drewmeister2 Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 What are the spiritual differences between the two Rites? For example, I know the times at which Communion and Confirmation are administered are at different times. But what else is there, and how can they be accepted by the Pope so that Eastern Rite people can still be Catholic? Thanks! God bless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatcatholic Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 Apotheoun is the one to answer this question...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewmeister2 Posted October 3, 2004 Author Share Posted October 3, 2004 Yeah, I am hoping he will answer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader_4 Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 I am really looking forward to this answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aluigi Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 there are different spiritualities throughout the Church. i'm not sure i understand this question... first off, i'm sure you know there's more than 2 rites, theres about 20 or so.. secondly, the doctrine of all the rites is the one same Catholic Faith from the Apostles. no difference there. but there are many different spiritualities throughout the Church, even in the Latin Rite you can be Thomist or Franciscan or Dominican, etc. it just deals with the different ways the doctrine can be applied. likewise, in other rites (though it is more of a difference than the diff between franciscans and dominicans, as it deals with the way the Divine Liturgy is celebrated) there are differences in the aproaches and ways of applying that which is still believed the same by everyone. you cannot simply state what is different between the rites real quick... i know the Maronite Rite has the Rosary, but many Eastern Rites do not... they each follow a different order of the Mass, but it's still the same Mass with the same consecration.. anyway, yeah, with 20something rites, there are many different cool prayer styles and applications, but the One Same True Doctrine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewmeister2 Posted October 3, 2004 Author Share Posted October 3, 2004 Thank you! That somewhat answered my question. Maybe a clearer way to state it is how is it permissible by the Catholic Church for the Eastern Rite to have similar spiritualities as the Orthodox? And how similar are the spiritualities of the Eastern Rite and the Orthodox? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aluigi Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 well.. cuz the spiritualities of the Orthodox Churches are not necessarily wrong. Their DOCTRINES are slightly wrong, like the doctrine that denies the papacy, and i believe the doctrine that allows for divorce/remarriage (breaking up of an actual marriage, as apposed to our custom of annullment where we investigate to find out if the marriage was really valid and if it wasnt, then they are free to marry someone else)... but the order of their Divine Liturgy, which sometimes follows closely to some of the Eastern Rites, is not something to be condemned. if they were to fix up their doctrines and join up with the Catholic Church again, their style of spirituality would not be suppressed (unless part of it stemmed from heretical beliefs, i don't know that much about them, but say they had a prayer that prayed for the Pope to stop being Pope and just be a western patriarch, that prayer wouldn't be good. lol, i guess that's an overly simplistic example, i don't think they have a prayer like that...) umm.. as to the similarities between their spiritualities... chalk it up to the similarities between their cultures. they're all from the East... so to them having the priests have those cool hats and stuff like that is just part of their style Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewmeister2 Posted October 3, 2004 Author Share Posted October 3, 2004 Thank you, Aluigi! That helps explain alot. That makes sense. I did notice some differences when I went a couple of months ago to a Greek Orthodox Divine Liturgy. I have also been to a Byzantine Divine Liturgy. The church was different inside, and the actual Liturgy had some different components that aren't in the Catholic Divine Liturgy. It was neat to see the two. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laudate_Dominum Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 Actually the Eastern Catholic Churches are encouraged to follow Eastern Orthodox spirituality. You can find many Eastern Catholic Churches where the Rosary is prayed, stations of the cross and other Western devotions, but the East has its own devotions and spirituality. The Eastern Churches have a different liturgical calendar and many Saints which we do not celebrate. My current Eastern Catholic roommate practices many Roman Catholic devotionals, but my previous Eastern roommate had a more authentically eastern hesychast spirituality. The best book to read to learn about this spirituality would be the Philokalia. A big part of it is the Jesus Prayer which I imagine you have encountered at some point. "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." The Liturgy and the holy Mysteries (Sacraments) are central of course. And there is something like the Roman Catholic Divine Office. There are vespers and matins prayers which are an extention of the Liturgy that are chanted. There are Akathist hymns which are also chanted. The most popular Akathist hymn is the Akathist of the Theotokos (Mother of God). The Marian dimension of Orthodox spirituality is profound. There is also an emphasis on St. John the Baptist in the East that is really neat. You might compare it with the emphasis on St. Joseph in the West. Anyway, I feel weird talking about Orthodox spirituality since I am Roman Catholic. I hope Apotheoun posts. God bless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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