Ok. I'm in.

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kevjminn

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After a lot of time and thought on the subject. I’ve decided to become an Eastern Catholic.

I would like to thank the people who have responded to some my posts and answered some of my questions. It has helped me a lot. I’ve been in a very awkward state the last 6 months trying to decide whether to become an EC or remain in the OC. I think I’ve focused too much on church politics and the trivial issues that separate instead of focusing on Christ. May God forgive me for that.

While I love eastern spirituality and the liturgy, I haven’t seen a valid argument for being separated from the Pope and the Roman Church. Therefore I am “converting”. (If that’s what you want to call it.) 👍

God bless you all, and thanks for your help.👍
 
Hi Kevjminn,

Congratulations on your decision! While I’ve never posted in the Eastern Catholicism board, I’ve always found EC fascinating.

Two quick questions for you:
  1. What was your turning point in your conversion process? As in, what fact did you find to be the “ultra-eye opener?”
  2. If there was no Eastern Catholicism, and there were only Western/Roman Catholicism, would you still convert? The reason I’m asking is because you say you love eastern liturgy, which EC still maintains. If there were no eastern liturgy that served the Pope of Rome, what would you do?
Again, congratulations!

God bless!

Scott
 
kevjminn said:
After a lot of time and thought on the subject. I’ve decided to become an Eastern Catholic.

I would like to thank the people who have responded to some my posts and answered some of my questions. It has helped me a lot. I’ve been in a very awkward state the last 6 months trying to decide whether to become an EC or remain in the OC. I think I’ve focused too much on church politics and the trivial issues that separate instead of focusing on Christ. May God forgive me for that.

While I love eastern spirituality and the liturgy,*** I haven’t seen a valid argument for being separated from the Pope and the Roman Church***. Therefore I am “converting”. (If that’s what you want to call it.) 👍

God bless you all, and thanks for your help.👍
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It is this same reason that keeps me from becoming Orthodox! Even with all the rest of the c**p that goes on in the Roman Communion, it keeps coming back to this.
 
The_Scott said:
Hi Kevjminn,

Congratulations on your decision! While I’ve never posted in the Eastern Catholicism board, I’ve always found EC fascinating.

Two quick questions for you:
  1. What was your turning point in your conversion process? As in, what fact did you find to be the “ultra-eye opener?”
  2. If there was no Eastern Catholicism, and there were only Western/Roman Catholicism, would you still convert? The reason I’m asking is because you say you love eastern liturgy, which EC still maintains. If there were no eastern liturgy that served the Pope of Rome, what would you do?
Again, congratulations!

God bless!

Scott
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FYI Scott…we do NOT serve the Pope of Rome but are in COMMUNION with him. 😃
 
:clapping: WELCOME HOME! Hey, you won’t miss your EO liturgy or spirituality – the Byzantine (Eastern) Catholic Church celebrates the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, of St. Basil, and of St. James. You’ll enjoy the certainty of being in the Church founded by Christ on Peter and his successors and having the fullness of Christianity, lacking none of the gifts with which Christ endowed His Church.

May your transition give you great peace.

Jim Dandy

.
 
The_Scott said:
Hi Kevjminn,

Congratulations on your decision! While I’ve never posted in the Eastern Catholicism board, I’ve always found EC fascinating.

Two quick questions for you:
  1. What was your turning point in your conversion process? As in, what fact did you find to be the “ultra-eye opener?”
  2. If there was no Eastern Catholicism, and there were only Western/Roman Catholicism, would you still convert? The reason I’m asking is because you say you love eastern liturgy, which EC still maintains. If there were no eastern liturgy that served the Pope of Rome, what would you do?
Again, congratulations!

God bless!

Scott
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I don’t think there was an ultra eye opener. I’m just not bothered by the differences that bother the OC. And I’m still a little ticked off that I was told that the Catholic Church believes something that it doesn’t. The structure of the Catholic Church makes a lot more sense to me also.

