www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Rite change, how specific?

To Hriztko: Yes, I could just keep going without changing, but I'm jealous of my co-parishioners' "completeness." Right now, I feel like a man without a country.

To Coalesco: That the Church has survived two millenia of such chaos must be a sign of divine favor. In America, I'm sure the ethnic aspect keeps people away. My own wife thinks I'm a little crazy for going. So it's a trade-off between tradition and evangelization, which is too bad, because they are both deeply important.

Being the humble refugee I am, I don't take any position on it officially, it's not my place. But I do hope they sort it out for the good of the current and potential American faithful.

Dear Coalesco,

I'm about to reveal my ignorance concerning church relations, I fear. My question concerns the benefits that might be realized by all Eastern Catholic eparchies, were Rome to assist them in creating a Byzantine conglomeration. Obviously for the Orthodox they have no magisterium to whom to appeal for governance from the top. But is it possible for Rome to attempt this type of move with sister churches who are related and in Communion? Perhaps I'm missing a very obvious implication, but as you know, I am new at this. The relationships between Rome and the various non-Roman Catholic rites should produce results beneficial to the faithful. Would this not be fruitful? Would the ethnic factions rebel at such an idea? Educate me, please. In Christ, Tammy

Usually I try to avoid cheerleading about my church or my Church, I guess because I don't like seeing it done by others, but I have to address this issue.

We aren't "ethnic" in the sense of Ukrainians, Ruthenians, etc., because "Melkite" isn't associated with a nation. However, in times past, we have been termed "Lebanese Catholics", "Syrian Catholics", and "Arab Catholics".

Yet, if you visit a typical Melkite parish in the US, you will find a diverse parish congregation which is unstifled in its sense of community by the fact that zaatar is served alongside the donuts with the coffee after Liturgy or that the food fair menu lists kibbee, as well as cheeseburgers.

Our clergy surnames run the gamut of ethnicity: Babcock, Brown, Francovilla, Frechette, Gallaro, Golini, Gosselin, Graham, Harrington, Hyatt, King, Littlefield, Mileniewicz, Mitchell, Munn, Murphy, Parent, Rackza, Russo, Sherman, Skrocki, Smith, St. Germain concelebrate alongside the likes of Aboody, Alam, Azar, Badaoui, Baroody, Bisharat, Boutros, Daghar, Eliane, Elya, Faraj, Hajjar, Hassey, Kakaty, Rabbat, Saato, Samra, Wehbe, and Youssef (and I know I've forgotten people on both sides of the list). The ranks of our diaconate are equally replete with folks whom no one would ever mistake for an Arab. In our parishes, you will hear Arabic, English, French, Greek, Russian, Spanish, and other tongues. My fellow parishoners look like the US Census personified.

I'd like to say that you can have from your parish what you ask of it, regardless of the label by which your Church is styled and I believe you can - but you have to be open to it, to becoming one with its members, as they must be willing to do with you. The Russians have it, Lord knows that the ethnic Russians remaining in the four US parishes are few and far between.

And, if it's not something that's available in your Church, come to ours. "One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community." Archbishop Joseph, of blessed memory, at a time when he himself could barely speak English.

Many years,

Neil