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MarcusAndreas
Guest
What is life like as a Eastern Catholic? How does it differ from living as a Latin Catholic? How are the fasts, devotions, etc.?
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Matthew_Holford
Guest
I cannot answer your question because I’m a Latin Catholic. If I was an Eastern Catholic I wouldn’t know where to start. It’s a very BIG question. It would be like you asking me: what’s it’s like to be British? To begin with I wouldn’t know where to start because I don’t know enough about American culture to start making comparisons with things I don’t know about.
I’m not criticising your question and I can even understand the genesis of it but it’s still a BIG question. Might be easier to start with some more specific questions.
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ConstantineTG
Guest
Of course being Eastern Catholics is the same as being every Catholic. The Praxis is different but the faith is the same. There is the same amount of lukewarm Catholics and devout Catholics as in the Latin Rite. Life is pretty much the same.
As their life has already revolved around their faith, everything else they do is already within the context of the fasting calendars (assuming they follow of course). So those who strictly follow Philip’s Fast or the Nativity Fast, don’t expect them to have a big trukey on their table last night (for those in the US of course).
In the Nativity Fast thread, I asked a lot of questions about reconciling my cultural traditions with Eastern disciplines. Of course my back ground coming from a Roman Catholic culture, our celebrations follow Roman Catholic disciplines. So we have big feasts around Christmas time because we do not follow the same fasting schedule as they do. On the other hand their culture already revolves around such disciplines, so you will see things like a 12-course meal on Christmas eve, but its mostly vegetarian because what they call fast is what we commonly call abstinence, so no meats and dairy products among other things.
As their life has already revolved around their faith, everything else they do is already within the context of the fasting calendars (assuming they follow of course). So those who strictly follow Philip’s Fast or the Nativity Fast, don’t expect them to have a big trukey on their table last night (for those in the US of course).
In the Nativity Fast thread, I asked a lot of questions about reconciling my cultural traditions with Eastern disciplines. Of course my back ground coming from a Roman Catholic culture, our celebrations follow Roman Catholic disciplines. So we have big feasts around Christmas time because we do not follow the same fasting schedule as they do. On the other hand their culture already revolves around such disciplines, so you will see things like a 12-course meal on Christmas eve, but its mostly vegetarian because what they call fast is what we commonly call abstinence, so no meats and dairy products among other things.
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Aramis
Guest
It varies from one Ritual Church Sui Iuris to another.
However, the big generalizations:
More fasts, fasts rule out more, but don’t involve by rule eating less.
More emphasis on frequent confession. Confession done in public view.
More singing.
Longer liturgies. Usually no vigil liturgies.
Smaller parishes.
For Byzantines and Copts: communion by intinction is normal… more than 2/3 of Eastern Catholics, and over half the Ritual Churches Sui Iuris, commune using leavened bread for the gifts, then after consecration, the body is immersed in the blood, and distributed with a spoon.
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ConstantineTG
Guest
Isn’t the spoon a Byzantine tradition?
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ciero
Guest
In the Coptic church ( at least the Orthodox) communion is NOT given by intinction.
The Holy Eucharist in the form of bread is given first. Then the chalice is brought out and communion in the form of wine is given with the spoon. The Holy Bread and Wine are NOT mixed.
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Aramis
Guest
I’ve seen video of Coptic Liturgies where it was.
And been communed that way in a Coptic Orthodox parish.
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angelic06
Guest
In the Maronite Church, at least where I worship, the sacred Host is dipped into the chalice (intinction).
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MarcusAndreas
Guest
Does this mean that other people know what you’re confessing or is it still just you and the priest, albeit out in the open?
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ConstantineTG
Guest
No, only the priest should be able to hear you. But you’re not in a confessional box, you are before the Icon of Christ. Which happens to be at the front of the nave.
Does this mean that other people know what you’re confessing or is it still just you and the priest, albeit out in the open?
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Seamus_L
Guest
Plenty of Eastern Catholic Churches use the confessional or a room with a kneeler on one side with a screen between you and the priest.
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RyanBlack
Guest
True, but this is not an authentic Eastern tradition; it is the result of Western influence.
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Aramis
Guest
You’re whispering in the priest’s ear, in plain view but well separated from others.
Does this mean that other people know what you’re confessing or is it still just you and the priest, albeit out in the open?
Note that many parishes have other arrangements.
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ConstantineTG
Guest
Tell that to my RC parish. We don’t have a confessional box and confessions are face to face.
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ciero
Guest
I guess your RC parish has been Byzantinized!
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ConstantineTG
Guest
LOL. Maybe I should encourage standing during consecration to seal the dealI guess your RC parish has been Byzantinized!
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Seamus_L
Guest
Without fixating on which tradition came from where, I can see where any kind of face to face confession (and this is not unknown among RC’s) would inhibit CERTAIN parishoners. To give an example, I was once in an Eastern Catholic Church during Lent, and the priest himself said that a visiting priest would be there to hear confession, and suggested something to the effect that they would have a chance to confess there sins to someone they would not see on a regular basis.
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mariyka
Guest
Or polyphonic chants!
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mariyka
Guest
Or polyphonic chant!LOL. Maybe I should encourage standing during consecration to seal the deal
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ConstantineTG
Guest
I have a book for Divine Liturgy which is like the usual Missal in RC parishes. It has many other prayers and some instructions and other text about our faith, like the list of Beatitudes, 10 Commandments, etc. One section is for Confession, what to say, what are the prayers, etc. On the last part is the form of Confession when going for Confession in RC parishes including a note that they know that since there are more RC parishes, many Ukrainian Catholics would probably seek Reconciliation from RC priests. Or of course the other reason, they want to go to a priest they do not know personally.
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