As for your 2nd question. I don’t know if I can answer that. I’d probably go back. 🤷
 
Jim_Dandy said:
:clapping: WELCOME HOME! Hey, you won’t miss your EO liturgy or spirituality – the Byzantine (Eastern) Catholic Church celebrates the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, of St. Basil, and of St. James. You’ll enjoy the certainty of being in the Church founded by Christ on Peter and his successors and having the fullness of Christianity, lacking none of the gifts with which Christ endowed His Church.

May your transition give you great peace.

Jim Dandy

.
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I’ve attended an EC ltiurgy for a few weeks now. It’s very similar. It’s about an hour shorter and the OCA parish I was attending did it in older english. ( Thine own of thine own). I digged that. The priest has no beard, but I’ll get used to that I guess.🙂
 
May I ask how your decision would have been affected had there not been an Eastern Catholic parish in your area?
 
dcointin said:
May I ask how your decision would have been affected had there not been an Eastern Catholic parish in your area?
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I probably wouldn’t have even looked into it.

There are a few RC parishes in my area BTW. But I feel a lot more comfortable with the Liturgy and eastern spirituality.
 
Welcome! I’m so glad you let us know! 😃
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever.
 
dcointin said:
May I ask how your decision would have been affected had there not been an Eastern Catholic parish in your area?
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There are Greek Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, OCA, etc etc in my area also. Why do you ask?
 
Dear brother Kev,
kevjminn said:
While I love eastern spirituality and the liturgy, I haven’t seen a valid argument for being separated from the Pope and the Roman Church. Therefore I am “converting”. (If that’s what you want to call it.) 👍
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When I joined the Catholic communion, I did not consider it a “conversion” either. It was more of a TRANSLATION for me (literally, and figuratively – see my signature line below :)).

Here’s my testimony, if you are interested – forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=202141.

Abundant blessings,
Marduk
 
mardukm said:
Dear brother Kev,

When I joined the Catholic communion, I did not consider it a “conversion” either. It was more of a TRANSLATION for me (literally, and figuratively – see my signature line below :)).

Here’s my testimony, if you are interested – forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=202141.

Abundant blessings,
Marduk
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Translation is probably a better word.

"I never came into Catholic communion on the perception that something was wrong with Coptic Orthodoxy. I had to reject nothing of my Coptic heritage in order to become Catholic; I simply had to reject misconceptions and misapprehensions of the Catholic Church that I heretofore had held. "

Exactly. I haven’t had to leave any beliefs behind at all. I love Orthodoxy. It brought me back to Christianity. I just don’t see why the two have to be separate.
 
I hope you make good decision for yourself. All have free will. Perhaps easier to be Catholic in America than Orthodox in any case.

But what I do not understand (perhaps only because I do not share Catholic faith) is why you want Orthodox liturgy only difference that Greko Catohlics prays for Bishop of Rome and not does not pray for your Patriarch?? If you love Eastern spirituality as you say, love liturgy - why does Bishop of Rome having memory in the Liturgy make difference?? I do not want to make angry my GrekoCatholic associates on this siait angry, But Greko Catolicic churches were as much political inventions as religious - to please the Polish king, to please the Austrian emperor. So many in Ukraina and Transkarpathia chose that side as “winning” side - a political consideration ( at time Unia not now obvious). But why for you?? What does Bishop of Rome memory help you? How are you helped, how better?? I appreciate your answer. Lord preserve you!
 
Volodymyr said:
I hope you make good decision for yourself. All have free will. Perhaps easier to be Catholic in America than Orthodox in any case.

