Growing up as heathen I always felt like there was more to life. Entering into my adult years I chased after this feeling finding myself going to a different church just about every day of the week, which included the Roman Catholic church. My grandmother with whom I lived with at the time( a devout Protestant) thought there was something wrong with me and hoped I would start going to church with her. Out of respect for my grandmother I started going with her but like the rest of the churches that I was going to there was always a sense that something was missing. After about 3 years of this cycle of churching I had an experience that brought me to my knees when I visited a Greek Orthodox shrine. After this experience and from many other factors I eventually found myself attending a Ruthenian Greek Catholic church. It was there where that sense that had about something missing left. I had found my spiritual home and place where I was able to experience Jesus Christ in a special way.
Even though Roman Catholicism was part of my journey I did not remain there. There could be many reasons for this but the most important one was that I discovered something special about Jesus Christ in the Byzantine tradition. As much as I tried I could not shake the desire to get fully involved in a Byzantine church. In my heart I knew that Jesus Christ had something special for me there. Many people may not agree but I think it's important, even if you find out your wrong, to follow your heart. You will never know what God has for you if you're not willing to take risks. In my case I had found something that my heart had been longing for and an experience of Jesus Christ that I did not have in any other church.
In any church that you wish to "convert "to the main reason should be JESUS CHRIST. If you join a church for any other reason you miss the whole purpose of that church. Whether it's the Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church these traditions exists for the world to know Jesus Christ. Churches give people the power to love God, a sense of destiny, and a mission. They do not exist to be different from other churches. As I shared briefly I came to my Byzantine Catholic church because of only 1 main reason, which was Jesus Christ. Everything that makes my tradition beautiful is dust compared to the experience of knowing the person of Jesus Christ. If a person finds themselves converting to a church for reasons besides knowing Jesus Christ they are following the spirit of this world.
The reason why I am sharing this is mainly in response to certain polemical literature that was written by a Roman Catholic about why they didn't convert to the Eastern Orthodox church. This kind of literature is nothing new but it demonstrates attitudes that keep Christians divided. In fact we can even find this attitude in scripture: 1cor 3: 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren't you acting just like people of the world?". The apostle Paul was astonished at how these people who witnessed the action of the Holy Spirit could find time to quarrel about who's in charge or why they follow a certain leader instead of the other. They missed the whole point of becoming a member of the Church, which is Jesus Christ .This is something that we need to keep in mind because we are not immune to falling in the same trap. If you are a member or a convert to a particular church because of flaws you find in another than you have become deceived.
Recently, on the news I read how the Ecumenical Patriarch rebuked a certain metropolitan that called the Pope an arch-heretic. It is obvious that some of us will never get along but we need to ask ourselves what can we do to discover Jesus Christ. Will showing all the flaws of another bring about healing in my brother? Maybe we need to follow the command of Christ and work on removing our own errors before we help others. I'm sure if we are honest we will see that there are plenty of times where we have failed to live the commands of Christ and have kept people away from Him by these actions. It's time for some of us to do some serious repentance instead of writing why were not like those others.
The reason why I am not a Roman Catholic is very simple. Its not because Roman Catholics are inferior in any way to the Byzantine tradition. Rather, I discovered Jesus Christ in a special way in my Byzantine church. I could say the same thing to why I am not Eastern Orthodox. Even though I share the same theology with the Eastern Orthodox Christians my Ruthenian Greek catholic church has given me a sense of peace that I did not have anywhere else. Jesus Christ has given me a family and a sense of mission in my church. There really is not any other answer to why I am not a convert to anything else nor should there be.
Even though Roman Catholicism was part of my journey I did not remain there. There could be many reasons for this but the most important one was that I discovered something special about Jesus Christ in the Byzantine tradition. As much as I tried I could not shake the desire to get fully involved in a Byzantine church. In my heart I knew that Jesus Christ had something special for me there. Many people may not agree but I think it's important, even if you find out your wrong, to follow your heart. You will never know what God has for you if you're not willing to take risks. In my case I had found something that my heart had been longing for and an experience of Jesus Christ that I did not have in any other church.
In any church that you wish to "convert "to the main reason should be JESUS CHRIST. If you join a church for any other reason you miss the whole purpose of that church. Whether it's the Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church these traditions exists for the world to know Jesus Christ. Churches give people the power to love God, a sense of destiny, and a mission. They do not exist to be different from other churches. As I shared briefly I came to my Byzantine Catholic church because of only 1 main reason, which was Jesus Christ. Everything that makes my tradition beautiful is dust compared to the experience of knowing the person of Jesus Christ. If a person finds themselves converting to a church for reasons besides knowing Jesus Christ they are following the spirit of this world.
The reason why I am sharing this is mainly in response to certain polemical literature that was written by a Roman Catholic about why they didn't convert to the Eastern Orthodox church. This kind of literature is nothing new but it demonstrates attitudes that keep Christians divided. In fact we can even find this attitude in scripture: 1cor 3: 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren't you acting just like people of the world?". The apostle Paul was astonished at how these people who witnessed the action of the Holy Spirit could find time to quarrel about who's in charge or why they follow a certain leader instead of the other. They missed the whole point of becoming a member of the Church, which is Jesus Christ .This is something that we need to keep in mind because we are not immune to falling in the same trap. If you are a member or a convert to a particular church because of flaws you find in another than you have become deceived.
Recently, on the news I read how the Ecumenical Patriarch rebuked a certain metropolitan that called the Pope an arch-heretic. It is obvious that some of us will never get along but we need to ask ourselves what can we do to discover Jesus Christ. Will showing all the flaws of another bring about healing in my brother? Maybe we need to follow the command of Christ and work on removing our own errors before we help others. I'm sure if we are honest we will see that there are plenty of times where we have failed to live the commands of Christ and have kept people away from Him by these actions. It's time for some of us to do some serious repentance instead of writing why were not like those others.
The reason why I am not a Roman Catholic is very simple. Its not because Roman Catholics are inferior in any way to the Byzantine tradition. Rather, I discovered Jesus Christ in a special way in my Byzantine church. I could say the same thing to why I am not Eastern Orthodox. Even though I share the same theology with the Eastern Orthodox Christians my Ruthenian Greek catholic church has given me a sense of peace that I did not have anywhere else. Jesus Christ has given me a family and a sense of mission in my church. There really is not any other answer to why I am not a convert to anything else nor should there be.
