western culture

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henrikhank

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Pax et bonum!
Why do westerns rather go to the Roman Catholic Church instead of the Oriental or Eastern Orthodox Churches? Is this because of Culture or Theology or…?
 
henrikhank said:
Pax et bonum!
Why do westerns rather go to the Roman Catholic Church instead of the Oriental or Eastern Orthodox Churches? Is this because of Culture or Theology or…?
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My reason is quite simple, the Holy Father is Latin Rite; why would I go any where else?

Had I been born in the other Rites in communion with Rome, I would be bound to stay there; as it is, I was born into the Latin Rite…it is my home, She is my home. So, I guess to answer your question, culture.
 
I live in America and the Catholic churches in my area are all Roman Catholic as far as i know.Ive never took the time out to search out where the EAstern rite churches are located.Im sure they are scarce in comparison.
 
I think for us in the U.S., it would be very difficult to even find a parish that wasn’t RC… unless you lived in one of the larger cities.

Steph
 
i don’t know what you mean by “Western” but the Catholic belongs to the rite into which his parents, usually the father, belong. There is no reason to change unless there is some compelling circumstance–marriage to someone from another rite, living permanently in an area where the Eastern rite is dominant. Even then change of rite is not required or even especially recommended unless the individual is prepared for and accepts the difference in discipline, worship and practice of the new rite, and yes some of those, especially popular piety and the domestic church, have strong cultural and ethnic ties.
 
It is, for me and I think for most, it’s largely a matter of culture, of who evangelized your ancestors, and also of convenience, since the vast majority of Catholic churches around are Latin rite. For me personally it’s also the theological and spiritual tradition.
 
Because we are Westerns is the short answer I imagine lol.
 
Pax et bonum!
I am asking why people who are western (like europeans) go the the Roman Catholic Church instead of the Orthodox Churches? is this because of cultural or theological issues?
 
henrikhank said:
Pax et bonum!
I am asking why people who are western (like europeans) go the the Roman Catholic Church instead of the Orthodox Churches? is this because of cultural or theological issues?
Click to expand...
I think I can ask this question despite being neither Roman Catholic or Orthodox.
I began questioning my Pentecostalism and began looking closer at the ancient churches. I’ve attended both Orthodox and Catholic liturgies. I have enjoyed both. I absolutely love Orthodoxy, and I can’t get over the Tridentine Mass.

This being said, I’m more comfortable in a Catholic setting primarily because yes, it is Western. It is part of my history in terms of my culture, it is more familiar to me, I love the Latin, etc.

That being said - cultural preference should never be the reason why a person picks one Christian group over another. The truth, and ONLY the truth should be the reason.
 
tundramom said:
I think for us in the U.S., it would be very difficult to even find a parish that wasn’t RC… unless you lived in one of the larger cities.

Steph
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You’d be surprised. I live near Birmingham, Alabama, and despite it’s moderate size, they have a Maronite Catholic Church and a Greek Melkite Catholic Church. Keep in mind that the Deep South is not exactly a hotbed of Catholicism either, although it is growing rapidly.
 
henrikhank said:
Pax et bonum!
I am asking why people who are western (like europeans) go the the Roman Catholic Church instead of the Orthodox Churches? is this because of cultural or theological issues?
Click to expand...
They don’t, necessarily. The Catholics have their stories of whole protestant churches converting (I think the pastor’s name was Alex Jones? I think they were pentecostal) but so do Orthodox (read about the Evangelical Orthodox Church. Through study of history they began to practice Orthodoxy before they knew what it was, and then came into the church en masse)

On this forum it certainly seems like every Protestant is becoming Catholic, and yes they still outnumber us, but my parish is full of converts, as is my brother’s parish, as are many parishes. Many Catholic converts choose Catholicism because they don’t understand or haven’t heard of Orthodoxy (think we’re not united, only for certain ethnicities, etc) but if you go to an Orthodox forum or parish you find converts all over the place. We’re getting there, but we’re still a smaller voice in North America, especially in comparison to Catholicism.

And I do think culture plays a large part. It can be a difficult hurdle to be the first member of your family since the schism (or ever) to embrace Orthodoxy; it seems very foreign, but Orthodoxy is for everyone.
 
Cultural bias towards Catholicism. Though, there is an Orthodox Church in a town near mine because of the high Russian population there and I love their fish frys. If you had a few million Orthodox Christians come into the USA with loads of money and missionary potential it could work. But Catholicism is bigger than Orthodoxy because of the Germans, Irish, Polish, and Italians who came here. Also, everyone knows what the Pope is here in America. But, I’m sure there are many who have never heard of the Patriarch of Moscow.
 
For me, as for many people in the West, Catholicism is what fit best with my cultural background. My grandmother came from Mexico and my grandfather from Ireland, and they at least tried to raise my dad and his brother Catholic. On my mother’s side they were all Protestants (Germans and Danish-by-way-of-Greenland), so once I had soured on that it really did seem like coming to Rome was coming home.

But just as you don’t have to live in your hometown all your life just because it’s what you know, you don’t have to be Catholic (or Protestant) just because your parents or their parents were. As more Western people are exposed to Orthodoxy and read the Orthodox histories of what today are considered “Protestant” or “Catholic” countries, the notion of becoming Orthodox becomes less foreign, even if the actual practice takes some getting used to. For myself, I was and am attracted to the Oriental Orthodox communion because of its deep and abiding faith, it’s unique theological expressions, and a certain openness that I see in it that is of a qualitatively different character than other churches (not the big tent of the Romans, nor the hidden pearl of the Easterners).
 
I first attended an Orthodox Church, but had doubts on their claims about “breaking away of the Pope.” Who really broke with whom? My will was actually against the Church, but my intellect said yes. I will soon start RCIA!
 
As an Eastern Catholic who is a westerner, I may be a bad example for your question lol. Simply put, each person has different reasons but the main reasons are probably lack of exposure and the culture shock.
 
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