Least..."ethnic" Eastern Catholic church?

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Religio71

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I’m curious if there is an Eastern Catholic church that is less homogeneous in membership than others. Specifically, if anyone has any information on EC parishes in NYC or the nearby area (as in, Long Island), as far as less ethnic parishes, that would also be appreciated.

It seems that the Ukrainian Catholic Church is more present, at least in NYC, yet it seems very Ukrainian. I’ve been pondering Orthodoxy a lot lately, but I’m always drawn back to Catholicism for various reasons (union with the Pope, the “perks” of a huge Church [easy to find a parish, Catholic bookstores everywhere, thousands of Catholic books, Catholic news, hospitals, etc], the role of the deacon in the Roman Catholic church vs Eastern churches (it seems more in line with what I imagine a deacon doing, and would allow for a certain degree of “priestly” actions, yet allowing for the freedom to continue in a full time career, and marriage) ). So, I’m looking to visit some Eastern Catholic parishes, as I’ve already been to Divine Liturgy and vespers at Orthodox parishes before (went to Saint Nicholas OCA in DC and Holy Virgin Protection OCA in NYC. Loved both of them, very beautiful liturgy and church buildings (especially the iconography)). While I can understand the Orthodox perspective on various dividing issues, at this point, I cannot leave communion with the Bishop of Rome, though I am very attracted to the Eastern theology and liturgics (even to the Tridentine Mass…🤷 ).

So, if anyone has any info on the less “ethnic”/homogeneous of the Eastern Catholic churches, and if anyone has any specifics for the NYC area, that would be greatly appreciated.
 
Religio71 said:
I’m curious if there is an Eastern Catholic church that is less homogeneous in membership than others. Specifically, if anyone has any information on EC parishes in NYC or the nearby area (as in, Long Island), as far as less ethnic parishes, that would also be appreciated.

It seems that the Ukrainian Catholic Church is more present, at least in NYC, yet it seems very Ukrainian. I’ve been pondering Orthodoxy a lot lately, but I’m always drawn back to Catholicism for various reasons (union with the Pope, the “perks” of a huge Church [easy to find a parish, Catholic bookstores everywhere, thousands of Catholic books, Catholic news, hospitals, etc], the role of the deacon in the Roman Catholic church vs Eastern churches (it seems more in line with what I imagine a deacon doing, and would allow for a certain degree of “priestly” actions, yet allowing for the freedom to continue in a full time career, and marriage) ). So, I’m looking to visit some Eastern Catholic parishes, as I’ve already been to Divine Liturgy and vespers at Orthodox parishes before (went to Saint Nicholas OCA in DC and Holy Virgin Protection OCA in NYC. Loved both of them, very beautiful liturgy and church buildings (especially the iconography)). While I can understand the Orthodox perspective on various dividing issues, at this point, I cannot leave communion with the Bishop of Rome, though I am very attracted to the Eastern theology and liturgics (even to the Tridentine Mass…🤷 ).

So, if anyone has any info on the less “ethnic”/homogeneous of the Eastern Catholic churches, and if anyone has any specifics for the NYC area, that would be greatly appreciated.
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Hi Religio71,

I would recomend the Melkite Catholic Church. The one I attend has a few hymes in aribic but for the most part the Liturgy is in english. I think there are three in the NYC area
Christ the Savior in Yonkers Phone # 914-963-6680,
Church of the Virgin Mary in Brooklyn #718-788-5454
There are two more in NY one is in Utica and the other is in Rochester.
There are also two in NJ do not know how close to NY they are but,
St. Ann Melkite Church in West Paterson and St. Demetrius in cliffside Park.
And then there is always St Anns in Danbury, Ct

Hope this helps
 
The Melkite parishes may be your answer. You will want to stick with books geared more towards Byzantine spirituality as many “Catholic” bookstores are mostly geared towards the Roman rite. Their are many Eastern Orthodox resources on the web, that are perfectly acceptable for Eastern Catholics. Orthodox Christian Network and Ancient Faith Radio to name a few. Byzantines.net is good. There are way more Orthodox resources than there are Eastern Catholic resources when it comes to learning about Byzantine spirituality.

Good Luck:)
 
Religio71 said:
I’m curious if there is an Eastern Catholic church that is less homogeneous in membership than others.

the role of the deacon in the Roman Catholic church vs Eastern churches (it seems more in line with what I imagine a deacon doing, and would allow for a certain degree of “priestly” actions, yet allowing for the freedom to continue in a full time career, and marriage) ).
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FYI, Eastern Catholic Deacon’s ministries are identical to their Orthodox counterparts’ ministries… sometimes even more restricted…

The Ruthenian Church can be, in some areas, very non-ethnic. St. Nicholas, for example, has polynesians, eskimo, amerind, ukrainian, pole, latino, quebeçois, and “generic caucasian”… as well as a few Carptho-Rusyn families. For a while we had a Maronite family, but he got transferred elsewhere by Uncle Sam.