But what I do not understand (perhaps only because I do not share Catholic faith) is why you want Orthodox liturgy only difference that Greko Catohlics prays for Bishop of Rome and not does not pray for your Patriarch?? If you love Eastern spirituality as you say, love liturgy - why does Bishop of Rome having memory in the Liturgy make difference?? I do not want to make angry my GrekoCatholic associates on this siait angry, But Greko Catolicic churches were as much political inventions as religious - to please the Polish king, to please the Austrian emperor. So many in Ukraina and Transkarpathia chose that side as “winning” side - a political consideration ( at time Unia not now obvious). But why for you?? What does Bishop of Rome memory help you? How are you helped, how better?? I appreciate your answer. Lord preserve you!
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I guess I feel “helped” because I feel I am united to a fuller Christianity. I’m no theologian, but it seems to me that if the east west divide hasn’t been settled by those more enlightened than me, then who am I to think that I can settle it fully in my head. I have to look inside my heart. After researching filioque, papal claims, immaculate conception, purgatory, and a few other bones of contention, I came to a conclusion that the only real issue to me would be the papacy. Could I reconcile it? Absolutely. If I am willing to grant authority to a bishop, why would there not be a head of bishops? After researching what Catholic beliefs “actually are” and not what others have “told me they were” I came to a conclusion that all of my issues were non-issues.

Like I said, I am no theologian. I know the basics of church history (how that history came to be depends on who’s pointing the finger) and I know what I believe spiritually. They are all come together for me in the Catholic Church. East and West. I think Marduk’s signature sums it all up. All of the problems seem to me to be lost in translation.

I’m just a simple man, but that’s how I see it.

May God bless and keep all of you.
 
kevjminn said:
I guess I feel “helped” because I feel I am united to a fuller Christianity. I’m no theologian, but it seems to me that if the east west divide hasn’t been settled by those more enlightened than me, then who am I to think that I can settle it fully in my head. I have to look inside my heart. After researching filioque, papal claims, immaculate conception, purgatory, and a few other bones of contention, I came to a conclusion that the only real issue to me would be the papacy. Could I reconcile it? Absolutely. If I am willing to grant authority to a bishop, why would there not be a head of bishops? After researching what Catholic beliefs “actually are” and not what others have “told me they were” I came to a conclusion that all of my issues were non-issues.

Like I said, I am no theologian. I know the basics of church history (how that history came to be depends on who’s pointing the finger) and I know what I believe spiritually. They are all come together for me in the Catholic Church. East and West. I think Marduk’s signature sums it all up. All of the problems seem to me to be lost in translation.

I’m just a simple man, but that’s how I see it.

May God bless and keep all of you.
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Great answer!! 👍
 
kevjminn said:
There are Greek Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, OCA, etc etc in my area also. Why do you ask?
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I’ve been studying Catholicism as my fiancee is Catholic. We have many Roman Catholic parishes here, including an extraordinary Latin mass parish, but very little else. There is one tiny Ruthenian mission that uses an office space in the basement of another parish. When I attended there were perhaps 8 people, not including my fiancee and I. There is also a Maronite parish but it’s very modern and similar to the OF liturgy in many ways. I did love the consecration however and chant. Unfortunately there’s nothing like a Melkite parish anywhere near here, which would be the closest fit for me as Antiochian Orthodox.
 
dcointin said:
I’ve been studying Catholicism as my fiancee is Catholic. We have many Roman Catholic parishes here, including an extraordinary Latin mass parish, but very little else. There is one tiny Ruthenian mission that uses an office space in the basement of another parish. When I attended there were perhaps 8 people, not including my fiancee and I. There is also a Maronite parish but it’s very modern and similar to the OF liturgy in many ways. I did love the consecration however and chant. Unfortunately there’s nothing like a Melkite parish anywhere near here, which would be the closest fit for me as Antiochian Orthodox.
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There is really only one EC parish in my area. Everything in PA seems to be Ruthenian. There are quite a few RC parishes on the way to it. I’ll probably check those out every once in a while as well. There is also a little RC chapel up on a mountain about 5 miles from my house. I’ll probably visit that as well. It’s in the middle of the woods and is about as plain looking a chapel as you can get. I kind of like that.
 
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