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I'm reflecting on my last visit to the Byzantine Catholic Church and am puzzling over a few things. First, I noticed this time that no one approached the tetrapod to reverence the icons. Is this considered an optional practice?

Secondly, some people made a quick bow before entering or leaving their pews, some didn't. Of course, it goes withinout saying that these days in Latin rite parishes some folks don't bother to genuflect before entering OR leaving their pew, even though the tabernacle is in full view, in the center of the church, right behind the main altar. I was amazed last year upon attending Mass at our downtown Cathedral to see a young man who actually bowed to the altar then proceeded across the aisle and stopped to genuflect before the tabernacle which is off to the side but still in plain view. Found out later he was a seminarian. It figures!

One other thing that struck me, in a liturgy that is not accompanied by musical instruments it becomes very evident if the people are not fully participating. In Roman parishes, of course, the lack of singing that is so evident at some parishes is beautifully hidden by the organist!

I have to heartily commend Byzantine Catholics for how they arrive on time for the Divine Liturgy and STAY all the way through the end. The way some Roman Catholics zip out of Church right after Holy Communion or before the priest even gives the dismissal is just dismal. Some folks might have an emergency but it's generally the same people, week in and week out.

In the meantime, I'm finding myself developing a very interesting spirituality, combining some of the Eastern prayers I've learned with the Western ones I already know. Do lay Eastern Catholics practice the daily Hours in great number? I think one reason that Latin rite Catholics have not yet rediscovered the Hours in greater number is because they haven't yet discovered the rich Biblical and Patristic foundations of the LOH. How has it worked in the Eastern rites?

Final thought, do all Byzantine Catholic parishes kneel at the consecration?

This is proving to be a very interesting journey ...

Slava Jesu Kristu,

Others on this list will answer better than I, but I can provide some insight.
First, it depends on the custom of the individual Church. Most Churches of the Slavic tradition will have a tretrapod which should be venerated. However, some have patronal icons at the front door. Some choose to venerate them and then go to their seat.
Second, Most bow with the sign of the cross. Some simply nod.
Third, more than likely, about the same number of Byzantines practice the Hours as do the Romans. Keep in mind, however, that the Eastern Hours (Horologion) are on a different cycle and calandar and are somewhat more difficult to follow alone. It can, however, be done.
I hope that helps a little.

Dmitri

Dear Christine,

Not all Eastern Church people are as zealous as Dmitri Rostovski and myself here!

I have found that in our traditional Eastern parishes where priests make it a point to teach and remind people about these rites of entrance and departure - it is commonly practiced.

We are to go to the tetrapod and make the Sign of the Cross twice, bowing. And then we kiss the icon and Cross on it. Then we move back and make another sign of the Cross and bow a third time.

We may then turn around and bow to the right and to the left saying to ourselves: Forgive me a sinner, Brothers and Sisters!

We don't do genuflections, but we can do bows and even prostrations to the ground, although the latter are not done on Sundays.

We do not kneel for Communion as kneeling is a sign of personal repentance.

To kneel at Communion is to almost indicate one hasn't been to Confession . . .

And the First Ecumenical Council forbade kneeling on Sundays and throughout the fifty day Easter Season.

As for the Hours or Horologion, traditional parishes will ALWAYS have Vespers on Saturday evening and often Matins on Sunday morning before the Liturgy, according to our prescribed liturgical rules.

We are more familiar with the Horologion than the West not because we are better , but because all of our services at Christmas, Easter etc. are based on the structure of the Daily Office.

So the Resurrection Mattins on Easter Sunday is a most important service that precedes the Paschal Mass or Liturgy - but it is part of the Divine Office. The Lamentations of the Shroud prior to this are also an integral part of the night Office. Even the Liturgy of St Gregory the Dialogist of the Presanctified - this is a Vespers Service with Holy Communion.

Anyone serious about growing in liturgical prayer in the Eastern tradition MUST needs be exposed to the Office and the Psalter.

The Roman Catholic laity have tended to see the Divine Office as something that belongs to the clerical domain, along with the Mass. Paraliturgical devotions and "Office substitutes" such as the Rosary, the Paternoster Psalter, Way of the Cross et alia have traditionally been central to the Latin Laity's Life.

The Roman Church would wish it otherwise and would like the Laity to focus not only on the Mass, but also on the Office and the Psalms, but old habits, as the Benedictines and Carmelites say, die hard . . .

Alex

Hi Christine,

Ideally, one would enter the nave of the church making three reverences (bows/sign of the Cross) toward the Holy Table (where the Tabernacle sits) with the prayer, "I will come into Your house in the greatness of Your mercy: and in fear I will worship toward Your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me, that with a clear mind I may glorify You forever, One Divine Power worshiped in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen." or perhaps this prayer, "You have created me, O Lord, have mercy; O God, be merciful to me a sinner; I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord" three times.

