This unreformed Papist has an incredible soft-side for the East. Orthodoxy is so beautiful. What is so sad, that as the Catholic Church has lost some of Her Traditions and Ancient Practices, Orthodoxy has continued. I find myself a little jealous of that.
I agree that the Orthodox (and Eastern Catholic) churches have much that's of value to all of us.
Kolokotronis persuaded me to attend a Greek Orthodox devotion last Lent. Lovely people over at St. Nektarios The Wonder Worker ... although I thought the roof would fall in when my daughter suggested that their liturgy needed an electric guitar!
I can spell "PAT" with my Greek alphabet blocks!
I think our fellow poster NYer can give you information about the Byzantine Catholic Church. If you can go to the Divine Liturgy it is awe inspiring.
Many of the Eastern Catholic Churches still retain their original liturgies. For those, like the Maronite Church, that were heavily 'latinized' by visitors from Rome, they are now translating their original 'Anaphoras' into English, French, Spanish and Arabic and restoring them to their proper place in the liturgical calendar. Today we celebrated 'Sunday of the Hemorrhaging Woman'; the Anaphora was that of Saint Sixtus, Pope of Rome.
To learn more about the "two lungs" of the Catholic Church, visit this link:
To locate an Eastern Catholic Church in your community, follow the following link:
Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.
A Roman rite Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic Liturgy and fulfill his of her obligations at any Eastern Catholic Parish. A Roman rite Catholic may join any Eastern Catholic Parish and receive any sacrament from an Eastern Catholic priest, since all belong to the Catholic Church as a whole. I am a Roman Catholic practicing my faith at a Maronite Catholic Church. Like the Chaldeans, the Maronites retain Aramaic for the Consecration. It is as close as one comes to being at the Last Supper.
Don't feel sad...check out the Byzantine Catholic Rite. The best of both "lungs" of the Church, in my opinion. Fully Catholic, but still Eastern in form and practice.