www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall How did you discover this forum?

I was curious to learn more about everyone who posts here. And I'd like to hear from you, but I'll go first:

I stumbled across this website back in early January when I was searching google for Svati Vecher. I was preparing for Christmas Eve supper and wanted to add to the traditions that I already practice.

I came across a thread here where people were discussing their traditions and some mentioned traditions that my family always practiced. So that's what initially drew me to this website.

Budteh zdrovee!
Nonna

It happened about 4-5 years ago, I was using Yahoo to search for things of the East and happened upon Byzantine.net...well to the best of my recollections...which have been a bit foggy lately.

james

I looked under a stuffed grape leaf and there it was.

Incognitus

Nonna, I think a clergyman told me about it. This forum isn't a secret in the Byzantine Catholic church

I was typing random urls in and this page came up..

I'd been reading on EWTN Q & A and found Dragani's replies - followed up the link and have been here ever since - wow it was even before The Great Crash and my member number is one of the early ones after that.

What has happened to me since is well documented , in various places here

I used to post back at Byzantines.net and things were shutting down there so I migrated here with everyone else.. before the big crash. That was way back in the day when Serge and all of them use to post here.

Was looking for Byzantine Pyrohy and the rest is history!

My story is somewhat similar to Angela's. I loved watching EWTN during a particularly difficult time in my life. It was my life saver. Then I started using the computer and I went to EWTN online.

I went to Q and A to learn about the Roman Catholic Church to better educate myself in my quest for unity, especially in that blessed year of the Millenium when the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, went out of his way to unify the Church of Christ.

Then the 'Eastern Churches' section came into existence with Anthony Dragani at the helm. He posted something about this site and I decided to explore it. I lurked for a long time, not feeling adequate or intelligent enough to keep up with the erudite and super knowledgeable male posters here. When I became more confident, I started posting about my beloved passion: unity. At the time I was one of the few, if any, Greek Orthodox, and I was given a wee bit of a hard time by some male posters who seemed to have had preconceived notions about me and my jurisdiction. Sir Alex (Orthodox Catholic) Roman rode to my defense, and I have been here ever since--- and it is three years now!

I will always have a special place in my heart for my brother in Christ, Alex, because of his chivalry, and for our good and noble Administrator who also helped alleviate my concerns.

I have learned so much about love, charity and the true Eastern traditions here. I have learned that there are many in this country of the same heart and desire for unity that I have.

I am honored to be a Moderator on this beautiful forum which I consider a microcosm of Heaven! I am honored to be among all of you. God bless you all, and most especially John, our Administrator for bringing this oasis Christ's love to us to enjoy and share!

Alice

Yes it is the pirohi that drew many of us here isn't it? (Pirohi form the main course for Svati Vecher in my family. And there have been trials and tribulations over the years over the pirohis.)

Dear Alice,

Your post does a wonderful job of giving the history of the forum in a personal way. Can you all enlighten me to what EWTN stands for?

with love,
Nonna

Dear Nonna,

Eternal Word Television Network.

It was started by Mother Angelica some twenty (?) years ago, and many of us are fortunate in that our cable television channels carry it.

It is a network of round the clock spiritual and religious nourishment, Religious News, Masses, Devotional services, and religious education by the best teachers, professors, lay persons, priests, nuns, and brothers of good old fashioned and loyal Roman Catholicism.

In Christ,
Alice

www.ewtn.com [ewtn.com]

EWTN celebrates 25 years of faithful service to the (Catholic) Church this 15 August 2006.

Three cheers for Mother Angelica and her staff!

And, thanks to Anthony Dragani's Q&A section on the Eastern Churches, I took a peek on his "East to West," which directed me to byzcath.org!

It was a look, see, and STOP! Love at first byte!

Amado

Dear Alice,

Thanks for the explanation. NOt being Roman Catholic, I'm not the sort to find/look for that type of programming.
P.S. I sent you a PM a while back. Be sure to check your messages!

love,
Nonna

Nonna

EWTN does occasionally have some Byzantine stuff - if you can crack the programmimg schedules

I have not watched the latest programme - I really don't think I can upset the Domestic scheduling again like last time

My dear friend and Forum member Don in Kansas told me about it a few thousand posts ago.
DD

Some years ago I posted for a while on another Byzantine website. They closed down their discussion forum because of problems there. After that I didn't post on any forums for a very long time except on one for pet lovers.

