How to convert to Catholicism without learning. Transition Period: How Orthodox Become Catholic

Thirty-six-year-old Cuban Archimandrite Jerome (Espinosa) was a renowned chemist and graduate of the Catholic theological educational institution. One day he accidentally got into the service of Orthodox church and after that he changed his life dramatically, accepted monasticism and devoted himself to the service Orthodox Church

- A Catholic with a higher theological education, who graduated from the seminary, suddenly accepts the Orthodox faith. Moreover, he is ordained to the dignity Orthodox priest. How did this happen?

– It was really unexpected. If I had been told ten years earlier that one day I would leave the Roman Catholic Church and convert to another confession, especially Orthodoxy, I would not have believed it. I say “especially to Orthodoxy,” because in the Catholic church circles of Cuba, almost nothing was known about Orthodoxy, and when it did come up, confusion, ignorance and apostasy were certainly mentioned in connection with it! I received my church education from the Jesuits, known for their special devotion to the papacy.

I am absolutely sure that my appeal was providential. The first time I came to the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Havana with the curiosity of a student studying the ancient Greek language - he wanted to find ancient texts there and did not think about anything else. But then, at the hour of Vespers, I realized (not so much with my mind as with my soul) that there was something else, exactly what I had been missing for so long in the Catholic services, although I did not realize it. So I gradually began to approach Orthodoxy and study it more and more seriously.

– How could a Catholic with a theological education change his faith?

“First of all, thanks to prayer. The Fathers of the Church helped me a lot - reading their works, I gradually began to understand a lot and see some things in a different light.

—Have you found peace of mind and the perfection of approaching Christ after moving to another Church?

– Peace of mind- definitely. This is precisely the reason for my conversion, the need for theological research appeared later. In Orthodoxy I found what I lacked in the Latin Church, in Orthodoxy I found a spiritual, eschatological component. In the Catholic Church, the catechetical, positivist, academic knowledge is stronger. It lacks the spiritual and sacramental element. I am not saying that education is not important, on the contrary, both academic and spiritual education Together with prayer, they help us on our path to God, but above all, it is prayer, unceasing prayer.

– If Christ is One, Indivisible and Indivisible, how can we assert that our faith is more correct (so to speak, we “glorify Him more correctly”)?

“I can personally offer you such an experience. Let us leave theology for a moment and consider the problem from the point of view of a non-religious person. We will conduct this experiment for practical purposes. I ask: what Church of all the churches and sects of the world comes directly from the apostles and Christ himself? The answer is simple. And which of them has preserved a single theological teaching and tradition over the centuries? Retained unity when others, such as Copts or Latins, separated from its trunk? I think the answer is obvious. This is Orthodoxy.

– for the sake of priesthood You even left chemistry classes ...

– My studies in the exact sciences in general, not only chemistry, but also mathematics, and especially molecular physics, helped me a lot in my spiritual life. It may seem strange, but for me personally they helped to understand the laws of the physical functioning of the Universe (at least, up to the boundaries delineated by science). It strengthened my faith in God and my life as a cleric. A believing person sees the will and hand of God in both science and physical laws - exactly where others are looking for a basis for their unbelief.

– Have you noticed any differences in substance between Greek and Catholic theology?

- There are many differences. Exists common ground: the period of the history of the Church until the last Ecumenical Council, until about the 9th century, when the domination of the Franks begins in the West after the victory of Charlemagne. Then the paths of both Churches and their theologies began to diverge more and more. We can no longer talk about a unified theology. Now Latin theology, especially academic, is based for the most part on the teachings of Blessed Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. From the theology of Thomas Aquinas springs all Western theology, which for almost a thousand years has been separated from the Orthodox. New dogmas, new theological solutions, papal encyclicals (which, together with the dogma of papal infallibility, are dogmatic), and new movements such as liberation theology have filled the academic niche in the West. Orthodox theologians, on the other hand, avoided innovation, trying to preserve the teaching of the Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils - not in immobility, as Catholics accuse us, but, on the contrary, giving theology its authentic character. Therefore, in the last century, Fr. John Romanidis put forward the idea of ​​experiential theology, i.e. about a theology that comes not only from academic knowledge, but also from the experience of deification.

