Why Rome
Many people have asked me why I chose to join the Catholic church, as opposed to the Anglican church or the Eastern Orthodox. There are some very foundational reasons that I made this choice, but I want to stress at the beginning one point. I’m not trying to put down a different branch of ancient faith practice, or say that one is better than the other. I simply want to present why I chose the place I chose, and why I simply couldn’t see myself going down the other roads (as parallel as they may be).
First, I should get the Anglican question out of the way. Many, many people asked why I didn’t simply move over to the Church of England and still remain somewhat on this side of the Protestant fence. I did toy with the idea of going Anglican many times. I had a friend in seminary who was Anglican and talked with him multiple times about his experiences. However, the more I looked at the state of the Anglican church in the world, and in this country, the more I became convinced that I couldn’t go along with a body that was in such turmoil. It’s particularly bad here in Minnesota where many Anglican churches have closed, leaving me with precious few choices for a parish to call home. Additionally, I simply felt that the political reasons for forming the Anglican church in the first place simply weren’t very convincing for me. I think that there are a lot of wonderful Anglicans around the world, and they’re doing incredible work. I simply didn’t feel I could join with them.
I did entertain the idea of joining one of the splinter movements of Anglicanism that had rebelled against the church here in America. But then again, isn’t this just another form of Protestantism under a different guise? “We don’t like you so we’re going to stop working with you and start a church over here!” Sorry, not for me. I wanted to be a part of a body that had some strong structure to it’s hierarchy and leadership. Not another group that is driven by the personality at each parish.
So the second church that I entertained joining was the Orthodox church. Many of my friends (as seen on this blog) have made that choice, and many other friends who are not leaving Protestantism also encouraged me to look into that choice. Yet, at the end of the day I found too many things about the Orthodox church that I simply couldn’t justify to myself as things I could look past. For the benefit of those who are reading this here are a few of my reasons, since it’s a major issue for many people considering the switch to an ancient faith practice.
- Many Orthodox churches are very, very tied into their cultural settings. Greek Orthodox churches here in America will split into two churches because of peoples disagreements over what is going on over in Greek politics. Other branches will practice a liturgy that is completely in a foreign language, expecting many of the parishioners to know the language, since after all they’re from that culture. As well as many Orthodox churches (around here in particular) that simply aren’t interested in having visitors from outside their cultural paradigm. I know there are many Orthodox churches that are trying hard to be open and welcoming, but I simply don’t see it as much around here.
- I disagree with the Orthodox over their reasons for the split. As I read the history from the time and look at the overall political situation that was going on, I can’t help but feel that the split was more about the fading “eastern” Roman empire not wanting to be a part of the rising “western” Roman empire. Again, this is mostly just my opinion, but it’s something that I felt I couldn’t just accept. Oh, and I also agree with Rome on the filioque.
- Location, location, location. There simply aren’t a lot of choices around here for Orthodox churches. The St. Paul/Minneapolis metro areas is rather populous, but there are very few Eastern Orthodox churches (only a dozen I think). To me, this makes it hard to try and find a parish where you can feel at home and where you want to spend time. Plus, since many of the Orthodox churches don’t even speak to each other, you can feel quite isolated among a sea of other faiths.
So enough about why I didn’t chose Anglican or Orthodox. Why did I chose Roman Catholic?
- Liturgy. I love the formal liturgy, and the fact that the Eucharist is available almost every single day in most parishes. This is a powerful way to commune with God and I love the idea that I can partake of it often. Add to this the centrality of the Eucharist, as THE thing that we come to worship about, and I found the Catholic church quite compelling.
- Tradition. Something shared with the Orthodox as well, is a strong sense of tradition. It’s OK to acknowledge that the Bible is just one of the sources that we base our faith upon. We don’t need to hide from the spectre of “tradition” being evil or “works of man”. We can embrace our history and our heritage as Christians, descendants of the first believers of Christ, passing on their traditions and practices to those who come after us.
- Along with tradition comes structure. My personal perspective is that the more we try to do things “on our own” the more we find ourselves slipping into sin and away from God. Many of the independent churches that I saw out there got so lost in the business end of running a ministry, or protecting ones turf, or worrying about how good a show was put on the last Sunday that they miss the point. That it’s about being present with Christ, and bringing Christ into the world. In the Catholic church this is done through our sacramental living as we carry the Eucharist in our lives out into the world.
- Availability. Simply put, the Catholic church is everywhere. There are plenty of parishes to look at for a home, as well as schools, universities, social service organizations, etc,. I felt that it was a better fit for my family life to have some choices as I brought them along with me on this journey.
- Finally, as much a I admire Eastern Orthodox philosophy and theology, simply put, I’m a Western person living in a Western world. I enjoy the mystery of Orthodoxy very much, and I think that as our culture moves through this post-modern time there’s much that the Catholic church can learn from the Orthodox about simply letting things go unexplained. Perhaps in the future as things change and progress we’ll all find ourselves closer to the Orthodox idea of mystery, but for now, I’m still someone who asks questions and likes to try and find at least some semblance of concrete answers.
So that’s a pretty quick summary of what it was that brought me to my decision to join the Catholic church. I love my Orthodox and Anglican brothers and sisters, and pray that one day there will no longer be a divide between us. To be fair, there are plenty of things that I struggle with in the Catholic church as well. I’m not 100% on board with their theology of birth control, and sometimes I wish they didn’t have to explain EVERYTHING. However, I feel that this is where God has called me, and brought me at this point in my life. I finally feel like I’m somewhere that I can call home.
