hear/read Eastern Catholics say we are “Orthodox in communion with Rome”. I love my Orthodox brothers and sisters, but…well…too bad that they don’t like it! 😛

In Christ,
MinM
 
Miserissima said:
Light of the East by Fr. George Appleyard. Not comprehensive but a perfect primer. 🙂
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You beat me to it. 😉 I was just about to type that book, but then decided to read the responses first. (To the OP, I give my “endorsement”, for what it is worth, to this suggested book.)
 
SerbCath said:
This is indeed an issue for me, and I am not even done with the conversion. Since I was chrismated and then immediately NOT raised Orthodox I don’t think I will feel it much, but I wonder about it.

The Byzantine priest who is overseeing my cathecesis has been very gracious and understanding. He says “do not feel you are abandoning or rejecting your Serbian heritage, traditions, etc. In fact, when people ask, just tell them you are Orthodox. Byzantine IS Orthodoxy, in communion with the Pope.”

His reasoning for this makes sense to me. It is because (and I have already had this exact conversation myself) of this:

Random person: “What exactly are you are converting to? I still don’t understand.”
Me: “It’s Eastern Catholicism. They are in communion with Rome.”
RP: “So Roman Catholic?”
Me: “No, they look almost exactly like Orthodox, but they confess the Pope.”
RP: “Oh, Orthodox. The Orthodox Jews, with the black hats and the curly side burns?”
Me: :o
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Frankly, it never ceases to amaze me how many people will hear “Orthodox” and just assume you mean Orthodox Judaism.

That aside, in explaining Eastern Catholicism to people, it might help to also explain Western-Rite Orthodoxy.
 
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