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Pani Rose,
Thank you for your insight into the reasons why some Melkites prefer Roman churches. Hopefully the Melkites will re-establish a mission or parish in my area.
Peace and joy be with you.
Paul
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Originally posted by Pani Rose:
Amazingly enough, though the Melkites and Marionites are only a few blocks apart, and the families close there are not as many marriages from these churches, combining the churches. Rose, Early in the 20th century, when there was often only a Maronite or Melkite priest in a given locale, the tendency was for both to gravitate to whichever church was available, due to the common secular tongue. And there are still places around the country where it happens. But, in my experience, what you describe regarding intermarriage tends to be true -it's not a common happening. (Around here, Melkites are much more likely to intermarry with Latins or Orthodox than with Maronites.) Ethnic Melkites will ascribe it to a "clannishness" on the part of Maronites vis-a-vis more "openness" on our part. (Truth be told, though, we each are a bit parochial - in Boston, you can deduce the parish affiliation of a deceased Lebanese or Syrian by which funeral home is in charge of the arrangements.) Political differences - particularly in Lebanon, where the Maronites were more a part of the establishment than their Melkite sisters and brothers - also play a role. None of this is to say that there aren't common bonds between us when it comes to things like cultural and anti-discrimination organizations and our mutual support of Danny Thomas' legacy - St. Jude's Hospital. Originially posted by Pani Rose:
However, most of them came years ago. There was an apparent riff at the Greek Orthodox Church of some sort. They spent considerable time speaking with the priest that was at St. Georges at the time, and he welcomed them to the church. Curiousity, did this happen during the pastorate of Archimandrite (now Archbishop) Joseph Raya, when he was pastor there prior to being ordained to the episcopacy? Many years, Neil
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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Originally posted by djs: ... the Latins were accusing us of being holier than the Pope because we fast on Wednesdays and Fridays ... Hi, I'm bumping this thread at the request of djs. When I started attending the Melkite Church (the church of my ancestors), I experienced heavy criticism from my Latin Catholic friends who knew little about the Eastern Church and who accused me of being holier than the pope because of the Wednesday and Friday fast. My own Latin Confessor said that I was now in a heretical church. When I explained to him that the Melkite Church was Catholic, he disagreed with me and said that he would no longer be available to hear my confession unless I repented and once again joined the Roman Catholic Church. Believe it or not, the pastor of St. Charles Boromeo Church in North Hollywood was openly preaching in 1993 that St. Anne was not a Catholic Church. We had serious problems which Bishop John had to solve. Now things have changed, but it was painful, with Melkite children forced to be re-confirmed in the Catholic Church if they wanted to marry a Roman Catholic or attended a Roman Catholic school. Yes, I know a person who was reconfirmed in 1994, just prior to her wedding. I felt alienated from all my Catholic friends who couldn't understand why I had switched from West to East. One went so far as to call me unpatriotic and unAmerican, because we had an Arabic Divine Liturgy. That hurt. With the publication of the encyclicals of John Paul II regarding the East, things became better, but by that time, we had become Greek Orthodox. THANK GOD FOR JOHN PAUL II.
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Originally posted by paromer: Originally posted by Elizabeth Maria:
[b]
Dear Paul:
The Latins were accusing us of being holier than the Pope because we fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, while the Orthodox accused us of not following our Byzantine traditions. We were caught between two worlds...
...Hope this helps. I'm trying hard not to stir the pot and inflame things. It's a cultural thing more than a religious difference.
Elizabeth Maria
Thank you for your post. I don't interpret it as inflammatory in any way.
I wouldn't pay attention to what Latins say (Except me  )
My Mother-in-law still abstains from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent.
I recall Archbishop Tawil's speech to Melkites, "The courage to be ourselves." That's a good lesson for all Christians.
This is a little off this thread, but maybe someone can confirm or deny this statement:
A Byzantine Catholic priest told me that the local Melkites (they have no local parish) would rather attend a Roman Church than a Byzantine Church. I was very surprised by his statement.
Is this a cultural thing too? I too am not trying to cause trouble, but if it's true, this behavior troubles me.
Sincerely in Christ and the Theotokos,
Any comments?
Paul [/b]It is indeed cultural, this friction between Maronites and Melkites. It's sad too. A lot of Maronite and Melkite families are very wealthy and so they want to keep the wealth in their families. Therefore, there are some forced marriages between cousins with the resultant birth defects. Maronites are proud of their history. They claim that they have never been separated from Rome, but have maintained their ecclesiology pure and undefiled. Since the Melkites separated from the Antiochians in the 18th century, they consider themselves Orthodox united with Rome, and indeed many call themselves Orthodox Catholics. Do you see then, why the two don't mix? Hopefully this divisive spirit is being healed.
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