www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship Vespers, Matins & the Divine Liturgy Dual Roman/Byzantine Churches

I was previously an Orthodox catechumen for 10 months after finding Christ again, but in the end the ROCOR bishop wanted to rebaptize me.
I couldn't bring myself to renounce my Catholic baptism.
So, I left and started attending my local Roman rite parish.
It's just not the same...As I'm sure all of you know.

I discovered the Eastern Catholic churches, and by the grace of God there is a mission byzantine church in Knoxville.
They only have liturgy once per month.
So, I figure I can go to the divine liturgy once per month and attend my Roman church the remaining three Sundays.
This is good, because my wife is creeped out by Byzantine things (kissing icons, kissing hands, kissing everything...)

Do you think it would be spiritually unwise to be a part of two church communities?
This feels like a great opportunity to fill my spiritual cup while also appeasing my wife (an agnostic) who is making excellent steps in her faith since we started attending the Roman rite church.

Hello Matthew & Welcome!

I, for one, do not see a problem. You would be continuing in your Roman Church and "treating" yourself once a month to a permitted fruit.

Christ is in ou rmidst!!

layman matthew,

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

In the Catholic Communion, you may attend any parish you wish and still be in full communion with the parish you call home. Welcome home, too. Your pilgrimage will be your own and what the Holy Spirit leads you to on your way to the Kingdom will be your path. Supporting the Byzantine mission will be a good thing and maybe you willhelp it grow.

Know that your brothers and sisters hre will keep you in our poor prayers.

Bob
Moderator

Everyone's journey is unique as their fingerprints.

I was introduced to this wonderful forum eighteen years ago by a very godly tri-ritual Catholic Priest.

After a very interesting sojourn I ended the journey in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese where by God's grace and at the hand of His Eminence Metropolitan Savas I serve as a Deacon.

Enjoy your journey!

Well guys, the liturgy did not go as planned.
When I arrived, I was so happy to see familiarity.
My 4-year-old son venerated all the icons, we found our place and were approached by a reader and given some materials to follow the liturgy as a gesture of friendliness.

All went well until the homily.
The priest gave a candid speech about how he doesn't welcome Roman Catholic tourists that want to play with the icons and prayer ropes.
He plainly stated that if you want to be an Eastern Catholic, you need to commit 100%.
He called all Roman Catholics to participate and *know their tradition* rather than being 50/50.
This entails only using Roman Catholic sacraments as an emergency measure only (he especially harped on a Byzantine confessor), and if needed driving 3+ hours to the nearest Byzantine church on other Sundays for the eucharist when the mission cannot support it.

There were many other things said in this homily that were inflammatory, but I don't want to give so many details as to walk into gossip.

I couldn't help but feel like that homily had been personally catered for me!

At the end of the homily, I felt extremely unwelcome and walked out.

Matthew, I am sorry to hear of your poor experience. That homily sounds quite scandalous - either the content or, at the very least, the delivery. May God grant a spirit of forgiveness and charity to all involved.

The frustrations of this priest may be from prior poor experiences with Roman Catholics who have unwittingly disrupted Byzantine liturgies or caused offense in some way. Even so, that would not justify rebuking you as an honest seeker who he'd never met before.

On the mission's event's schedule, they list only "Divine Liturgy" most months, but this month they had "Divine Liturgy with Father Kevin." It may be worth giving them a call to see if there's usually a different priest or if Rev. Kevin miscommunicated what he was trying to say during his homily.
https://stthomasbyzknox.wordpress.com/schedule/

I hope you can find a welcoming home in Christ's church.