What is required for an Orthodox to be properly disposed to take Catholic Communion?

  • Thread starter Thread starter carefullytread
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

carefullytread

Guest
As I understand it, the Catholic Church allows an Orthodox to take Catholic Communion if the Orthodox requests it on his own and is properly disposed. There is the separate question of whether the Orthodox’s own Church allows him to take the Communion, but I’m just interested in the requirements from the Catholic side.

What does it mean for an Orthodox to be properly disposed? The Orthodox Churches differ from the Catholic one is some important points of moral doctrine. For example, as I understand it, an Orthodox is allowed to be divorced after their sacramental marriage and enter a second penitential marriage. Some of the Orthodox Churches allow hormonal contraception under some circumstances. And of course, all of them encourage their followers to reject the doctrine of papal infallibility.

So an Orthodox who is in a penitential marriage, using hormonal contraception, and rejects papal infallibility could be perfectly disposed to take Communion in an Orthodox Church. Does that mean he’s properly disposed to take Communion from a Catholic priest, or does the rule mean that the Orthodox must follow Catholic rules vis a vis being in a state of grace?

If the latter, that’s pretty interesting, because a Catholic must accept papal infallibility to be properly disposed for Communion, but I would think an Orthodox almost by definition can’t accept it and still be an Orthodox.
 
Properly disposed means the person should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour.
 
1ke said:
Properly disposed means the person should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour.
Click to expand...
Is that grave sin according to the Orthodox’s own Church or according to the Catholic Church?
 
carefullytread said:
As I understand it, the Catholic Church allows an Orthodox to take Catholic Communion if the Orthodox requests it on his own and is properly disposed. There is the separate question of whether the Orthodox’s own Church allows him to take the Communion, but I’m just interested in the requirements from the Catholic side.

What does it mean for an Orthodox to be properly disposed? The Orthodox Churches differ from the Catholic one is some important points of moral doctrine. For example, as I understand it, an Orthodox is allowed to be divorced after their sacramental marriage and enter a second penitential marriage. Some of the Orthodox Churches allow hormonal contraception under some circumstances. And of course, all of them encourage their followers to reject the doctrine of papal infallibility.

So an Orthodox who is in a penitential marriage, using hormonal contraception, and rejects papal infallibility could be perfectly disposed to take Communion in an Orthodox Church. Does that mean he’s properly disposed to take Communion from a Catholic priest, or does the rule mean that the Orthodox must follow Catholic rules vis a vis being in a state of grace?

If the latter, that’s pretty interesting, because a Catholic must accept papal infallibility to be properly disposed for Communion, but I would think an Orthodox almost by definition can’t accept it and still be an Orthodox.
Click to expand...
In recent years, certain Orthodox Bishops have been tolerating contraception and they have also been allowing divorce though they are still opposed to it. They are still eligible to take communion in the Catholic Church as long as they have no mortal sins.
 
carefullytread said:
Is that grave sin according to the Orthodox’s own Church or according to the Catholic Church?
Click to expand...
It would be according to his own conscience.

For example, although using birth control is always a grave sin, if he hasn’t been taught differently, and if he sincerely believes that the use of birth control is the responsible thing to do to prevent the horrors of famine and war (rather than, say, simply to avoid taking personal responsibility for his sex life) then it would not be a mortal sin in his case.
 
jmcrae said:
It would be according to his own conscience.

For example, although using birth control is always a grave sin, if he hasn’t been taught differently, and if he sincerely believes that the use of birth control is the responsible thing to do to prevent the horrors of famine and war (rather than, say, simply to avoid taking personal responsibility for his sex life) then it would not be a mortal sin in his case.
Click to expand...
Ok, so even if he was well informed of the Catholic teachings, but his conscience followed the teachings of his own church, he would be properly disposed towards Catholic communion?

To put it another way, I was thinking (and please correct me if I’m wrong), that for a Catholic, it might also be possible to use contraception and be well disposed for taking Communion if the offending Catholic didn’t know better. But once they know and understand of the Church’s teachings, they are bound to obey even if they disagree. Is that different for the Orthodox? If they are well informed of Catholic doctrine and understand it, but chose to follow the Orthodox teaching and their own conscience (formed in their own church), they are still well disposed towards Catholic Communion?
 
carefullytread said:
Ok, so even if he was well informed of the Catholic teachings, but his conscience followed the teachings of his own church, he would be properly disposed towards Catholic communion?

