No Eastern Catholic church nearby, what to do?

[Bev17243]

I’m a recent Christian(well, if 5 years can be called recent) and have attended Evangelical church with my husband all that time. As of last year, i became dissatisfied with my church due to faulty teachings(and i’m sure for anyone who has ever been to one i don’t have to tell you what they are). I have investigated both Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic doctrine and i belive i would feel the most comfortable in Eastern Catholic church however there is none in my area. What should i do? Do i go to RC church then?FYI, I’m Ukranian however, i’m not entirely comfortable with Eastern Orthdox doctrine ergo my venturing into Eastern Catholicism.

 

[smad0142]

Check the Roman Catholic Diocese’s website for where you live, they will often include EC parishes under its parish listings. Also google your city and then Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Ruthenian Catholic Church etc. etc. If all that fails you can try searching for parishes on the Byzantine Catholic forum or looking at the websites for EC Eparchies (think dioceses) to try and find EC parishes near you. After exhausting all of these options then I would go the RC route.

Don’t be discouraged though, I can’t imagine there being no EC Parish near you at all. It took me a while of searching but I found 4 near my house. If you want more in depth help just PM me.

And God Bless you on investigating the Church.

 

[ConstantineTG]

If you’re Ukrainian, you can look at the website of the Eparchy where you belong and find where the parishes are.

 

[Bev17243]

Check the Roman Catholic Diocese’s website for where you live, they will often include EC parishes under its parish listings. Also google your city and then Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Ruthenian Catholic Church etc. etc. If all that fails you can try searching for parishes on the Byzantine Catholic forum or looking at the websites for EC Eparchies (think dioceses) to try and find EC parishes near you. After exhausting all of these options then I would go the RC route.

Don’t be discouraged though, I can’t imagine there being no EC Parish near you at all. It took me a while of searching but I found 4 near my house. If you want more in depth help just PM me.

And God Bless you on investigating the Church.

i have done ALL of that and there is one small mission nearby which currently doesn’t have a priest so they are not holding services. People there attend RC church nearby. And trust me, when i tell you, there is NOTHING else here other than RC because i do live in the middle of nowhere. Literally.

 

[5Loaves]

Glory to Jesus Christ!
Welcome to the CAF Eastern Catholicism section.

Have you checked Find-A-Parish → By Location → United States if you are in the US, or Find-A-Parish → By Location if you are in another country?

(I see you replied while I was writing so I’ll edit out other parts of my post.)

The other suggestion I would have is to look for a monastery or other similar group of religious. I go to daily Mass often at the local Dominican Priory. While that is not a parish their liturgy is very faithful and their preaching usually very good.

 

[Bev17243]

thank you for warm welcome, everyone! Unfortunately, i already did plenty of searching and I think RC is the only route. And perhaps in the future, when the EC mission will get a priest, i will be able to attend there.

 

[mardukm]

thank you for warm welcome, everyone! Unfortunately, i already did plenty of searching and I think RC is the only route. And perhaps in the future, when the EC mission will get a priest, i will be able to attend there.

Speak to the Latin Catholic priests about your attraction to the Eastern Catholic Church. You might find one that is knowledgeable and supportive, and perhaps even provide you with some resources.

And DEFINITELY pursue fellowship (to use a Protestant term) with the EC’s at the local mission.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[PodunkMommy]

I agree with seeking fellowship with other Eastern Catholics. I live in Podunk and there are no Eastern Catolic Curches.

Mine is another story becuse I am attracted more spirtually to the Eastern Rite but my husband isn’t.

But, I am attending formation in a Third Order Secular Carmelite and honestly they seem very Eastern in their thought and spirituality. They meet once a month so I can deal with the drive.

Blessings and Welcome.

 

[Bev17243]

I agree with seeking fellowship with other Eastern Catholics. I live in Podunk and there are no Eastern Catolic Curches.

Mine is another story becuse I am attracted more spirtually to the Eastern Rite but my husband isn’t.

But, I am attending formation in a Third Order Secular Carmelite and honestly they seem very Eastern in their thought and spirituality. They meet once a month so I can deal with the drive.

Blessings and Welcome.

thank you

 

[thequeen]

I’m a recent Christian(well, if 5 years can be called recent) and have attended Evangelical church with my husband all that time. As of last year, i became dissatisfied with my church due to faulty teachings(and i’m sure for anyone who has ever been to one i don’t have to tell you what they are). I have investigated both Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic doctrine and i belive i would feel the most comfortable in Eastern Catholic church however there is none in my area. What should i do? Do i go to RC church then?FYI, I’m Ukranian however, i’m not entirely comfortable with Eastern Orthdox doctrine ergo my venturing into Eastern Catholicism.

Yes go ahead and go to the Latin rite Church fornow and then later if you want try and find an eastern rite church I don’t know if yuou know this or not but there are priests who are actually biordained in boththe eastern andlatin rites of the =Catholic Church.you might find out if there are any in your diocese then maybe you could get some information from them.

 

[PodunkMommy]

Yes go ahead and go to the Latin rite Church fornow and then later if you want try and find an eastern rite church I don’t know if yuou know this or not but there are priests who are actually biordained in boththe eastern andlatin rites of the =Catholic Church.you might find out if there are any in your diocese then maybe you could get some information from them.

