Visiting Byzantine Mission / Maryland

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Miserissima

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I have a Byzantine Mission nearby and would like to go. I’ve called ahead and left message, but no one has called me back yet. I feel awkward just walking into an EC church…any advice?

Also…does anyone here live in the DC Metro area, on the Maryland side?
 
They list a schedule for Divine Liturgy at 10am on Sunday, so I would not hesitate to visit at this time. Go early enough that you can find it and possibly meet one of the clergy. Introduce yourself, tell him you are Roman Catholic, and if you are properly disposed, you can receive Holy Communion. Just watch what everyone else is doing during the liturgy, and do as much as you feel comfortable. I am sure that you will also meet other Roman Catholics there.
 
Miserissima said:
I have a Byzantine Mission nearby and would like to go. I’ve called ahead and left message, but no one has called me back yet. I feel awkward just walking into an EC church…any advice?
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I wouldn’t worry about just walking in. Most EC parishes are quite used to visitors. We have them every Sunday at my parish and it’s a testament to their determination since parking is awful around our church.

You could try emailing to that email address deacon@epiphanyofourlord.org It is also the email contact for the Epiphany of our Lord Parish in Annandale, VA so presumably someone checks it.

They list a “Social Hour” after DL. It’s pretty typical this involves real food since people are hungry from fasting before Eucharist. You should definitely plan to stick around for the social time.

And please get back here and tell us about your experience. 🙂
 
5Loaves said:
They list a “Social Hour” after DL. It’s pretty typical this involves real food since people are hungry from fasting before Eucharist. You should definitely plan to stick around for the social time.
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For Ruthenians, the fast is only 1 hour before so more than likely this will be pastries and coffee & juice for the kids who will attending ECF classes.

This is a relatively small community with average attendance of about 40 or for Sunday Divine Liturgy. It is a growing community as more families move into the area.
 
Thanks, guys. Considering it’s a smaller community, I’m afraid of sticking out like a sore thumb (looking lost/ignorant)…I remember a bit from when I was very, very little, but don’t remember much at all. 😃
 
Miserissima said:
Thanks, guys. Considering it’s a smaller community, I’m afraid of sticking out like a sore thumb (looking lost/ignorant)…I remember a bit from when I was very, very little, but don’t remember much at all. 😃
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Don’t worry - it is almost certain that you will find a very welcoming group of faithful, especially at a mission parish.

And don’t be put off by lack of a return call. Could simply be that the priest (or someone who normally checks messages) just hasn’t gotten to it yet - not uncommon for a mission parish setting.

FWIW, after many years of being too distant from a church of our rite, my brother is now reunited with his Byzantine-Ruthenian church via a mission parish in Knoxville, TN. He would be the first to tell you that they survive week to week, with a bi-ritual priest, but that the small community of faithful there is a more tight-knit, family-like group than any other he has experienced.
 
I wouldn’t want to discourage you at all from going to the mission church in Gaithersburg, in fact would actively encourage you to do so. But did you know that there’s another Byzantine-Ruthenian church in Beltsville, Md., just off of I-95? It’s a great place and is, in fact, where I came into the Church via baptism/chrismation 11 years ago. St. Gregory of Nyssa. Check it out if you haven’t already ;)!
 
ByzCathCantor said:
FWIW, after many years of being too distant from a church of our rite, my brother is now reunited with his Byzantine-Ruthenian church via a mission parish in Knoxville, TN. He would be the first to tell you that they survive week to week, with a bi-ritual priest, but that the small community of faithful there is a more tight-knit, family-like group than any other he has experienced.
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I was recently thinking, being active in both a Latin Church parish and an ECC parish (plus many services, such as Vespers and Vigils in the Orthodox), one of the blessings of being such a tiny parish as we are and the few who attend Vigils at the Orthodox I go to, is the closeness we get to have with the clergy. In my parish we do have a sit down meal every Sunday which the clergy and most parishioners and visitors stay for. The disadvantage over a Latin Church you can walk to is that we all, including our clergy, commute from some distance so chances for building our community outside of Sunday and Feastdays is more limited than in the typical Latin neighborhood parish.