But most eastern churches are clearly ethnic in origin.
 
Aramis said:
FYI, Eastern Catholic Deacon’s ministries are identical to their Orthodox counterparts’ ministries… sometimes even more restricted…

The Ruthenian Church can be, in some areas, very non-ethnic. St. Nicholas, for example, has polynesians, eskimo, amerind, ukrainian, pole, latino, quebeçois, and “generic caucasian”… as well as a few Carptho-Rusyn families. For a while we had a Maronite family, but he got transferred elsewhere by Uncle Sam.

But most eastern churches are clearly ethnic in origin.
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thank you, and yes, I was giving the role of the deacon in the Roman church as an example of why I remain in the Roman Catholic church at this point (discerning the diaconate).
 
Religio71 said:
I’m curious if there is an Eastern Catholic church that is less homogeneous in membership than others. Specifically, if anyone has any information on EC parishes in NYC or the nearby area (as in, Long Island), as far as less ethnic parishes, that would also be appreciated.

It seems that the Ukrainian Catholic Church is more present, at least in NYC, yet it seems very Ukrainian. I’ve been pondering Orthodoxy a lot lately, but I’m always drawn back to Catholicism for various reasons (union with the Pope, the “perks” of a huge Church [easy to find a parish, Catholic bookstores everywhere, thousands of Catholic books, Catholic news, hospitals, etc], the role of the deacon in the Roman Catholic church vs Eastern churches (it seems more in line with what I imagine a deacon doing, and would allow for a certain degree of “priestly” actions, yet allowing for the freedom to continue in a full time career, and marriage) ). So, I’m looking to visit some Eastern Catholic parishes, as I’ve already been to Divine Liturgy and vespers at Orthodox parishes before (went to Saint Nicholas OCA in DC and Holy Virgin Protection OCA in NYC. Loved both of them, very beautiful liturgy and church buildings (especially the iconography)). While I can understand the Orthodox perspective on various dividing issues, at this point, I cannot leave communion with the Bishop of Rome, though I am very attracted to the Eastern theology and liturgics (even to the Tridentine Mass…🤷 ).

So, if anyone has any info on the less “ethnic”/homogeneous of the Eastern Catholic churches, and if anyone has any specifics for the NYC area, that would be greatly appreciated.
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Ruthenians probably would be your best bet, in my opinion.
 
bkovacs said:
The Melkite parishes may be your answer. You will want to stick with books geared more towards Byzantine spirituality as many “Catholic” bookstores are mostly geared towards the Roman rite. Their are many Eastern Orthodox resources on the web, that are perfectly acceptable for Eastern Catholics. Orthodox Christian Network and Ancient Faith Radio to name a few. Byzantines.net is good. There are way more Orthodox resources than there are Eastern Catholic resources when it comes to learning about Byzantine spirituality.

Good Luck:)
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Going back to the sources is a good idea: e.g. reading the works of St. Gregory Palamas, St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Symeon the New Theologian, St. Gregory of Nyssa, etc.
 
There will still be a certain ethnic flavor in the most Americanized Eastern Catholic (or Orthodox, for that matter) Church.

After all, we can’t help being what we are. Don’t forget that the parish founders’ religious identity and personhood were closely connected, if not actually blended.

And “American” can be just as ethnic in its way.

Fr. Brendan and I have found the local Melkite parish to be very loving and welcoming.
 
Retaining “ethnic” characteristics has been a way for some of these people to survive under very atrocious persecutions.

In the New York City area, I would heartily recommend if you have a chance to also attend St. Michael’s Russian Catholic Church in Manhattan. Nearly everything is in English, and the Russian Catholics are fastidious about maintaining their particular liturgical tradition.

stmichaelruscath.org/
266 Mulberry Street
New York, NY 10012 U.S.A.
Tel: (212) 226-2644
 
And “American” can be just as ethnic in its way.
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Yes, after growing up in the deethnicized American Latin Church of the 1970s with all of the experimentation, I found the UGCC as an incredibly rich, welcoming, solid and transfiguring presence in my life.
 
Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral is in Brooklyn. I haven’t been there and can’t comment on the ethnic makeup of this parish. My experience has been that the Catholic “sensibility” of the parish mattered a great deal to me…ethnicity certainly is closely tied to one’s way of seeing Catholicism and the world. But if you are drawn toward the Eastern traditions, your sensibility may be a little different than a classic American way of seeing things. Perhaps you would like an “ethnic” parish most if you find the right ethnicity ;)!
 
Religio71 said:
thank you, and yes, I was giving the role of the deacon in the Roman church as an example of why I remain in the Roman Catholic church at this point (discerning the diaconate).
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This is something I believe that needs to be worked out in the Roman Church. With the focus on the transitional diaconate and less focus on the permanent diaconate (until very recently in Church history) the Deacon functions more like a junior priest and is viewed by many as such.

The diaconate is a different ministry than the priesthood and hopefully this will be revived.
 
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