Then the person would proceed to venerate icons, first at the tetrapod then elsewhere. Ideally there would be icon shrines (devotional areas) spread throughout the church where the faithful would pray and light candles in front of the icons. In at least one parish I've attended many times, some people do this at the icons on the iconostasis, even kneeling in front of them on the steps of the solea (the raised area spanning the width of the church in front of the icon screen).

These shrine areas (free-standing, usually along the walls) are commonplace in our churches in eastern Europe. Unfortunately, most of our churches in the USA are "streamlined" (everything has to be in order!) or "simplified" and there are no such shrines. It's even hard to find candle stands to light in the church. And banners, if there are any at all, are pushed against the wall rather than placed traditionally throughout the nave.

Unfortunately these photos aren't quite clear enough, but they sort of show what I mean about how our churches in our "spiritual homeland" are arranged:
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]

There is nothing inherently holy about entering or leaving a pew. At least in the Byzantine Church... since our churches theoretically shouldn't have pews, we are free to behave as if they aren't really there. Our tradition is to reverence the Holy Table / Tabernacle when entering and leaving the church and to venerate the icons as I mentioned above. I never quite understood the thing about reverencing on cue with entering/leaving the pews. It's almost like reverencing the furniture more so than God. (perhaps even with a genuflection which seems to be on the rise in some parishes-- I've noticed people who used to bow are now genuflecting. I don't know where this is coming from, it's certainly not our custom even though some of our older people were taught it during the height of Latinization, and they seem to have passed it rather effectively to their children. )

Dear Lemko,

Beautiful pictures by the way!

Genuflection is a later Latin thing, being borrowed from the secular rite of swearing loyalty to a king or other lord on the left knee.

It developed in Germany where there was devotion to "Christ the King."

The difference was introduced where one genuflected on the right knee to God in Church and on the left knee before religious and secular superiors.

The prayer you mention is a wonderful practice and is the formal prayer priests say when they prepare for the Liturgy as they enter the Church.

We are to Cross and bow whenever we walk past the Throne or Altar in the Sanctuary and upon entering and leaving, as is the traditional norm.

I think RC's would also find refreshing (or annoying as the case may be) the many times we cross ourselves during the Divine Liturgy e.g. at each "Lord have mercy."

Alex

Thanks to ALL of you for sharing your wisdom AND for your zealousness. It is very refreshing.

I was aware that Eastern Christians bow and do not genuflect and certainly hope that this custom is maintained in the East. The Byzantine parish I have been visiting offers a Divine Liturgy on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. and I am somewhat puzzled that neither vespers or matins are offered (the Russian Orthodox Church around the corner does have vespers on Saturday and matins on Sunday).

I also was aware of the emphasis on standing as as sign of the resurrection in the Eastern tradition and again, surprised that the people knelt for the consecration (but not, of course, when receiving Holy Communion).

This parish maintains banks of glass candles, much as do Roman parishes, and not the candle stands that I have seen in Eastern OrthodoxChurches.

Lemko, I just assumed that when Eastern Christians bowed before entering their pew it was in honor of the altar/tabernacle ... I am very surprised to hear that some Eastern Christians are now genuflecting, as that is truly not in keeping with Eastern tradition.
Alex, I'm trying to recall my history but I believe at least in the early days of the Roman church the people did pray the Liturgy of the Hours, especially when they had access to monastic communities. It was with the advent of Latin and the increasing illiteracy of the laity that the people began to substitute the rosary and other paraliturgical devotions in the Western church (although I have to admit I do have a great deal of affection for the rosary myself. I pray a version that is rooted in both the western and eastern tradition). The older generation of Catholics probably will never become comfortable with the LOH but I'm hoping that the younger generation, as they become more exposed to Scripture and the writings of the Fathers, will recognize these foundations of the LOH.

I love how Eastern Christians sign themselves so often during the liturgy. What a wonderful reminder of our Trinitarian faith.

Dear Christine,

Congratulations on your wealth of knowledge on BOTH East and West!

I too love the Rosary and it is a practice promoted by certain Orthodox saints such as St Seraphim of Sarov who said it daily and got his spiritual children to say it daily too.

The Third Orders of the Latin West have done much to promote the Divine Office and continue in that vein.

Of course, the Rosary developed as a way for the unlettered to participate in the recitation of the Psalms, as we know.

The parish you visited seems to belong to our "Latinized" ones and I'm not being judgemental.