I didn’t say it but I agree with **ByzCathCantor **that not getting a response to your phone call is not uncommon. I suggested the email because it might be more likely than the phone machine to get checked at least. 🙂
 
Hi all! Thank you for your warm replies. I do not mind not having heard back; I perfectly understand. I just meant that it lent itself to my feeling out of place in visiting, but I didn’t take it as a slight – not by any means.

Now, I won’t get the chance to visit for the 2 weeks as my spouse has the car for the next 2 weekends…so I’m limited to my home parish until mid-February. Sigh. 😦
 
Miserissima said:
Hi all! Thank you for your warm replies. I do not mind not having heard back; I perfectly understand. I just meant that it lent itself to my feeling out of place in visiting, but I didn’t take it as a slight – not by any means.

Now, I won’t get the chance to visit for the 2 weeks as my spouse has the car for the next 2 weekends…so I’m limited to my home parish until mid-February. Sigh. 😦
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You may enjoy this article from Frederica Matthew-Green about visiting an Orthodox parish, but it’s equally applicable to an Eastern Catholic parish:

frederica.com/12-things/
 
I haven’t gone yet. I’m 7 months pregnant with a toddler who isn’t well behaved in a Roman Rite environment and am exhausted after regular Mass – so going to the Mission will have to wait. I’m so tired, sick, and 😦 that I can’t imagine what I was thinking a few weeks ago!

In the meantine, is there something like an Order of Divine Liturgy like an Order of Mass? I’d like to use it to follow along with some YouTube videos…perhaps my Google-fu is not strong lately .
 
Miserissima said:
I haven’t gone yet. I’m 7 months pregnant with a toddler who isn’t well behaved in a Roman Rite environment …
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Well, don’t worry about your toddler! There is so much singing going on that everyone will think that your toddler is just singing along – or all the singing will drown him out. 😉
 
Miserissima said:
I haven’t gone yet. I’m 7 months pregnant with a toddler who isn’t well behaved in a Roman Rite environment and am exhausted after regular Mass – so going to the Mission will have to wait. I’m so tired, sick, and 😦 that I can’t imagine what I was thinking a few weeks ago!

In the meantine, is there something like an Order of Divine Liturgy like an Order of Mass? I’d like to use it to follow along with some YouTube videos…perhaps my Google-fu is not strong lately .
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We pray for the health of your soon-to-be newborn and your entire family! You can always visit after your baby is born and things become more manageable at some point (my wife would laugh if she saw me write this!).

The mission you had planned to visit is of Byzantine-Ruthenian tradition. The pew book used by the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic Church in the U.S. includes the entire Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (DL - SJC) in its entire spendor, and is available online:

metropolitancantorinstitute.org/servicebooks/DivineLiturgies.pdf

The DL - SJC is on pages 11 - 94 (with music). The major sections of the Divine Liturgy (Enarxis, Liturgy of the Word, Anaphora, etc.) are annotated throughout the book. There is a glossary of liturgical terms as well on pages 462-467, if some are unfamiliar. You will note the similarities to the structure of the Roman Mass throughout, as well as the distinctions.

An entire Byzantine-Ruthenian Divine Liturgy is available in several segments on the YouTube channel of St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church (Hillsborough, NJ):

youtube.com/user/stmarysbyz

FYI - a few parts (the Cherubic Hymn and the Lord’s Prayer, for example) are taken in Old Church Slavonic in these recordings.

Go with God! Z Bohom!
 
NOICE! 👍👍👍

Thanks, everyone!

You know, I’ve always had these Eatern elements in my life – especially from my father’s side – but thought that they were more…ethnic than religious (icon corners, separate holidays, etc).

I am really excited about attending the DL, and your encouragement makes it all the easier. 😊 Thank you!
 
First off, thanks to all the grammar nazi who refrained from correcting me when I wrote, “I’m 7 months pregnant with a toddler.” I am not pregnant with a toddler inside of me! 😃 Bwah!

