I'm new to the forum. I found this a few months ago and look in occasionally. I'm a Melkite Greek Catholic, have been since 2005. I am a convert to Roman Catholicism from a nominally Episcopalian family. I never grew up going to church, and* converted in 1998 after becoming interested in religion and Christianity. I don't have any interest in returning to Anglicanism, but because of my heritage, I am interested in learning more about it. If I were ever to return to the Christian West, it would probably be to an Anglican Ordinariate parish - traditional Latin Catholicism just doesn't appeal to me all that much. But my soul is Greek Greek Greek, lol. Anyway, nice to be here, and I'm looking forward to meeting y'all and learning about my own heritage. * I think it's hilarious that on an Anglican forum, I'm getting a grammar notification error from using the Oxford comma, lol.
Welcome and glad you are here. Just curious why does traditional Latin Catholicism not appeal to you? I feel very different for some reason the East feels alien to me in their liturgical style but I still find it beautiful but the Western Tradition does not feel alien at all.
I'm not really sure why. Western Christianity in general feels alien to me. I feel the same lack of comfort in Anglican churches as I do in the TLM. Lack of comfort might be too harsh. I don't feel like I'm not welcome in either. I just feel like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit. Byzantine liturgy and spirituality just speak to my soul in a way I haven't found in Western Christianity. I feel at home there. Part of the reason I would prefer an Ordinariate parish over a Latin Mass parish, if I ever were to return, is reception of communion in both forms. We do that too in the East. Receiving the host only is kinda weird, imo. I get why it was done during the period it was introduced, but I don't think it's necessary anymore.
When I went to high school, some 20 years ago, the Oxford comma was still taught as a writing convention. Welcome!
Hi and welcome. I'm always facinated by disciples of Jesus with exotic tastes in ritual. We Anglicans mostly enjoy dressing up, kneeling down and mixing in. Pull up a hassock and make yourself at home. .
Welcome! I believe your grammar notifications are coming from your web browser, not from the site. You'll need to change your language preferences in your browser settings.
Ah so that's what it is called. ( the Oxford comma). I always understood it was optional, but I also understood you should start a list with a semi colon. Am I correct? Oh by the way welcome Melkite.
To make it proper, it needs to have another word: "...and I converted..." This would obviate the comma, if I'm not mistaken. Anyhow, . It sounds as if our Lord has set you in that church for a season and for a reason.
Welcome from an old soul that went to school fifty-plus years ago, so anything I write is incorrect. Enjoy the forum.
Welcome to the forum! I'd be interested to learn how you achieved this. It is my understanding when one is received into the Catholic Church you have to join the church that most closely corresponds to the one you are leaving. Therefore, I would expect an American Episcopalian to be required to join the Latin Catholic Church rather than the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. I think you would find Ordinariate parishes, which are Catholic and not Anglican, to be closer to Traditional Catholicism than not. Then why join an Eastern catholic church that is mainly ethnically Arabic and uses the Antiochian Rite? Wouldn't your Greek soul have been happier in a Byzantine Eastern Catholic Church? I have never had my English, grammar or otherwise, checked by Anglican Forums. Something else must be doing it. There is no Anglican form of English Grammar. You would find the Oxford comma well accepted in American English whereas its use is far less common in British English.
That's an old requirement. I did convert via the Latin church. But Rome allows canonical transfers between churches. It used to rarely allow them, and then only one way for the most part (East to West, of course). But now it allows them pretty liberally, although you can only do so once. You just have to petition the bishop of the church you'd like to transfer to, and if he approves, he'll check with the bishop you're currently under to see if they have any reservations. If both approve, it's a pretty easy process. I think you're thinking of the Maronite church. The Melkite church uses the Byzantine rite, and is the counterpart to the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. In the US, it's really the only Byzantine Catholic church of the Greek recension. The others are Slavic, and they do some things differently. For a time, I was an Orthodox catechumen, with the intent of joining the Antiochian Archdiocese. But I decided not go to through with it, and decided if I was going to remain Catholic, it would have to be in whatever the counterpart to the Antiochians were.
Does the Melkite church do any better than the Roman church at emphasizing salvation "by grace through faith and not by works"?
You are most assuredly not mistaken. There is no need for a comma before any conjuction, since the conjuction itself is the word performing the function of joining to two clauses. The missing 'I' was the cause of the ambiguity and the superfluous comma still did not actually resolve the ambiguity of meaning. When reading a sentence aloud, a brief pause should proceed conjuctions, such as 'and', 'but' and 'or' or sometimes 'with' and 'also'. The pause should be slightly less than after a comma, which itself is more brief than after a semi colon or full stop, (period) Commas can be used to separate items in lists within a sentence, saving the use of conjuctions. They can also indicate a pause to emphasise meaning and eliminate ambiguity. New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew contained no commas or punctuation, thus New Testament scripture may contain many nuances and even ambiguities. I believe this is quite deliberate policy on behalf of it's divine author. .
From your perspective, probably not. It's not something that we really think about much, and the Melkite stance is kind of official-unofficial "whatever the Orthodox believe, so do we." The Orthodox hold the same view as Rome on this, that works are a necessary component to one's salvation - without them, your faith is dead. However, we don't have the same kind of hang up on works that some Latin Catholics, particularly traditionalists, have. We don't scrupulously set up a ticker for all our works and then fret over whether we've done enough. We try our best to do the works that Christ has commanded, repent where we fall short, and leave the rest to his mercy. At least, that's the ideal. That can be easier or harder for individuals depending on their personality type.
I could only go off the information that you gave. Had you explained this before my question would have been unnecessary. Don't blame me, blame Wikipedia. Their entry on Eastern Catholic churches says it follows the Byzantine Rite. However, their article on the Melkite Church says its Antiochian, and that was the article I'd looked at.
I can see how that could get twisted. It goes back to the time of Chalcedon. The Melkites and the Eastern Orthodox of Antioch were the ones that accepted Chaldedon. The Syriacs didn't. The Syriacs and Maronites use the Antiochene rite. The Byzantine did originate in the Antiochene rite, though, so they are related.
Anglicans can agree, in a certain respect, that "works are a necessary component". But we believe, based on scripture, that the "component" cannot be one of contributing to one's merit for salvation. Rather, works are the indicator and inevitable byproduct of true faith; that is, one who trusts in Christ will do good works because the indwelling Holy Spirit works in and through the believer, leading him and enabling him to do those works. Just as our faith is from God, so are our works from God. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). ...He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).