Not Catholic, may I receive Holy Communion at mass?

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Servant_of_God

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I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian.

I want to convert to Catholicism in the future, but I’m waiting to read and learn. I don’t want to rush into it.

I’ve always been told by Orthodox priests that in RC Churches, we’re allowed to recieve communion, but we shouldn’t (we would supposedly excommunicate ourselves from Orthodoxy).

I truly feel that, in my heart, I am Catholic. I wish I could just start receiving the Sacraments.

I want to receive, if I can. May I?
 
This is what the USCCB’s Guidelines for the Reception of Communion says:
Members of the Orthodox churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of Communion by Christians of these churches (canon 844 § 3).
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The Catholic Church does not discourage it, but the Eastern Orthodox Church may. It is recommended that the parishioner of such church follow the sacramental discipline of his or her church. So, if your church discourages the reception of Holy Communion in a Roman Catholic Church, it should be avoided. I am not sure if the Eastern Orthodox Church discourages it or not.
 
If you are properly diposed, i.e., in a state of grace, then yes, the Catholic Church permits it. If you truly believe that it is God’s will for you to be Catholic, I suggest that you discuss the matter with a Catholic priest right away. Also, you should be aware that many of the Orthodox Churches will consider you to have excommunicated yourself if you do receive in a Catholic Church, so I suggest that you be sure about this matter before you act. May God bless you and guide you as you discern what is His will for your life in Christ.
 
Also, be aware that if you are formally received into the Catholic Church, you will canonically be enrolled as a member of the Eastern Catholic Church that corresponds to your particular Orthodox Church, even if you are received in a Roman Catholic parish. So, if you are, say Russian Orthodox, you will be enrolled in the Russian Catholic Church, or Ukrainian Orthodox, then you will be enrolled in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, or if you are Antiochian Orthodox, you will be enrolled in the Melkite Catholic Church, etc. Of course, you will still be free to worship in a Roman Catholic parish (or any Catholic parish of any particular Church), but you will canonically Eastern Catholic.
 
RyanBlack said:
Also, be aware that if you are formally received into the Catholic Church, you will canonically be enrolled as a member of the Eastern Catholic Church that corresponds to your particular Orthodox Church, even if you are received in a Roman Catholic parish. So, if you are, say Russian Orthodox, you will be enrolled in the Russian Catholic Church, or Ukrainian Orthodox, then you will be enrolled in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, or if you are Antiochian Orthodox, you will be enrolled in the Melkite Catholic Church, etc. Of course, you will still be free to worship in a Roman Catholic parish (or any Catholic parish of any particular Church), but you will canonically Eastern Catholic.
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That is fine with me, as long as I’m part of Christ’s Church. 🙂
 
If the Catholic Church is home, is Orthodoxy the equivalent of living in a trailer house on the same lot or being camped out in a pup tent on the front yard?

In any event, welcome home.
 
PacoG said:
If the Catholic Church is home, is Orthodoxy the equivalent of living in a trailer house on the same lot or being camped out in a pup tent on the front yard?

In any event, welcome home.
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Haha. This made me laugh. 😃
 
PacoG said:
If the Catholic Church is home, is Orthodoxy the equivalent of living in a trailer house on the same lot or being camped out in a pup tent on the front yard?
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:rotfl: It is more like living in a magnificently-decorated apartment on the same property and paying proper respects to the landowner, but refusing to acknowledge the manager.
 
So far - what you have been told is correct - as an Orthodox Christian the RC Church is willing to allow you to Receive Communion if you are correctly prepared .

However - the Orthodox Church prefers, and says so quite openly , that you Receive the Holy Gifts in the Orthodox Church . If you do it knowingly in defiance of Orthodox practice you are , in effect , excommunicating yourself from the Orthodox Church. Maybe this would suit you .

However you have said you are willing to wait , read and learn before you convert to Catholicism.

May I therefore ask 2 very personal questions ?

Are you at present attending an RC Church , have you spoken with and RC Priest ?

Are you Receiving the Holy Gifts in** any** Church at the present ?
 
The_Idiot said:
So far - what you have been told is correct - as an Orthodox Christian the RC Church is willing to allow you to Receive Communion if you are correctly prepared .

However - the Orthodox Church prefers, and says so quite openly , that you Receive the Holy Gifts in the Orthodox Church . If you do it knowingly in defiance of Orthodox practice you are , in effect , excommunicating yourself from the Orthodox Church. Maybe this would suit you .

However you have said you are willing to wait , read and learn before you convert to Catholicism.

May I therefore ask 2 very personal questions ?

Are you at present attending an RC Church , have you spoken with and RC Priest ?

Are you Receiving the Holy Gifts in** any** Church at the present ?
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I am not yet attending an RC Church, I want to read about Catholicism more in-depth, and learn all I can (especially on here!) on my own before attending. I rushed into Orthodoxy, I don’t want to rush into Catholicism. I have spoken with a priest. Oddly enough, he said he saw something in me, and that I needed to be Catholic. I whole-heartily agree 😃

I am not receiving the Holy Gifts. I haven’t for a few months, since I stopped attending my Orthodox Church.

I was just curious with my question. I am not going to attend an RC Church until I’m actually detached from my old parish, which is proving a bit difficult to achieve. I’m trying to get the point across that I’m not going back, which has happened with many other people. We’re just such a small parish that everyone notices when someone’s not there.

I elaborate on my situation in this post: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=656646
 
A word of warning.

Do not expect to find it is any easier to be bi-sexual in the RC Church than it is in Orthodoxy.

Both Churches expect you to be chaste.
 
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