ByzCathCantor, I started reading DL - SJC and wondered at the use of “Wisdom!” to proclaim the readings to come. Is it a way of announcing, “Listen up! Wisdom ahead!” or a prayer to the Holy Spirit (also called Wisdom/Sophia)?
 
Miserissima said:
I started reading DL - SJC and wondered at the use of “Wisdom!” to proclaim the readings to come. Is it a way of announcing, “Listen up! Wisdom ahead!” or a prayer to the Holy Spirit (also called Wisdom/Sophia)?
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As my teenage daughter might say, “kinda both”.

We are called to listen to the readings attentively and with wisdom.

Some of the wisdom comes from the abilities God has blessed us with already (that is, to comprehend), and some more hopefully comes from the presence and work of the Holy Spirit dwelling among us in God’s church (that we become divinely inspired).
 
I did it!!! :extrahappy:

I needed to get my son out of the house so my husband could sleep this Sunday morning (my husband had a late lock up) so I drove my son to the park and then we just drove on to the Byzantine Mission. I wasn’t too sure about going inside, only wanting to see where this place was, but I asked a lady if I had the right building. “Yes,” she said. “Please come in!”
Then I came up with my own objections to her, such as, “I’m not dressed right.”
“Well,” she said, looking down at her sweater, “neither am I!”
“But I have a toddler with me.”
“All children are welcome, and there are infants who come, too.”
Then she looked at me most sincerely and asked, “Please come.”
So, I pulled my car into a parking spot, took my hair out of its ponytail, and slapped on a bit of makeup. My sin dismounted from his car seat, and we trotted in…

I felt goofy walking in in all of my pregnant glory, but as soon as I took off my coat, I felt at HOME. People greeted me and guided me and although it was set up in a gymnasium, the reverence was absolutely palpable.

I was welcome. At last, I felt there was a place for both me and my child(ren). The warmth of the congregation was amazing. Yes, we are there to solemnly worship the Lord. In addition (and to my surprise), I was greeted by perfect strangers as if I had been on vacation for only a short time. After the Liturgy, I was invited to refreshments, and how could I have said, “No?” I didn’t want to leave.

I was graciously loaned a new missal to study. How could I be more blessed? Well, I’ll tell you: I could let my toddler son run around a bit in the hall, and not one person looked askance. I didn’t feel as self-conscious as I feel in my own (family-oriented) Latin Rite parish.

It was like being in a room full of mothers, in fact. Everyone watched out for my son as I could finally sit back and have a real conversation with Catholic adults. There was politics/abortion at one table, prayer for a sick parishioner at another…and me in the thick of it. In my excitement, I’m sure I said more about myself and my family than I wanted to say. 😉 Everyone was so knowledgeable without being smug – much like CAF. I talked I was left feeling that *my visit was neither a trespass nor a novelty. *

Because my son babbled so much during the Liturgy, they said he was a “great singer!” Because he is a handful, I could hardly look at the missal. Instead of just beign an observer, I sang the responses I knew and just let the rest envelop me.

3 Questions:
  • Where do I find a midi or an MP3 of the “Holy God - Holy Mighty One” (Option C)? I actually cried listening to that, as I was so very moved by it. :o I’ll just blame it on the pregnancy hormones.
  • What are the large gold cherubs on poles called, and were they used to represent? I’m guessing angels hovering over actions the Liturgy?
  • When one receives the Eucharist, commonly one puts one’s hands under a red cloth. What does that cloth and that action represent? Does one hold someone’s hand under there?
**2 complaints: **

I didn’t open my mouth widely enough for the Eucharist, and the spoon touched my lips. 😊 I even practiced beforehand.

I thought people were staring at me as I tried to keep my son under control, so I bowed my head in shame, asking the Lord if I should leave, inasmuch as I hated to do that. Suddenly, what I thought were stares of disapproval were actually smiles, nods, and approving / encouraging looks. My bad! I am ashamed to say that I thought people were looking at me harshly, or judging my parenting – which was incredibly distracting from the Liturgy itself. (Just one young lady was obviously annoyed.)
 
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