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#341916 - 01/23/10 02:00 PM
Who we are
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Moderator
Member
Registered: 11/27/02
Posts: 5205
Loc: Hollidaysburg, PA
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Brothers and Sisters: Christ is Born!! Christ is in our midst!! Neil has posted the statements below so eloquently on a number of occasions and just posted it again in East and West. I thought I'd bring it to Town Hall and make it sticky since it seems to me it needs to be read and reread. BOB Originally Posted By: Irish Melkite This Forum is about constructive dialogue among and between its members. (Another) ... web-based Eastern Catholic forum ... was on the verge of self-disintegration, due in large measure to the virulent, venomous, and triumphalistic postings that routinely grace(d) its board. When a member there, frustrated with the lack of charity among the Eastern Catholic members to one another's views - let alone those of Orthodox members, asked if there was an alternative, I unhesitatingly recommended this Forum: I said:
Try The Byzantine Forum. We aren't perfect, but I think that, overall, we're less contentious. Be prepared, we are a very diverse group - our membership is no longer accurately described by the board's name. There is a free exchange of ideas and disagreement, but the basic rule is one of charity and respect for each other and each other's Churches; the tolerance level for bashing - whether it be of Catholics or Orthodox - is low to non-existent. Still, we do have some highly opinionated posters.
Our membership is a mix. Byzantine Catholics are the largest group overall, with Ruthenians and Ukrainians predominating, but we also have Croats, Hungarians, Italo-Greeks, Melkites, Romanians, Russians, and Slovaks. Non-Byzantine Catholics include Armenians, Chaldeans, and Maronites. There's a fairly sizeable active Eastern Orthodox membership - including Albanians, Antiochians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Carpatho-Rusyns, Romanians, Russians, Serbs, and Ukrainians. Our Oriental Orthodox members include Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, and Syriacs.
We also have a contingent of Latin Catholics, whose views range across the spectrum. There are several active Protestant posters ...
Geographically, we're pretty diverse. Besides all of North America, there are folks posting routinely from Scotland, the Philippines, Poland, Maylasia, Brazil, England, and Spain, with other places represented on a less-regular basis.
We know we have differences of belief between and among us and that the baggage of history comes with a heavy price. But, I for one, and I suspect many others here - if not most, cherish the faith, the sincerity, the forthrightness, and the honesty of our brothers and sisters, and the opportunity to dialogue with them, even when we disagree. One must not allow oneself to see only black and white and have no appreciation for the fact that gray is within the spectrum.
The Churches that I referenced in describing this Forum's membership are, in fact, persons - an Episcopalian who offers his prayers, during his Maundy Thursday vigil, for our intentions; a Ruthenian who is geographically separated from her Church and worships with Melkites; a Russian Catholic who chants Holy Week services in an Orthodox Church in Malaysia; a Greek Orthodox who fervantly prays to see union between our Churches; a Latin who crafts beautifully written prayers on subjects of import to all of us and posts them for our edification; an Orthodox Archimandrite who does likewise; an Albanian Orthodox who spoke on behalf of the Italo-Greek-Albanians, when they had no member here; a Latin whom we watched as he converted from Protestantism and decided whether to go to the East or West; and, I could go on.
My point: we are people here and, for most of us, that is as or more important than rabid ideology - (which is not the same as faith). To disagree or post an opposing view is one thing; to deluge the Forum with massive amounts of material and to harangue is another. We aren't a venue for (rhetoric) - Catholic or Orthodox; there are plenty of those.
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#342022 - 01/25/10 09:25 AM
Re: Who we are
[Re: theophan]
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Member
Registered: 09/12/08
Posts: 208
Loc: Herminie
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#347424 - 04/30/10 05:10 PM
Re: Who we are
[Re: Kathleen Elsie]
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Registered: 04/16/09
Posts: 138
Loc: Maryland, USA
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Thank you for posting this Bob .... it's good information for me to have.
abby
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