That is true, I am noticing that there are more and more priets who are bi-ritual but seem to be currently practicing in the Latin Rite.

 

[kitkatty]

Check the Roman Catholic Diocese’s website for where you live, they will often include EC parishes under its parish listings. Also google your city and then Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Ruthenian Catholic Church etc. etc. If all that fails you can try searching for parishes on the Byzantine Catholic forum or looking at the websites for EC Eparchies (think dioceses) to try and find EC parishes near you. After exhausting all of these options then I would go the RC route.

Don’t be discouraged though, I can’t imagine there being no EC Parish near you at all. It took me a while of searching but I found 4 near my house. If you want more in depth help just PM me.

And God Bless you on investigating the Church.

In rural areas this is often the case of no Eastern Catholic parishes, I am in this situation. I do have something a couple hours away but some people aren`t even that lucky.

 

[ChadS]

Another thing you could try is to practice Eastern Catholic spirituality in your personal prayer life while attending the Latin Rite Church. It may not be ideal but it would allow you to grow more in the spirituality you find attractive and be in communion with Rome.

ChadS

 

[crazzeto]

I’m a recent Christian(well, if 5 years can be called recent) and have attended Evangelical church with my husband all that time. As of last year, i became dissatisfied with my church due to faulty teachings(and i’m sure for anyone who has ever been to one i don’t have to tell you what they are). I have investigated both Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic doctrine and i belive i would feel the most comfortable in Eastern Catholic church however there is none in my area. What should i do? Do i go to RC church then?FYI, I’m Ukranian however, i’m not entirely comfortable with Eastern Orthdox doctrine ergo my venturing into Eastern Catholicism.

Hrm, well that can be problematic can’t it. It might be worth trying to get in touch with the local Roman Bishop to see what resoruces they might have in helping you find where the nearest Eastern Catholic parish might be. True their resources might be limited as Eastern Catholic parishes aren’t typically his primary concern, but they still might have some knowlege of what might be in the neighborhood and which other Bishops are around.

I would also recommend attending some tradtiional Roman parishes, if you can find one with the Tridentine Mass I would highly recommend it. Another option to investigate (though I don’t know how many even exist at all) is whether there are yet, any Anglican Use parishes around.

God bless, best of luck on your journey!

 

[gmcbroom]

My Maronite priest is tri-ritual. Maronite, Latin, and Bizantine. I recommend going to your local Catholic Bishop he may know of any small missions that a parish is hosting. My Maronite Parish hosts for a Bizantine Catholic Mission as well as Malankaran and Russian Orthodox Missions that are currently too small in number to build their own church. You may find one mission there and failing that maybe you can find out if there are any other Ukraininan people at that diocese and if you have enough people maybe you can petition the local Bishop for a small Mission. It’ll take work but would be worth it in the end if you can accomplish it.

Peace be with you.
gmcbroom

 

[TheDoors]

He is Risen!

I understand the issue, and I sympathise. I’m currently deployed to Iraq, and the army only seems to offer RC services. I’ve been told that there are no (0) Eastern Catholic priests in the army, and only three (3) Orthodox priests. I go to the RC services and try to keep in touch with the folks back home. Sometimes I manage, sometimes I don’t.

 

[O_Duirnin]

He is Risen!

I understand the issue, and I sympathise. I’m currently deployed to Iraq, and the army only seems to offer RC services. I’ve been told that there are no (0) Eastern Catholic priests in the army, and only three (3) Orthodox priests. I go to the RC services and try to keep in touch with the folks back home. Sometimes I manage, sometimes I don’t.

Perhaps if the situation in Iraq improves somewhat soldiers deployed there will be able to attend Eastern Rite services off-base. I expect it’s still far too risky at present, both for the soldiers and the Eastern Christians themselves.

The city I live in has one Ukrainian Catholic service a month, courtesy of a visiting priest from Edinburgh. Awareness of the Eastern Church seems very low in the pews, and even among many priests. Those of you in the States who have at least one nearby Eastern parish should count yourselves very privileged.

 

[TheDoors]

Perhaps if the situation in Iraq improves somewhat soldiers deployed there will be able to attend Eastern Rite services off-base. I expect it’s still far too risky at present, both for the soldiers and the Eastern Christians themselves.

The city I live in has one Ukrainian Catholic service a month, courtesy of a visiting priest from Edinburgh. Awareness of the Eastern Church seems very low in the pews, and even among many priests. Those of you in the States who have at least one nearby Eastern parish should count yourselves very privileged.

The Lord is my light and my help.
This country is becoming farther and farther under Muslem control. It’s Jewish population has gone from several thousand to less than one hundred, and the local Christians are under constant physical attack. Pray for the people of Iraq. May God have mercy on them when we leave. I weep for the history and lives that will be and are being lost.

 

[ciero]

The Lord is my light and my help.
This country is becoming farther and farther under Muslem control. It’s Jewish population has gone from several thousand to less than one hundred, and the local Christians are under constant physical attack. Pray for the people of Iraq. May God have mercy on them when we leave. I weep for the history and lives that will be and are being lost.

Sadam couldn’t kill off the Christians nor could over 1000 years of Islam, but good ole George Bush did a bang up job!

 

[Dave_in_Dallas]

Interesting question posted here. Due to several reasons it is extremely difficult for me to get to an EC on Sunday (distance ~1 hr) and then there’s the family…