“Now the only religion that continues to spread is Islam. What can you say about this?

- Not only Islam - also Protestants, Mormons and many others. For this we bear a great responsibility. They simply fill in the niches that we do not occupy. And when I say that this is our personal responsibility, I mean not only the Church - and the authorities, and the government, and each of us. When the Church does not carry out spiritual and educational work, when the authorities are not only not interested in the activities of the Church, but sometimes interfere with it, when the government, in the name of pseudo-democracy, passes laws in parliament that violate the sacred canons (as in the case of the legalization of abortion), when we proudly call we ourselves are Orthodox Christians, but we cross the threshold of the temple only on Easter and Christmas, or we become an “echo” of the media, accusing the Church and its hierarchs on the basis of the very first “yellow” news - then we turn out to be allies of heretics and traitors to our homeland, the foundation and pillar of which - Orthodox faith and the blood of thousands of martyrs who gave their lives for a free and Orthodox Greece.

– In your opinion, does the current preaching of the Church find a response among believers? Perhaps the growing atheism is due to the inability of the Church to convince?

– The Church throughout its history has experienced a lot, experienced periods of both decline and prosperity. In our era, we are experiencing not only an economic crisis, but also a crisis traditional values. And in general, if you analyze the current situation, you will see that all religious systems are in crisis. The world has lost hope, and people are trying to find solutions to problems by looking for new sensations. I believe that faith in Christ is the only hope that can reward a person. There is no hope outside of Christ. The duty of the whole Church and each individual believer is to give hope to this world. The Church must renew her evangelical character and bring back to the world good news, the world today needs to hear her voice, but sounding with the same power with which it sounded in the apostolic era, and, most importantly, with the testimony of faith, with love.

– Other churches and religions have divine origin Or are they a human invention?

– The Church is One, Catholic and Apostolic, created by God, lives by God and moves towards God. All others are nothing but the vain striving of unreasonable people for happiness, hope and salvation.

Instruction

The main thing that the Church expects from those who want to join is the conscious and firm Gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the readiness to go through all the vicissitudes of not only earthly but also heavenly existence under the guidance of a divine teacher. Joining the Catholic Church without this key moment - faith in Christ and devotion to Him, can only be spoken of in a certain perspective.

The second important condition is confession, that is, the acceptance of the entire content of the Nicene Creed, fixed as the main standard of faith as early as the 4th century AD, as an unquestionable and final truth.

Accordingly, we accept the leadership of the Church of Christ, having believed in Him and trusting Him, we follow her instructions in everything that concerns morality and faith. This is expressed in practice in obedience to church reason, which teaches through local and ecumenical councils, in obedience to shepherds and authorized teachers.

A few words about the transition from
Baptism and all other sacraments are recognized catholic church, therefore, when converting to the Catholic faith, you do not need to go through them again. To become a Catholic, you just need to go to the nearest Catholic priest with a request to make you a member of the Universal Church. In some cases, after a personal interview with a priest, he can direct you to catechesis - a course in the study of Tradition and Scripture. Although most often (in the case of a satisfactory interview result), the priest asks those who want to become a Catholic the Nicene Creed. After reading the creed, a person becomes a full member of the Catholic community.

Among the adherents of all religions, the three most numerous groups of believers stand out: Catholics, Orthodox, or, as they say, Christians, and Buddhists. Catholicism is a branch of Christianity. The meaning of the word "Catholic" is "integrity", it is this postulate that underlies Catholicism as part of the Christian faith.

