Posted on 11/21/2012 9:28:21 AM PST by marshmallow
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond has told the nation's only blended Catholic and Episcopal parish it must change its worship services so Catholics and non-Catholics meet in separate rooms for Holy Communion.
The parish, Church of the Holy Apostles, is led by Catholic and Episcopal co-pastors and has worshipped together for more than 30 years.
It's an arrangement, parishioners say, that over the years has allowed families in mixed marriages to worship side by side and has helped build bonds that transcend denominational boundaries.
In an emotionally charged meeting Monday with parish leaders, representatives of the Catholic diocese voiced support for the ecumenical congregation, said the Rev. Michael Ferguson, the parish’s Episcopal pastor.
But the officials made it clear the current worship practice – using a combined liturgy in which the priests move to separate altars in the same room to say the Eucharistic prayers – was unacceptable, Ferguson said.
They instructed the parish to come up with a plan that provides for separate liturgies in separate rooms, Ferguson said.
“What was left in our laps was to develop a way to be together in those parts of the service where it would be acceptable to the diocese for us to be together and then to separate…without making it disjointed,” Ferguson said.
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
Well that didn't take too long to straighten out......:-)
I sure hope they have partitions in Heaven.
Sheesh.
Well, wars were fought over the doctrine of Transubstantiation.
There is a partition between Purgatory and Heaven. There is also a partition between Hell and those in Purgatory/Heaven. The bible talks about separating the wheat from the chaff, doesn’t It?
Since 2004 Bishop DiLorenzo has been rooting out the nest of Women's Ordination Conference supporters in the chancery, as well as a lot of other nonsense Wally had introduced.
This is yet another labor in the Augean Stables that is the Diocese of Richmond.
It's called "truth in advertising".
The Catholic and Episcopal Churches are not in communion and to pretend otherwise is to lie.
Dear Bishop DiLorenzo: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE come to Anchorage and kick some sense into the heads of the outdated but deeply entrenched wimmin’s ordination bunch up here! We are dying in Alaska because our parishes are still using 70’s style operations. Our parish, for instance, has the usual claque of dumpy, sixtyish women lurking about, interfering in as many ministries as they can wangle. We call them “The Coven.”
Really? What war? (No snark. I'm interested in the history.)
The Bible speaks of many things, including shellfish.
The Church has the right - and the obligation - to adhere to its doctrine.
How about side-by-side distributions, so each parishioner can choose whether he wants the Catholic Eucharist or Episcopal communion ;-). A survey to see who knows the difference would probably be interesting, too.
We should work for real, legitimate unity based on the truth, and not just ambiguous "optics" which suggest something that isn't there.
It's like non-married people not sleeping in the same bed. They may want to be married, they may intend to be married; but if they're not married, they shouldn't put themselves into an equivocal situation which evades the truth.
It's a difficult and even heartbreaking thing, as I well know, being in a religiously divided marriage myself. But it's not made better by strongly implying a communion which is in fact ruptured.
Heaven will be better :o/
See the Thirty Years War, 1618 to 1648.
Are they homosexual friendly too? Isn’t that an official theme of the Episcopal Church these days?
. . . not only who knows the difference, but also why it matters.
I’m glad the Catholic Church is so totally focused on the most pressing issues of our time. / SARC SARC SARC SARC SARC SARC SARC SARC
I agree - I can’t believe they did what they did for 30 years.
Hideous religious warfare. Tore Europe to shreds. Tore the Body of Christ to shreds. No just over Transubstantiation, though.
Well, doing one thing right... you gotta start somewhere. Could be the start of a trend?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.