However,...one day in 4/2004 I had a question about the theological eschatology of the East. I decided to see if I could find another Byzantine Catholic website. I googled and to my surprise found byzcath.org. where our administrator and one of the moderators directed me to some good references on that subject. Then I lurked for a while and finally signed on as a member.

So far I have only met two people in person who post on this forum, but I am grateful for the on-line friends I have made here and for what all I have learned about the spirituality of the East.

In Christ,

Mary Jo

I have been invited to join this place by a beloved sister in Christ.

In Christ, Marian +

Growing up I had relatives and friends who were Byzantine Catholic and friends who were Orthodox Christians. So I've always felt an affinity to the Eastern Churches. In my late 20's, early 30's I went through my own discernment process, which to some extent is still going on today. I found this forum from the main page of byzcath.org while browsing Eastern Christian websites and after much lurking decided to join. It remains the only forum I belong to. Why? I'm not so sure myself, but I guess it's because this forum offers a different perspective on the faith than what Latin forums do. Though I'm still a Roman Catholic my deep love and respect for the Eastern Churches probably has something to do with it too.

Bill

It is cool to see how everyone got here. I came across a post on at the time CINEAST that said the byzcath forum was back up, so I checked it out. Like Diak, several thousand posts ago that is, have been hanging about ever since.

Nona here is a link to the frapper map that shows where some of us on the forum are located and our pictures..
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=002677

Pani Rose

"And, thanks to Anthony Dragani's Q&A section on the Eastern Churches, I took a peek on his "East to West," which directed me to byzcath.org!"

I am surprised so many came here the same way I did. We should all give Mr. Dragani and Mother Angelica a present for helping us know that this forum exists. I had such a similar situation to Angela, Alice and Amado. I read that this was a message board which had much "insider knowledge" regarding orthodox in communion with Rome this appealed to me. I also had many questions I needed to ask and still do, so here I am. I thank you all for answering them so well.

EWTN features eastern orthodox/byzantine programs on a few times a year (minus the excption of the "light of the east" reruns put on at 5 AM) This miniscule quantantity is probably fair considering how small a minority we/you are in this country.

I have wondered if there was any separate network altogether for easterners. the closest I could find is a local access cable station in los angeles. Every Saturday at 10:00am on KSCI, Channel 18
Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego

The future is very bright for eastern orthodoxy/catholicism media.

http://www.octelevision.org/ I forgot to post this link. It is the orthodox version of EWTN in it's infancy, the public access channel I mentioned.

I came across it by accident when I was searching for some Byzantine info online. It was a while though before I signed up.

ICXC
NIKA

I smelled the Onion Domes and came running. Pirohi, just ain't quite Pirohi without butter and onions. Even Orthodox Pirohi.
(Except of course when fasting.)

I googled Byzantine Catholic! I'm sooo happy I did!

In Christ,
Katie g

Thanks for the reminder

IT'S BACK AGAIN

Actually, an angel appeared in my backyard. He was holding golden tablets with archaic inscriptions on them. The script was unfamiliar, but the angel said they were American Indian in origin, and at least a few thousand years old. He deciphered the strange script and it read, "go to byzcath.org." I thought this was surely a supernatural revelation for a new age, so I better do it. By the way, this angel was wearing the most peculiar underwear. How perplexing! Oh, BTW, I think this angel said his name was Pirohi? Anyway, I am glad I did, since I love the people here and have met some wonderful online friends.

Those tablets were for your head ache. I hope you took them with lots of water and then went back to sleep. I also hope you remembered to thank the dear angel.

ICXC
NIKA

Charles - were the gold tablets filled with chocolate ?

Unfortunately, no.

Charles you must have run into one too many nails when you guys were building the chapel Ed Klages and the Church members worked diligently on this, must have been where the dreams are coming from http://www.hrbcc.org/photos_chasovnia.shtml

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to work on the chapel. I have 3 of those 1/2-time jobs that all take nearly full time - school librarian, computer tech teacher, and church organist/music director. However, Ed is a top-notch guy who is solidly grounded in tradition and in our faith. He does a great job at everything he works on.

