Profession of faith upon conversion from Orthodoxy

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What exactly is the definition of the profession of faith that Orthodox are required to make upon becoming Catholic? Is there a formal profession or something? When I converted I just called up the priest and told him I wanted to become Catholic and he told me to commune at his parish and gave me a certificate of my reception into the Catholic church (enrolling me in the wrong church sui juris in the process, something i’m trying to have corrected). There was no formal profession of faith. Is that correct?
 
I would imagine simply expressing the fact that you believe and confess the Holy Catholic Church teaches, then make a good Confession and receive Communion and you’re all set.

The Catholic Church, in general, has a higher regard for the Eastern Orthodox than the EO do for the CC - many EO regard the CC as a heretical false church, some say Catholics aren’t even Christians and the Pope is anti-Christ. There is a strain of hardcore anti-Catholicism which runs rampant in Eastern Orthodox, especially represented by English speaking EO on the Internet.

I call them “internet hyperdox.” Go to any Eastern Orthodox online community and feast your eyes on the rabid anti-Catholicism and general religious fundamentalism… It seems many Protestant fundamentalists converted to the EO and brought their prejudices with them - especially against Catholicism.
 
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well, I told him I wanted to be Catholic, and he’s like “why? I can’t offer you anything more. You have the faith, the sacraments, etc already”. I said “well, I don’t believe in remaining separate from Rome.” So he accepted me
 
Max_Williams said:
why? I can’t offer you anything more.
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Argh, that’s very problematic.

Being away from the Roman See and the Magisterium of the Church is a major deficit to being Eastern Orthodox.

Also, while EO aren’t usually guilty of formal schism themself, the cold hard truth is all EO are in a state of material schism.

That’s extremely bothersome to know that some priests have that attitude… Every priest should be evangelizing, and part of evangelization is bringing people into full communion with the Church.
 
Are you sure? Orthodox Christians do not go through RCIA and belong to the Eastern Catholic Church equivalent of their Orthodox Church. I’m not sure how they are received.
 
As the Orthodox have the 7 valid sacraments which includes the priesthood, the process is more of an “administrative paper documents” than teaching the faith in RCIA as it would be for someone converting or being baptised into the Catholic Church. The Orthodox receive all three Sacraments of Initiation at the time they are baptised - Baptism, Chrismation and First Holy Communion.
 
I’m not so sure that this applies to the Orthodox. We aren’t supposed to proselytize them.
 
Yeah, You’re right.
What tripped me up was the words “profession of faith”.

We had a situation where a child was Baptized and Chrismated in the Byzantine Rite.
Parents had only ever taken their children to a Roman Catholic church, the kids assumed they were RC.
They presented their child for FHC, and the pastor three pastors back said no worries.
Then she came up into High school and enrolled in the Confirmation classes. Excellent student, sweet family.
All I knew was that I had seen her picture having made FHC in our parish. When I gathered the paperwork to present to Father, I noticed the Chrismation notation on her Baptismal record from the Byzantine church. Flurries of emails went back and forth between the experts on various Rites at the Chancery, the Bishop and the pastor and the parents.
Long story short, she received a blessing from the Auxiliary Bishop and the family was told they had to make a choice and the chose to stay in our parish.
Not sure what else transpired, the pastor never let me in on it. ’
But yea, you’re right, They don’t make a profession of faith. I think her parents did something similar, but that boss never filled me in n anything.
He just “handled” it.
 
It depends what you mean by “proselytize.” That word has come to mean seeking converts by sinful means (cf. see footnote 49 here.)

On the other hand, we are to seek the reconciliation of all Christians into the unity of the Catholic Church, whether as individuals or as churches–as the Church teaches, “there is no opposition between the two, since both proceed from the marvelous ways of God” (Vatican II, Decree on Ecumenism) and “the work of ecumenism does not remove the right or take away the responsibility of proclaiming in fullness the Catholic faith to other Christians, who freely wish to receive it.” (CDF note on Evangelization linked above)
 
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pianistclare said:
Yeah, You’re right.
What tripped me up was the words “profession of faith”.

