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What is the difference between Roman Catholics and Byzantine Catholics?

Byzantine Catholics KNOW that Roman Catholics exist! I dont know if any of you ladies are like me, but for most of my life, all I knew of the Byzantine Catholic churches were that, yes, we, as Romans, were allowed to attend their Divine Liturgy to fulfill our Sunday obligation. Sure, they are in Communion with the Pope, but why bother going to something so foreign? I couldnt think of any reason to bother, until this past summer. We have a friend here in town who had become very interested in the Byzantine Rite and really wanted us to go to a Divine Liturgy. Ok, sure, whatever. Id give it a try. It will be a new experience for us, and the drive was much shorter than the one we are used to making to get to the Latin Mass downtown.

Wellthe Liturgy was unlike anything I was expecting, and I thought Id like to share with you what I experienced, as well as what I have learned since then. First, what Ive learned. Im embarrassed to say that Ive been Catholic all of my life, and have been completely ignorant of, as John Paul II said, the other lung of the Catholic Church the Easter Rites. It has always been my assumption that everything always revolved around Rome. Those easterners were out there, but they really didnt play much of a part in Catholic Church history. Rome was it! Was I ever wrong! The Roman Rite is only ONE of twenty different rites within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church! Maybe a lot of you are much smarter than me, but I always assumed that all those ancient Ecumenical Church Councils that I knew about took place in Rome, with the Pope leading the council; you know, kind of like Vatican II. It was a shock to find out that:
Of the first seven Church Councils, taking us up to the year 787 AD, though there were representatives of the Western Church present, no Pope was present at any of these. It was not uncommon to have a ratio of five Western Bishops to 600 Eastern, or two out of 300, 3/198, 8/174. etc. Five of those seven councils were presided over by an Eastern Patriarch, not a Westerner. The councils that gave us the Nicene Creed (duh, Lucy! Nicea is IN the East!) condemned Arianism, approved the Canon of the Bible, (say what??!) established the title Theotokos the Mother of God, condemned Monophysitism Monotheletism, Nestorianism, Pelagianismall took place in the East. How did I not ever know this??

But wait! Still, those easterners have married priests!?? Thats just NOT RIGHT! What kind of new invention is that?? Actually, I found out, its not at all. St. Peter, (Jesus cured his mother-in-law) and likely eleven of the twelve apostles were married. (John was probably not, hence, Jesus gave his mother to him.) Both the Eastern and Western Churches had married priests until the 8th century. Pope Adrian II was the last married pope, and he died in 872. So, yeah, though it is really strange and maybe uncomfortable for us Westerners, the married priesthood is one of apostolic tradition in the East. Married

men have been called to the holy priesthood since the beginning. Once you are a priest, you cannot marry you must be married before ordination. (No, I am not advocating for a married, Roman Rite priest, just presenting some facts that I never knew existed before. Married priests are no longer part of the Roman tradition.) Anyway, I wont go on and on like a history lesson. I just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone was as ignorant of the history of the "whole" Catholic Church as I have always been, and I guess to give a quick glimpse into the history and importance of the Eastern Church! So my Byzantine Experience! It just so happened that my first visit was on a Feast Day the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It began with my walking into a church absolutely brilliant with colorful, beautiful icons. They were everywhere!! On the walls, on tables, on the wall that separates the altar from the people. Then all the people walking in would go up the main aisle, and kiss this icon sitting on a table in the front of the middle aisle. (This is the kissingest bunch of people I have ever seen!!) haha The deacon out he comes in beautiful, deep red, velvet like robes. Ive never seen anything like it. He is incensing everything; the icon wall (iconostasis) in front of the altar, the icons all over the walls, the people, the pews, hes getting it all! And the censer has twelve bells attached. (I was told it was to represent the 12 apostles, though one has no ringer in it, to represent Judas.) So he is ringing and he is throwing off incense all over the church. My sense of smell is at its peak! Finally, the Liturgy begins. Out comes a whole slew of men from behind the icon screen holding candles, beautiful golden fans, a book wrapped in gold, and the priest, also in beautiful red robes, is carrying small cross. After a procession around the church where the entire congregation adjusts their stance and follows him all the way around, he places the cross on the little table where everyone was kissing the icon on the way in. They all gather around the table. Then, the chanting begins. No organ its all a cappella. How many times did I hear Lord, have mercy? I cant count. Then the priest took the cross and went slowly all the way around the table, stopping at each side, with prayer petitions. (He did that at each side to represent the universal nature of Christs offering on the cross.) After each set of petitions, he lowers the cross to the ground chanting Lord have mercy followed by the church repeating the chant. All in all, I think there were about 100 Lord have mercies. Beautiful!!! Next, the priest, followed by the deacon, and all the altar servers, one by one, bless themselves, drop to their knees in front of the cross, place their forehead to the ground, bless themselves again, stand up. What a breathtaking act of worship!! Wait! Whats this?? Why is the choir walking over to the table?? Are they ALSO going to do the same thing? Yes, there they go, one at a time, knees, then forehead to the floor. Oh no! Am I going to have to do this?? Noooo! I dont want to! Maybe its just the choir but not actually the regular Joes in the pews.nope! There goes the first pew of people filing out into the middle!! They line up, bless themselves, and down they go. I have to say, I was a bit nervous. I cant do this!! This just isnt ME! Lol But by the time it was my turn, I was

