www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Practicing Byzantine Spirituality W/out a Parish

I'm a college student, and a Roman Catholic. Over the last year or so, I've taken a dive into the Byzantine Catholic tradition, prayers, and Divine Liturgies. The nearest Byzantine parish is an hour and a half away from me, and I've gone to a few of their Divine Liturgies, but it's simply not practical to go every Sunday to attend. So, I go to my campus' Catholic Center for mass instead.

My question is: Does anyone have practical advice in living out the Byzantine tradition outside of a regular parish life? Like what things can I do to incorporate some daily prayers/actions of the Byzantine tradition in my prayer life?

Very thankful for any and all advice, just trying to grow in my faith. God bless, Glory to Jesus Christ!

Is there an Orthodox Church near you? You could always go to vigil mass on saturday at the catholic center to fulfill your obligation but then attend Divine Liturgy on Sunday and all the other Liturgies and services throughout the week as your schedule allows. This allows you to live a fully Byzantine spiritual life without breaking communion with Rome, until your circumstances change and you can move closer to a Byzantine Catholic Church. I am Byzantine Catholic and my family spends more time at the Orthodox Church than our Ruthenian Church for the same reason (distance).

While it's still around, you could check out the Byzantine Daily Office (BDO; https://ecpubs.com/byzantine-daily-office-bdo/). There is both a mailing list and an app (ECPubs) that you can use, and they sent the hours and vespers with all changeable parts included every day.

They sent out an email recently saying that they might be closing it down soon due to a lack of funding. It's unfortunate because it seems to be the most convenient electronic horologion I can find.

And here's an introduction to the Divine Praises: https://mci.archpitt.org/liturgy/DailyCycle.html
There's lots of great resources on the MCI's website that you can browse through as interested as well.

Further, while it's nowhere close to a substitute for a parish community, the What God Is Not podcast can give a feeling of connection with the Byzantine community (available on "all the platforms"): https://whatgodisnot.com/

Can you confirm the app is still active? I used to have an android phone had the app but it disappeared randomly one day and I've never been able to see it on the app store again? Not just on my phone either but my wife's as well.

It should still be active on the Google Play store. I use the app daily. I also still get daily emails with the vespers and little hours texts from EC Pubs. They did recently send out an email saying it may be closed down soon though:

BDO Might Stop

We thank those who have contributed to our publication of the Byzantine Daily Office, both one-time and ongoing stipend payments. But we have received less than half of the cost of ongoing publication and are losing nearly $500/month. After nearly 10 years, this is no longer sustainable and will impact both the daily email service and smartphone app. If we don't have an influx of financial support by April 15, we will need to reduce the service or cancel it completely. You can contribute through our GoFundMe campaign (ECPubs) or directly on our website:

https://ecpubs.com/product-category/stipend-payments/

Thanks!

Sincerely,

Jack Figel
Eastern Christian Publications

Honestly it's hard to do outside of being a member of a parish. The Byzantine prayer life and liturgical calendar are much more intertwined with each other than they are in the Roman Church. You can certainly practice private prayers of any Rite or tradition, but it's probably going to feel inauthentic. This is probably most evident in the Byzantine pre-Fast and post-Pascha Sundays. While the Byzantine Church ramps up to the Fast with preparatory Sundays that are also reflected in the Liturgy of the Hours, the Roman Church is still in Ordinary Time. The Sunday after Easter, as the East celebrates Thomas Sunday, the Roman (non-TLM) parishes are observing "Divine Mercy Sunday," a devotion literally just a few decades old. And as a Roman Catholic, you are canonically bound to its calendar and disciplines.

Exactly. They are two almost entirely different religions/ways of life.

Christ is in our midst!!

Bryce:

Welcome to the forum. We hope your time with us is spiritually enriching.

That said, may I suggest you find a Byzantine prayer book and use it. You will find a regular Morning and Evening prayer rule that may fulfill your needs to begin in this direction. I am a Latin Catholic and I have used this method for over half a century. The discipline of having a structured prayer life was my life saver when I was a college student and continues today. There is a good prayerbook available from Holy Trinity Monastery that might fill the bill. You may find it on Amazon. There is also a reprint of a Byzantine Catholic prayerbook mentioned on another thread here https://www.sjoc.org/books/our-daily-bread, too.

Bob
Moderator