www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology FAQs of non-Catholics and non-Christians - help!

I've been thinking for some time that my parish needs to do more to reach non-Catholics and non-Christians. Our current FAQ is targeted toward Roman Catholics just because it is what we are asked the most. This shows that non-Catholics and non-Christians are not asking questions of us. So I want to put together a list of questions and answers that we WISH they would be asking. I'll then publish the list for free distribution to those who wish to use it to evangelize for eastern Catholic churches.

Please contribute either questions, answers, or both. If 15 people each contributed just one response, we'd have a good list started. I thank you in advance for your efforts to assist this evangelization tool.

Here are some questions. I'll leave it up to others to supply the answers :-)

1. Why don't you allow other Christians to receive communion in your church?

2. Why is your church opposed to birth control?

3. What's the difference between a divorce and an annulment?

4. If a person was baptized in another church, do they have to be baptized again to become a Catholic?

5. Does your church teach that a person must be baptized in order to get to heaven? What happens to those who are not baptized but who live righteous lives?

Fools rush in, etc. - so here goes:


1. Why don't you allow other Christians to receive communion in your church?

RESPONSE; Holy Communion must involve sharing the Faith in fullness, or else it becomes dishonest - and dishonesty in the Eucharist is unacceptable. We welcome Eastern Orthodox Christians to Holy Communion because we do share the same Faith. We regret that we cannot invite others who do not share that Faith with us (there is also a recent exception in favor of the Polish National Catholic Church, but communicants of that Church seldom appear in Ireland and are even less likely to stumble across us).

2. Why is your church opposed to birth control?

RESPONSE: For a lengthy answer, read Humanae Vitae (Paul VI). For a briefer answer: the medical evidence continues to accumulate that contraception is damaging, and we also consider it a form of collective suicide, as a look at the birth rates amongst those who practice contraception will confirm.

3. What's the difference between a divorce and an annulment?

RESPONSE: A divorce is a dissolution of an existing marriage. An annulment is a finding on the basis of facts that what had been thought to be a marriage was in reality never a marriage. Happens more often than you might suspect.

4. If a person was baptized in another church, do they have to be baptized again to become a Catholic?

RESPONSE: Alas, this question does not have a "yes or no" answer, because of the plethora of Churches, ecclesial communities, and informal groups (see the yellow pages of any phone book from a large city), with an almost infinite range of practices and beliefs regarding Baptism.

5. Does your church teach that a person must be baptized in order to get to heaven? What happens to those who are not baptized but who live righteous lives?

RESPONSE: this is a question to be left to the mercy and justice of Almighty God.

Father Serge

Communion is both personal and communal. The second aspect means when we partake of communion, we partake of the shared fatih of the community. That means when I partake of communion, I am saying I believe what the church teaches and what the people around me believe. That is why in the Orthodox Church communion is restricted to Orthodox Christians, and why conversely Orthodox Christians are not permitted to partake of mysteries outside of the church.

Glory to Jesus Christ.

What about about a question on why you worship the way you do? That may be a bit general. However, I find I receive some questions surrounding the ritual - the teaching, the Eucharist, and the petitions.

Regards,
Christopher

Thank you for your responses so far! I look forward to more!

Here's one I've heard
Do you believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit (ie speaking in tongues) is for today or stopped with the last of the Apostles?

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are eternal. But the ways in which they function sometimes change - and we should be utterly wary of seeking to force God to conform to our notions.

Father Serge

Okay, you guys are good. Here are some more questions:

6. Some Catholics have statues. You have icons. Aren't both of them images and therefore prohibited by the Commandments?

7. Roman, Byzantine, etc. Jesus prayed "that they may all be one." If you claim to be the "true" church, why all the divisions?

8. Almost every mainstream church in the US has women clergy--even the Anglicans. Why aren't women ordained in your church? Can women give communion without being ordained, like in the Roman Catholic Church?

9. I understand that you believe that your communion is the real body and blood of Jesus. God revealed to Peter that all foods are clean except blood. How can you drink blood?

10. Do you believe that the Bible is the revealed word of God without errors?

That second batch of questions reveals something about the questioner. However, we are commanded to give answer to all them that ask concerning the hope that is in us, so here goes:

6. Some Catholics have statues. You have icons. Aren't both of them images and therefore prohibited by the Commandments?

RESPONSE: No, they are not prohibited by the Commandments. If you want a lengthier discussion, it's available.

7. Roman, Byzantine, etc. Jesus prayed "that they may all be one." If you claim to be the "true" church, why all the divisions?

RESPONSE: Divisions in the Church are caused by sin in one form or another (if you did not know that Christians are sinful men and women, allow me to be the first to tell you).

8. Almost every mainstream church in the US has women clergy--even the Anglicans. Why aren't women ordained in your church? Can women give communion without being ordained, like in the Roman Catholic Church?

RESPONSE: The standards and behaviour of "Almost every mainstream church in the US . . . even the Anglicans" are not normative for us. We do not believe that God has authorized His Church to ordain women to the Priesthood or the Episcopate. In situations of severe emergency (such as the time of persecution in the USSR) women - particularly nuns - may be authorized to give Holy Communion, but these cases are clearly exceptional, and do not involve ordination.