When became more Byzantine, this caused a deep inner revolution in me - the whole process can be very traumatic indeed, especially when one grows up with Latin devotions and devotionals!

But you certainly have a sophisticated understanding of Eastern spirituality and its distinctiveness from that of the West.

Our Angela of Glasgow here is a Latin whom we have adopted as an honorary Easterner.

We've even given her a Slavic-sounding name . . .

All the best, Khrystyna!

Alex

Alex, I am very grateful for your kind words (knowing nevertheless that I still have much, much to learn) and deeply honored to be a part of this forum of devoted brothers and sisters in Christ and am delighted to share with Angela an Eastern name! The Roman rite needs to recover the fullness of the image that as a people prays, so they believe. Too often these days we Roman Christians have forgotten that before all else the Church is called to be a worshipping community, a priestly people that leads all creation in worshipping the Most High God. When that is properly fulfilled then all else falls into place.

A bit of a sideline regarding genuflection, which was certainly a product of the feudal system, when a person genuflected it was believed that he was assuming a posture that rendered him totally physically vulnerable and submissive to the person before whom he was genuflecting; this was transferred as an act of humble adoration and submission before God.

I find it absolutely wonderful that everyone here is so committed to fostering greater understanding and learning in both our traditions. In the short time that I have been visiting here it has transformed my view of the Church forever.

Khrystyna,

Now you will have to get used to it - since Alex has given you your new name.

You are so lucky to be able to attend an Eastern Church on a regular basis - would that I could .

I was very interested to read of your experiences as in many respects they are very different to mine.

The Church that I do attend a few times a year [ far too few for my liking ] is Urainian and does seem very 'orthodox' in many respects. No pews [ I can hear cheers from some people about that ] just benches against the walls and a few folding chairs brought in for those [ like me - old and grey !] who sit. Until my last visit I had never seen anyone kneel at any time but last time - when the wee Church was full of Ukrainian visitors[ on pilgrimage from Ukraine] they did - and caught me totally unawares

I have found them to be very friendly to me - totally accepting of the fact that the language is a problem and thank goodness they do realise that I am there because I want to be - something pulls me there possibly that same something that is pushing you to 'investigate' the East.

I hope you enjoy your journey

Anhelyna

Lemko,

I was examining the wonderful photos you submitted and I see what you mean ... it actually does make more sense not to have pews in an Eastern Church. The parish I've been visiting is fairly small physically but does have a beautiful icon screen. An icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (as she's known in the Latin rite) is shown on the far left of the screen and has a bank of candles before it, and to the far right of the screen is an icon of the Holy Family also with a bank of candles. Because of the presence of pews there really is no room for any other shrines or banners. The Church also has lovely stained glass windows. I would venture to guess that Alex is right, this is a Byzantine parish with some Latin influence.

Hi Christine,

If I recall correctly, you've been going to St. Joseph's in Brecksville, right? If so, then I'd say that their present church is a huge step "eastward" from the old church in Cleveland (which was very beautiful but not terribly Byzantine)...

If they have an icon screen, that's progress for them.

And I think the zoning/building regulations in Brecksville say they can't put domes or crosses on the church... oy vey!

Anhelyna,

Thanks for sharing your experiences with me.

Indeed, I am very pulled East and yet at this stage I'm not sure where I am headed. I'm starting to realize that even if I remain in a Latin rite parish, in which my family is rooted for generations, I will never be able to practice a fully "Roman" version of my faith again. As you well know, there can be so much beauty in the Latin rite but I am so very disturbed by some of the things happening in the Roman Church in the U.S. There's so much division between (for lack of a better word) between more "traditional" and "progressive" Catholics that I fear an out and out schism is in the works -- depending in great part, of course, on the next papal election.

Should I fully make the journey East, on the other hand, I'm wondering how much of my Latin heritage I can safely take along with me and still be faithful to the Eastern vision. Or can one live faithfully in both worlds? I will need much prayer and discernment. But I know one thing for sure -- I have been forever changed by what I have discovered in the riches of Byzantium.

Your sister in Christ,

Khrystyna

Lemko,

Yes indeed I have been attending St. Joseph's and you'll be delighted to know that they did put up three beautiful golden domes with crosses!

Thanks be to God for that!

Christine,

The beatiful thing about the catholicity of our Faith is that we are called to "breathe with both lungs" of the Church (East and West) and not live our spiritual lives exlusively in one realm.

By your definition of practicing a "fully Roman version" of your faith, it seems you mean to only use Latin/Western devotions. If so, I discourage this! Same with the East. We're in communion for a reason: to learn from each other, to enhance the catholicity of the Faith, and to take part in others' liturgical and devotional practices.

ChristTeen287