We had a situation where a child was Baptized and Chrismated in the Byzantine Rite.
Parents had only ever taken their children to a Roman Catholic church, the kids assumed they were RC.
They presented their child for FHC, and the pastor three pastors back said no worries.
Then she came up into High school and enrolled in the Confirmation classes. Excellent student, sweet family.
All I knew was that I had seen her picture having made FHC in our parish. When I gathered the paperwork to present to Father, I noticed the Chrismation notation on her Baptismal record from the Byzantine church. Flurries of emails went back and forth between the experts on various Rites at the Chancery, the Bishop and the pastor and the parents.
Long story short, she received a blessing from the Auxiliary Bishop and the family was told they had to make a choice and the chose to stay in our parish.
Not sure what else transpired, the pastor never let me in on it. ’
But yea, you’re right, They don’t make a profession of faith. I think her parents did something similar, but that boss never filled me in n anything.
He just “handled” it.
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If she was baptized and chrismated in an Orthodox Church of the Byzantine Rite, I can see why there was an issue with the parents having to make a choice. If she was baptized and Chrismated in a Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite, I’m not sure why there would be an issue at all, other than the fact that she would not receive Confirmation, as she had already received the sacrament. Catholics of any Rite are allowed to attend the liturgies of any other Rite, and even allowed to join their parishes. Without all the Latin Rite Catholics that we have, I don’t think our parish would exist today.
 
At Vatican II they wrote: “If any separated Eastern Christian should, under the guidance of the grace of the Holy Spirit, join himself to the unity of Catholics, no more should be required of him than what a bare profession of the Catholic faith demands.” OE 25

This can be understood as simply the request, expressing the desire, is an adequate profession (since the person understands the faith they have been taught, they understand the change implied involves no change in faith.)

In our RCIA program, we have arranged formal recitations of the Creed, like in the Presentation of the Creed to Catechumens, but those were particular circumstances where people wanted a formal ceremony. We have done it less formally, a simple joint recitation with family members to underline the shared faith among them. Some have asked to attend some RCIA classes, but that is never required.

But most of the time, it is just the simple acknowledgement to a priest that you want to be Catholic, which implies you know the faith and it is the one faith that we share.
 
Dovekin said:
In our RCIA program,
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But Orthodox Christians do not belong in RCIA and they don’t join the Latin Church.

When I took my certification classes for RCIA the message we were given was basically if an Orthodox Christian shows up asking about RCIA, call the Chancery Office and get out of the way.

They’ve already validly received all the sacraments of initiation and they join the Eastern Catholic Church that corresponds to their Orthodox Church.
 
RCIA encompasses several stages: inquiry, catechesis, etc.

Orthodox can certainly inquire. They can join the Latin rite if they desire, like if an orthodox person is married to a Roman Catholic. There is no need for Catechesis, or prebaptismal rituals.

In the circumstances I described, the individuals wanted some kind of ceremony, so we provided one. The Rcia team seemed like the natural people to do this. It was a celebration of common faith for two families whose children were uniting in marriage.

I did not mean to imply they were forced into anything more than a profession of faith, just that the RCIA team is who handles people who are coming into full communion. If your diocese wants to handle that, and have you only work with the unbaptized, great.
 
Dovekin said:
I did not mean to imply they were forced into anything more than a profession of faith, just that the RCIA team is who handles people who are coming into full communion. If your diocese wants to handle that, and have you only work with the unbaptized, great.
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I think we’re talking past each other.

Orthodox Christians are in a special circumstance, far different from Protestants. Catholics recognize that the Orthodox have valid sacraments so they are already fully initiated. In addition, they become Eastern Catholics.

See, for example, this document from the Diocese of Gary: http://www.dcgary.org/pdf/Reception-Orthodox-Christian.pdf

For an Orthodox Christian to become Roman Catholic requires permission from both bishops involved. As Gary says:
Therefore, no permission is needed for the Orthodox Christian candidate to become Eastern Rite Catholic; however, to become Latin Rite Catholic, the Latin bishop of the Diocese of Gary and the Eastern Rite bishop of Northwest Indiana would have to both approve the candidate becoming Latin Rite Catholic. Such a request should be made in writing to Bishop Dale J. Melczek including the reasons for becoming Latin Rite Catholic.
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