I have a question.
Do the roman catholics who become byzantine change rites, or change to a sui iuris church?
If they become byzantine they can be in any byzantine sui iuris church (romanian, ukrainian, melikte) or just in one?
if someone is melkite and want to become ukrainian he has to cahnge rites again?

I know that the orthodox churches have a similar procedure, despite their unity. If you're russian orthodox and marry a romanian orthodox woman you have to do something (if I'm not wrong).

Dear Remie,

"When you are Russian Orthodox and marry a Rumanian Orthodox woman, you have to do something . . ."

You are not wrong, you do.

You have to be attentive, courteous and loving.

You also have to do a lot of "Yes, dears" or even "Da, da" since this word means "yes" in both languages.

You have to listen to what she says and then do what she says. You are not allowed to talk back at what she says.

You are also to extoll all of her fine qualities loudly, but none of her not-so-fine ones. You may even have to formally deny that the latter exist.

You must dedicate your time, energy and paychecks to her as well.

No matter what church, sui juris or otherwise you escape to, the responsibilities in this department are the same.

Alex

Remie --

Each of the Catholic Churches you mention is a sui juris church. One is a Catholic member of a sui juris church, per the canons, if one is born into that church or if one legally transfers into that church. Members of any sui juris church can worship in any other Catholic church, but can only be ordained or married in their own sui juris church and can only be baptized in the sui juris church of their father.

In Orthodoxy, at least among those Orthodox Churches who are in open communion with each other, there is no procedure that is formal in any way. Joining a parish is very simple, and there is no "release" or "transfer" required regardless of the jurisdiction you are coming from. Orthodox can and do receive sacraments in other jurisdictions, including marriage. Orthodox clerics, however, are linked to a Bishop and require his consent for a canonical transfer to another Orthodox jurisdiction.

Brendan

This case is completely true.
I have an American friend who's orthodox (OCA) and got married with a guy who's orthodox but ROCOR in Canada. She had problems because her boyfriend's priest said she had to be "chrismated" again and had to follow a procedure in order to "confirm her faith".

Alex:

Don't worry. I'll follow my responsabilities

Ah, but that's why I said "in communion with each other". ROCOR is, by its own decision, not in communion with the remainder of Orthodoxy. In the case of ROCOR it is a one-way issue. A ROCOR person would be admitted to the sacraments in any other Orthodox parish, whereas many ROCOR parishes would not admit non-ROCOR persons to the sacraments. It's an unfortunate situation, but thankfully ROCOR is at least talking again, if quietly, to the Moscow Patriarchate.

Slava Isusu Christu!

As per changing Orthodox Jurisdictions:

I was told that you have to have your Father Confessor's blessing, he also has to write a letter of request to transfer to his hierarch and the receiving Father Confessor and his hierarch, to change Orthodox Jurisdictions. I am sure at the least a blessing from your previous Father Confessor, and a letter from him giving his blessing to the receiving priest of the Jurisdiction that the Orthodox Christian is requesting to enter, is the norm for entry. I have heard of people just registering without getting their Father Confessor's blessing, in another Jurdisdiction, and getting transfered that way. I would be safe and get my Spiritual Father's blessing first.

In Christ,

Robert

Robert --

That sounds awfully bureacratic to me. I think, as a practical matter, one should have the blessing of both priests (and if you wish to join a parish you will have to have his blessing anyway and he will most likely ask if you have the blessing of the priest in the former parish) -- but on the level of laity, I have never heard of any procedure as you have described (and I know quite a few lay people in my parish who grew up in different jurisdictions).

Brendan

Dear Brendan,

The whole thing has my head spinning . . .

A friend of mine, I mentioned him to you before, who converted from Anglicanism to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and then to the OCA was amazed at what he had to undergo to become Orthodox as compared to someone like me who, if I wanted to "return home," needed only to go to confession, recite the Orthodox Creed and promise to behave in future . . .

As I understand it, the ROCOR would not even recognize my baptism, rite, I mean, right?

It is a shame that group can't get back with its Mother Church (not that I'm proposing the Ukrainians as a model of church unity, mind you).

Alex

Alex --

Many (not all) ROCOR priests would also not recognize my own reception into Orthodoxy because I was not re-baptized. And then there are always the Greek Old Calendrists, who claim that the Patriarch of Constantinople is really a layman in ecclesiastical drag because his orders are completely graceless, per them.

You can't please everyone all of the time, I guess....

Brendan

My understanding is priests in ROCOR will receive baptized non-Orthodox people by Chrismation but will accept as Orthodox those already Orthodox but received economically in other ways. One thing that distinguishes ROCOR and that Brendan mentioned is that it receives converts by Baptism if the person asks for it. In theory all the Orthodox will do that but ROCOR actually does it at least some of the time.

http://oldworldrus.com

Serge --

I honestly didn't know that. I had thought that ROCOR (at least the priests in the anti-ecumenical wing) would receive, say, a Roman Catholic through baptism only.

You're right in your last sentence -- a few OCA priests have gotten into episcopal hot water in the past for re-baptising people.

Brendan

ROCOR (at least the priests in the anti-ecumenical wing) would receive, say, a Roman Catholic through baptism only.

Possibly true — perhaps such priests do this. (I don't have a lot of firsthand contact with this wing!) But the rest of ROCOR is, AFAIK, as I described. If the Catholic or Protestant asks for Baptism, it will be done; if not, they are received by Chrismation.

http://oldworldrus.com