Well Charles you were nailing in nails with your prayers I am sure. They help to make the hammering go a lot quicker

I found this site by a link at the Byzantine Catholic Church site.
I was newly Byzantine, and coming out of my Year of Ill Health.
My first six months or so here were contentious; I started out by feuding with Alex for a good while. I thought him thin-skinned and humorless. He thought I was an insufferable smart a** [I plead guilty; as Chesterton said "an ounce of sarcasm is worth a pound of argument"].
Now, of course, Alex and I greatly admire one another! I think I convinced him that caution instead of creativity in iconography is wise, and he convinced me that Hus was not a heretic.
My sense of humor and inexperience with online discussions got me in a lot of trouble. I even managed to make Alice, the Sweetheart of the Forum, angry a couple of times [I won't go into it, but I was right!]
At the lowest point, someone even started a thread calling for my ouster! And a lot of people posted their agreement! Man, that hurt. However, it turned out that it was a case of mistaken identity: they thought that I was another Daniel who posted here, a convert to Orthodoxy who posted a lot of uncharitable comments about Catholicism. Lesson: make sure you have the right target in your sites before you pull the trigger.
I changed my screen name to "Iconophile", and my avatar image and that straightened that out [the one I have now is my third, an icon I painted for my daughter, Maria Rose].
I will note that I have never been suspended, unlike certain other posters .
I have learned a few things while here, not least not to take things personally. Also, in the heat of argument, I bear in mind that it is rarely for the sake of my opponents, most of whom have a conclusion firmly in their grasp and will adjust the facts to fit. Rather, it is for the lurkers, who outnumber posters, and who, above the fray, are judiciously weighing out the logic and evidence.
And finally, I learned to use the graemlins! When I first came here, a cyberspace neophyte who fancied himself a good writer, I refused to use these tools. After all, if one was a good writer, one was not going to be misunderstood, right?
Wrong, at least in this medium. So, I sprinkle my posts liberally with these little faces and find that I am rarely misunderstood these days :p .
-Daniel

I, too, noticed the message board section when surfing the websites of the various "Ruthenian" Churches. There was much to for me to learn on these boards, so I keep coming back!

Well, I was posting on another forum that was quite uncharitable and didn't quite agree with my views on Christian unity. It seems they had their own agenda, so you either went along with it or else. To make a long story short, they attack in groups. Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Not willing to lower my integrity and conform to anything, I decided to annoy everyone here. I say 'annoy' because the person that told me about this forum believed that would be exactly what I'd be doing.

Zenovia

It was perhaps a month or so after my dear husband reposed in the Lord. Sleep was a stranger to me and I was googling his name at 2 in the morning. I was astounded to discover on this forum pages of prayers for him from people who did not know him... prayers for a miraculous recovery and prayers for me to be comforted and strengthened... then prayers for his eternal memory and for my two boys and me.

How could I stay away from such a place? The richness and compassion of the prayers offered for me and my beloved moved me to tears. The charity and tenderness offered me by the few with whom I have corresponded have brought me tremendous solace.

If you read this, go to the Prayer forum and offer your prayers;;; you have no idea whom you might be reaching.

-- Penthaetria, with profound gratitude

This all started in November when my son Justin was in the NICU at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. My wife was in the city (as it's known here in the country!) and I was left by myself to work at my office. I take a long lunch and I was looking for a more traditional Christmas to share with my family (there are six of us now!) I read about Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Ruthenian (where is that, I thought, I had attended a Ruthenian Divine Liturgy or two but didn't really know where it was and assumed it was like Bohemia, it doesn't exist anymore) Christmasses and wanted to incorporate those traditions into my home.

I googled for more info and came here. I read, and then tried to post. It turns out they won't let just any yayhoo on this forum (actually they did they let me on here ) I actually had to apply to get on here!

So it was Christmas that led me to the Forum.

I forget how I found this Forum, but I am very glad and grateful to have found it.

-- John