[oronozopiy]

Hi all,

This is probably a very bad first post here, but I'll carry on anyway...

I'm an Orthodox Christian who mostly attends parishes (Antiochian, Greek, OCA, etc.) that celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and also attends the Mass of St. Gregory at WR parishes whenever possible. I recite Canons and pray the rosary, before which I invoke the Holy Spirit by reciting, "O Heavenly King..." I value the teaching of St. Augustine and St. Ambrose as much as I do any of the other Eastern Fathers as containing Apostolic Truth.

In short, I'm bi-ritual.

This rhythm of the spiritual life seems quite normal for me, but some fellow Orthodox and Eastern Catholics have (indirectly) given me the impression that this is syncretism, and prevents me from being fully immersed in one Christian tradition. I thought that one could only be syncretic with the practices of more than one religion. Thoughts? Both the Supplicatory Canons and the rosary are Christian.

I realize that regional and national traditions are important to people, which is why if my Orthodox friends (who go to eastern parishes) as me why I have a rosary wrapped around my wrist or a couple of pewter statues around, I don't want them to get offended by my answer...which more likely would be more smart-alecky which not everyone appreciates (like "we Orthodox still pray to Mary, don't we?" or something equally tongue-in-cheek).

To be quite honest, all I really care about is being an Orthodox Christian. In my mind, I'm only "eastern" as far as I was received into a parish that celebrates the eastern Divine Liturgy, and I'm only "western" in the sense that I was born and raised in the western hemisphere of the world.

So I guess my question is, is there any room for bi-ritual, Eastern/Western Orthodox Catholics like me? Practically, the only way this would come up was if someone asks, so how can I answer curiosities about my personal expression of faith in a godly manner?

This may seem like common sense, but I'm new to the process of considering how your personal spiritual choices affect others that I've found in the Orthodox Catholic Church.

Thank you.