9. I understand that you believe that your communion is the real body and blood of Jesus. God revealed to Peter that all foods are clean except blood. How can you drink blood?

RESPONSE: Cf. the Gospel of John, chapter 6, particularly verses 51, 54 and 56, where the Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, clearly commands us to eat His Body and drink His Blood.

10. Do you believe that the Bible is the revealed word of God without errors?

RESPONSE: The simple answer is "Yes", but that could cause confusion, since we are not biblical fundamentalists - and we certainly do not believe that the King James Version is the ultimate and indispensable translation of the Bible.

Father Serge

Just pretending I'm a Bible-thumping Baptist or Disciple of Christ. (If I were one of them, I think they would want the longer answer about the icons.)

Here's some about Liturgy:

11. Why do you sing all your prayers in church?

12. Your Creed says, "I profess one baptism for the remission of sin?" Little babies haven't sinned, so why do you baptize them?

13. Why do you bow and cross yourselves so often during your services?

14. Why are some of your prayers repeated so often? E.g., you pray for the Pope several times during your service, and the priest says, "Peace be with all" a number of times.

15. Why does the priest say, "The doors, the doors"?

Sophia,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Thank you for paying so much attention to the Divine Liturgy that you are raising some important questions. As time permits, I will try to provide answers.

12. Your Creed says, "I profess one baptism for the remission of sin?" Little babies haven't sinned, so why do you baptize them?

In baptism, the East emphasizes less the "washing away" aspect but more the aspect of death and rebirth -- the infant's mortal nature dies in baptism and the infant is restored to her immortal nature. Baptism is essentially *paschal* in the Eastern tradition -- it is viewed as the personal Pascha, and the personal reconciliation of the individual with the Father.

Hope this helps,

Deacon El

Sophia,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

11. Why do you sing all your prayers in church?

We chant simply because it is our tradition. Pope +John Paul II, of blessed memory, in his Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen (The Light of the East) told us "The light of the East has illumined the universal Church, from the moment when "a rising sun" appeared above us (Lk 1:78)".

He tells of the importance of the Eastern tradition "Since, in fact, we believe that the venerable and ancient tradition of the Eastern Churches is an integral part of the heritage of Christ's Church, the first need for Catholics is to be familiar with that tradition, so as to be nourished by it and to encourage the process of unity in the best way possible for each" and that we are to restore our authentic tradition.

It is edifying to realize that your questions follow the Holy Father's request that all Catholics become familiar with that tradition.

And remember, when we sing, we "pray twice"!

Deacon El

Dear Sophia,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

13. Why do you bow and cross yourselves so often during your services?

We will get more out of the services if we pray rather than merely attend them. We allow the hymns to enter our heart, and make their words our own. Remember that the services are not a time for private prayers but for sharing in the common worship of the Church.

We follow the service with our body as well as our mind. Eastern Christian piety is rich in actions which enable the whole person to worship. We should cross ourselves at the proper times (on hearing an invocation of the Trinity, at the blessing by the priest in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and at any prayer or petition which personally affects us). At censings and blessings the proper response is to bow to the priest (crossing oneself is not necessary). During Great Lent there are times when we kneel or do prostrations; we should follow the priest and altar servers in this matter. Kneeling is not proper on Sundays, since each Sunday is a feast of the Resurrection, a weekly Pascha. (The reader or choir is exempted from certain actions if performing them disrupts the service.)

Let us remember above all that the temple must be filled with an attitude of mutual love and respect. We have assembled to share in the Church's worship, to unite with each other and our Lord, to anticipate the joyful time when we are gathered into His Kingdom. Our attitude toward one another should reflect that of the Lord, who loves us all and desires nothing more than our spiritual growth and our salvation.

Deacon El

Dear Sophia,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

15. Why does the priest say, "The doors, the doors"?

As we complete the Liturgy of the Word and begin the Liturgy of the Eucharist we must make sure nothing disturbs the concentrated prayer which prepares us for the most important moment of the Eucharist. We must pay especial attention to the fact that the Divine Liturgy prepares us all for further participation in the sacred mystery.

First of all the Church prepares us by the prayer petitions concerning the offering of the precious gifts and for us, ourselves. Secondly the liturgy prepares us by inspiring us with peace and with mutual love, employing in this those two exclamations with have but one meaning: "Peace be unto all," and "Let us love one another, that with one mind we may confess Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and undivided." During these, the priests kiss the veiled holy gifts and each other, greeting each other with the words: "Christ is in our midst!" "He is and shall be!" And thirdly, the liturgy prepares us for the mystery with the confession of the Faith in the chanting of the Symbol of Faith [the Creed].

From ancient times, it was specified by the Church that all the faithful should know the Symbol of Faith, the Creed, by heart. The Creed is very much a saving mark of faith which one must always have with oneself. Before the Symbol of the Faith, there is an announcement to the people: "The doors. The doors. In wisdom let us attend." The command is telling us to guard the doors of the church against everything that is disorderly; on account of the wisdom of God's mystery, let us, who are attending the Eucharist or are offering the bloodless Sacrifice, also guard the doors of our soul against every thought which is alien to the sacredness of the moment.

Deacon El