Today Catholicism finds its followers in various countries such as Italy, France, Czech Republic, Cuba, USA and many others. People who adhere to this faith are called Catholics, they received the name from the Latin latholicismus- “universal, one”, they consider Christ to be the head and founder of their church.

dogmas

For Catholics, there are two basic truths in the faith: The Bible, which is Holy Bible and sacred traditions. It is worth noting that the characteristic dogmas in Catholicism are considered to be: the doctrine of purgatory, faith in immaculate conception Virgin Mary, the dogma of the non-sinfulness of the head of the church. Every Catholic is required to know the seven basic sacraments that underlie the cult of Catholicism.

Sacraments

The sacrament of baptism is one of the very first. Catholics believe that through washing a person is cleansed from his original sin, by washing holy water starting from the head.

After baptism there is a procedure , this rite is performed on children who have reached the age of 7 years. This procedure is a symbol of the purity received after baptism, by the way, for the Orthodox, this procedure occurs immediately after baptism, this is another distinguishing feature of the religious traditions of Catholics.

The next sacrament is called " communion”is a rite using bread and wine, symbolizing the flesh and blood of the son of God. By consuming a symbolic amount of bread and wine, a person joins in, shares his share with him.

sacrament repentance in the generally accepted form of confession is the process of recognizing one's sins, repentance for committed misconduct. In Catholic churches, there are booths that separate the confessor and the priest, so a person can repent and remain unrecognized. At Orthodox confession goes face to face.

Sacrament marriage for a Catholic is the main thing in family life. A feature of the wedding among Catholics is the wedding and public promises of the spouses - vows. Oaths are taken before the face of God, and their priest testifies.

The last two sacraments of Catholics are convocation and priesthood. hallmark unction is the lubrication of the body of a sick person with a special sacred liquid called oil. Oil is like a gift from God, a grace that is sent to a person. The priesthood consists in the transfer of special grace from the bishop to the priest: Catholics believe that the priest is the image of Christ.

05.03.2014

In the 21st century, the diversity of religions and beliefs will not surprise anyone. Moreover, changing one's faith has become a normal (and even fashionable) phenomenon. But in order to join one of the main religions of the world - Catholicism, it is important to understand its foundations and postulates.

Conditions for conversion to Catholicism

A Catholic priest, when parishioners reveal a desire to accept his religion, will definitely clarify the following points:
- Firstly, does the person believe in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Holy Gospel? Is the parishioner ready to know the power of the teacher not only in earthly life, but also in heaven;
- Secondly, does a person accept the need to confess as the main postulate of faith?
At the same time, they will explain to the uninitiated that the most important symbol of the Catholic faith is the Nicene, which has been recognized as such for more than 17 centuries. A symbol of faith is a set of norms that define religion as such. The main thesis of the Catholic faith is the undeniable authority of the one church in the entire universe. This is the holy church of Christ. Here it is important to clarify one simple postulate: faith in the Church of Jesus is as sacred and important as faith in the Son of God himself. This is exactly what the Nicene Creed says.
The conclusions from all that has been said: the one who believes in Christ, trusts him with his pure thoughts and noble deeds, should gratefully accept the instructions of the Church of Christ. In worldly life, this means turning to the Church on all issues of morality and morality, undeniable faith in pastors and spiritual mentors, participation in local councils(universal - if possible).

How to change one Christian religion to another?

In the vastness of our homeland people live different religions and confessions. But the main religion still remains Orthodoxy. From birth, we are unconsciously subjected to Christian rites, for example, we are baptized without our will. But catholic faith recognizes the main ordinances produced by Orthodox custom(baptism, marriage, etc.). This means that there is no need to duplicate them when changing faith.
The first step on the path to Catholicism is communication with the priest of the nearest parish. The Holy Father should explain that you want to become a member of the community, tell why.
It happens that immediately after the conversation, the priest will give the task to read the Nicene Creed, after which you can consider yourself a Catholic.
True, there is also a more difficult way of entering the Catholic community - passing a course of study in Scripture and Tradition. This course of study in Catholicism is called catechesis.

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