To put it another way, I was thinking (and please correct me if I’m wrong), that for a Catholic, it might also be possible to use contraception and be well disposed for taking Communion if the offending Catholic didn’t know better. But once they know and understand of the Church’s teachings, they are bound to obey even if they disagree. Is that different for the Orthodox? If they are well informed of Catholic doctrine and understand it, but chose to follow the Orthodox teaching and their own conscience (formed in their own church), they are still well disposed towards Catholic Communion?
Click to expand...
That’s a tricky one. I think it depends on whether it was explained to him properly, and why he disagrees. (If he’s disagreeing with a false or incomplete teaching, then he is still unaware of the actual teaching itself.)

In my case, I was a Protestant when I first heard the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding birth control, and for me, they immediately made perfect sense, and as it turns out (God’s grace plus extraordinary good luck) I have never been tempted to use it.

I didn’t become Catholic until many years later, and wasn’t thinking of doing so at that time, but I do remember thinking, hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day - they nailed this one. 😃

Which is why I can’t really relate to people who understand the teaching but continue to disagree with it. Either they don’t really understand it, or it’s not their sense of right and wrong that is informing their disagreement with it, but perhaps it’s pride (I’ve been using it for years and I can’t possibly have been wrong all these years), or fear of the future (if I get pregnant I won’t be able to take care of the child because … ) or, they don’t like children, or whatever.
 
You are too rigid in understanding sin. Catholicism does not base itself on sin, rather on the profound mystery of divine forgiveness.
 
Its a Catch-22 situation. If an Orthodox takes communion at a Catholic Church he is in effect commiting apostacy which is a serious sin, and one should not receive communion without repentance and confession of serious sin
 
carefullytread said:
As I understand it, the Catholic Church allows an Orthodox to take Catholic Communion if the Orthodox requests it on his own and is properly disposed. There is the separate question of whether the Orthodox’s own Church allows him to take the Communion, but I’m just interested in the requirements from the Catholic side.

What does it mean for an Orthodox to be properly disposed? The Orthodox Churches differ from the Catholic one is some important points of moral doctrine. For example, as I understand it, an Orthodox is allowed to be divorced after their sacramental marriage and enter a second penitential marriage. Some of the Orthodox Churches allow hormonal contraception under some circumstances. And of course, all of them encourage their followers to reject the doctrine of papal infallibility.

So an Orthodox who is in a penitential marriage, using hormonal contraception, and rejects papal infallibility could be perfectly disposed to take Communion in an Orthodox Church. Does that mean he’s properly disposed to take Communion from a Catholic priest, or does the rule mean that the Orthodox must follow Catholic rules vis a vis being in a state of grace?

If the latter, that’s pretty interesting, because a Catholic must accept papal infallibility to be properly disposed for Communion, but I would think an Orthodox almost by definition can’t accept it and still be an Orthodox.
Click to expand...
It does not matter if they are properly disposed the Orthodoxy are forbidden by their Bishops to receive Communion in a Catholic Church.
 
Definitely does happen though as you say. When I visited the local Melkite Greek Catholic mission (Vancouver, BC) some years ago, the priest informed me that a significant percentage of his regular Sunday congregation were actually Antiochian Orthodox, but as they didn’t have access to an Orthodox divine liturgy in Arabic, they regularly (as in Sunday after Sunday over a long period of time) communed with the Melkite Catholics. I’ve heard this is more common than some “online” Orthodox suggest.
 
prodromos said:
Its a Catch-22 situation. If an Orthodox takes communion at a Catholic Church he is in effect commiting apostacy which is a serious sin, and one should not receive communion without repentance and confession of serious sin
Click to expand...
For Catholics the word “apostasy” refers to abandoning the Christian faith completely. Severing communion with the Church is “schism”. An Antiochian Orthodox Christian who begins communing among the Melkite Greek Catholics would continue to live the same spiritual life he did before by all outward appearances…day to day nothing need change…to a Catholic mind that is an act of schism, not abandoning the Christian faith. Still a serious matter to be sure, but distinct.
 
Papal infallibility and well-read infallible knowledge differs only by reason of true eternal and accepted moral ex cathedra of divine love.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top