Visiting the local Maronite Church

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I didn’t know that. I thought we Maronites were the exception in the east.
 
XXI_4 said:
LOL. But unlike most of the East, Maronites go from left to right just like Latins.
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In that case, I suppose she should keep doing it wrong 😜

more seriously, was this adopted after contact with Christendom was restored, or is it the historical practice?

hawk
 
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I don’t really know. It could be a regional thing, I would assume it’s an Antiochene tradition based on the poster above that said that the other churches from the region also do left-right.
 
Thanks everyone for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
I went to the Maronite Service today. About 70 people were there. The church has very nice leather bound missals with all the propers in English and Syrian/Arabic. It was pretty easy to follow. The priest and the small choir kept switching between different languages. Scripture readings were done twice, once in English and once in either Syrian or Arabic (I couldn’t tell which) and homily was in either Syrian or Arabic (I couldn’t tell which).

Sign of peace was started in each pew by an altar server. Communion was no problem. After the liturgy there was a short prayer service for the dead. Lots of incense used throughout everything.

At the end everybody was getting in line to greet some people at the front of the line. I’m not sure what that was all about. I got out of line. They have a social with food afterwards also but I chickened out and left. I see they are having a church festival in July and I may attend that, since usually those have lots of great food and music.

I did have a small child behind me making loud animal noises, laughing, climbing on and kicking the pew from the start of the Eucharistic part of the liturgy up to the final blessing when his mother finally took him out. This pretty much happens to me in every church (Friday I had the same at a Spanish language Mass) so I guess poorly behaved kids are universal.
 
Since the homily was in a foreign tongue, I’m guessing that most of the faithful are immigrants to the Greater Greer area?

As opposed to converts or folks whose ancestors came to upstate South Carolina a hundred years or more ago- and now are indistinguishable from their neighbors?

Few pickups with rebel flags in the bed in the parking lot, my guess?
 
A lot of the people were younger, so I don’t think they were that recent of immigrants. A lot of the people looked maybe second-generation immigrant or even third-generation. I’m guessing here, but this church is also pretty far out in the country where people living in the general area would tend to be established in business or career, not so much new to the USA (except for Mexican farm workers who have their very own national parish about 15 miles away and Spanish language services at several other parishes).

As for “few pickups with rebel flags”, you’re not going to see that around where I am today. Most people have one or more degrees and new townhomes start at 400 K. I’m not in South Carolina btw, I’m north of the Mason-Dixon line today.
 
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