Praying in a Protestant Church

[poche]

And the likelihood of that is…???

You never know.

 

[DebChris]

If you go to a Protestant service on Sunday you still have the obligation to attend Mass jn a Catholic church.

That’s what others and I both said.

 

[otjm]

You never know.

Oh, I have a pretty good darned idea. I am not ashamed to admit I am a Catholic - no one is going to “suspect” anything.

 

[CactusVsBaloon]

Praying the rosary could put some of the parishioners of though depending on the sect you’re visiting.
In the CofE I can’t imagine that being an issue.

 

[Paganus]

The town where my new college is has a number of churches. Among these is a beautifully grand, old Church of England overlooking the river - open most of the time. There is a Catholic church but it appears not to be open much, though I’ll check again.

I would love to go in the C of E church during my free time & pray.

Please pardon my naivety, but, being Catholic, is there anything wrong with doing this?

I see nothing wrong with praying in an Anglican church-like building, especially one that used to be a church.

However, it’s always best to pray where God is present in Eucharistic form, when practical.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

As a Catholic priest, I frequently pray in non-Catholic churches.

Among my favourite places are Westminster Abbey and the tomb of Saint Edward the Confessor and Christ Church Cathedral, Canterbury, with its tombs of Saint Anselm and Saint Dunstan…as well as Saint Austin not afar off

Or, up north, the Anglican Cathedral of Durham, which has Saint Cuthbert’s tomb at one end and Saint Bede the Venerable’s tomb at the other…or York Minster with the tomb of Saint William.

I am always grateful to my brothers (and now sisters) in the ministry who extend welcome to this Catholic priest just as they are always received with open arms when they visit wherever I am.

Thank God for the ecumenical era in which we live, in which we find a cordial welcome in each others homes.

 

[DebChris]

As a Catholic priest, I frequently pray in non-Catholic churches.

Among my favourite places are Westminster Abbey and the tomb of Saint Edward the Confessor and Christ Church Cathedral, Canterbury, with its tombs of Saint Anselm and Saint Dunstan and Saint Austin nearby

Or, up north, the Anglican Cathedral of Durham, which has Saint Cuthbert’s tomb at one end and Saint Bede the Venerable’s tomb at the other…or York Minster with the tomb of Saint William.

I am always grateful to my brothers (and now sisters) in the ministry who extend welcome to this Catholic priest just as they are always received with open arms when they visit wherever I am.

Thank God for the ecumenical era in which we live, in which we find a cordial welcome in each others homes.

I grew up as a military dependent. Catholics and non-Catholics shared the same chapels even before Vatican II.
Thank you, Father for sharing this experience of open arms and the shared desire for Christian unity.

 

[peter26]

If you go to a Protestant service on Sunday you still have the obligation to attend Mass jn a Catholic church.

You may find it helpful to attend Evensong in the afternoon/evening if this is available (after going to Mass in the morning). This is a non-eucharistic service mainly consisting of Bible readings, psalms and Gospel canticles and is roughly comparable to the now rare service of Vespers. A service 99% identical to CofE Evensong has been approved for use in the Ordinariate so there is no problem at all about attending this and (especially if you have traditional tastes) you may get a lot out of it. More traditional CofE churches often follow Evensong with Benediction say once a month as well.