Why did you join?
*I was born a cradle Roman Catholic. In a nutshell, the church changed beyond recognition for me, raised with the Mass in Latin at my mother’s knee. Almost became an Eastern Orthodox but refused to give up on the Pope. So I became a homeless Christian. Then my husband converted to Eastern Catholic, and by way of marriage, I transferred into the Eastern Church. *
What makes you stay, in your particular rite?
As in the words of Simon Peter to Jesus in John 6, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” I have followed Jesus all my life. He led me where I am today
What is your advantage of one over the other?
The congregations are smaller, more manageable and the priests not too busy to attend to souls.
Is it teaching (and if so what teaching),
Yes! The classes are led by the priest or deacon.
beauty, convenience, family, etc?
Yes! Beauty! The incense of my youth, the beauty of icons and stained glass. Convenience? I have traveled 4 hours to attend Divine Liturgy. I regularly travel an hour to and an hour fro. Yes! Family! I have a church family!
And do you (and if so how do you) incorporate elements of the “other” spirituality/rite into your life and worship?
The Eastern churches have retained all the elements that the Western church discarded. Women still veil, we light candles, so I took to Eastern spirituality like a duck to water. As I see it, Christ brought me home to Him.