ready. Did I bless myself correctly? (Probably not I was too nervous and probably did something out of turn!) But, by the time my head was touching the ground, I felt a humility that Id never felt before. It was so humbling that it was liberating! This was a beautiful, beautiful ceremony, one in which everyone in the church participated in; young, old, rich, poor, professional, unemployed. All were one in worship. There was no separation amongst us! The rest of the Liturgy kept my attention like Id never imagined. The beauty of the ceremony, the way the gold fans were used to fan the Blessed Sacrament at the Consecration everything about this almost transcended time. I felt like I was not an observer of this experience I was truly there. ALL of my senses were deeply involved. This is the best way I can describe it; this Liturgy was a place. At Communion, the Precious Body is dipped into the Precious Blood and administered to the communicant with a spoon. The priest asked me my name, and then proceeded to say, Handmaid of God, Lucy, receives the most precious and holy Body and Blood of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ for the remission of all your sins and for life everlasting. Amen. A red fabric was held under my chin by the men in gold robes, to insure the Precious Blood did not drip on the floor. I think I walked back to my pew in a trance! WOW! Where am I??? The whole Liturgy, the entire hour and 15 minutes, was just breathtaking for me, right up to the end where the priest held the cross to each person to kiss as they left their pew. I was in awe! I feel like I have missed out on so much, being Catholic for 46 years and never knowing how deep and ancient this Rite of the Holy Church is. No, now I realize, the Byzantine Liturgy is not just some place I can go if I cant make the Mass. It is a living and breathing celebration of Our Lord and His sacrifice on Calvary. Ive made it a point to return as often as I am able. Am I trying to convert you to Eastern Catholicism? No, Im not, but do want to encourage you ALL to discover the beauty of this Rite, of the other lung of our Catholic Church. I grew up only knowing one way of worship, but now have this deep affection for the way our brothers and sisters of the Eastern Catholic Faith have worshipped since their beginnings. The Divine Liturgy belongs to the whole Church. It is just waiting to be experienced! The Eparchy of Parma has quite a few Byzantine Churches in the area. I hope some of you will take the time to experience it. You dont have to replace your regular Mass. Maybe attend on one of their Feast Days. I think the next one coming up is November 21st, the Entrance of the Theotokos. (Mary the Theotokos Mother of God affirmed at the Ecumenical Council at Ephesus I LOVE the way she is mentioned so often in all of their Liturgies!) Im not sure if this is universal, but at the church here in Columbus, the Liturgy

for the Feast Day is held the evening BEFORE the feast, so it will be November 20th. You could check up your way to see if it is the same. I was afraid that my kids would not like attending. The Easterners view kneeling as a form of penance, and there is no penance on Sundays. Needless to say, there is more standing, and I could foresee some complaining from my children. I was really surprised at how much they liked it. We were invited to stay for their religion classes after Liturgy, and my kids said theyd like to do it. Were all really excited. If you made it this far, God Bless you!! Thank you for indulging me. I only hope that I, a fellow Westerner, gave you ladies some food for thought! Also, I really hope you will be interested enough to just check it out. We are all Catholic, we all share the same sacraments, and we probably all have a lot we could learn from each other! God Bless, Lucy

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