Catholic Informative Speech
If I were to tell you that I am Catholic, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps you think of rosaries, Latin Masses and gothic style cathedrals.
"No, I'm not Roman Catholic."
You’re probably confused; aren't Catholic and Roman Catholic the same thing?
"No. I'm Byzantine Catholic."
Now what do you picture? I'm willing to bet that you aren't picturing anything, you're probably too busy typing “Byzantine Catholic” into Google, and you wouldn't be alone.
The Catholic Church is made up of 24 different versions of Catholicism known as “rites.” Due to different geographical points of origin, each rite varies in liturgical language, traditions, and theological outlooks. However, despite their differences, they are in union …show more content…
The remaining .9% rounds out to about 11 million people distributed amongst the other 23 rites. We are so small, that even a vast majority of Roman Catholics don't know we exist.
One very small yet obvious difference between Roman Catholics and Byzantine Catholics is how we do the sign of the cross. Roman Catholics cross up, down, left, right, while Byzantine Catholics cross up, down, right, and then left. I attended a Roman Catholic School from first grade through tenth, and every time we crossed ourselves, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I remember once, at the beginning of my 8th grade year, my religion teacher singled me out during class and said I was crossing myself backwards. She, as well as my classmates, had no idea what Byzantine Catholicism was.
I explained my faith to my teacher and classmates; they asked me so many questions and I loved having that opportunity to share my faith and culture. Then nearing the end of the discussion, my teacher said, "But you're not a real Catholic.” I insisted that I was just as Catholic as she, but she told me I was mistaken. Suddenly my faith and my culture, which had once brought me great happiness, became a source of shame. I felt like my beliefs were invalid, and for some time I was afraid to share my faith with
"No, I'm not Roman Catholic."
You’re probably confused; aren't Catholic and Roman Catholic the same thing?
"No. I'm Byzantine Catholic."
Now what do you picture? I'm willing to bet that you aren't picturing anything, you're probably too busy typing “Byzantine Catholic” into Google, and you wouldn't be alone.
The Catholic Church is made up of 24 different versions of Catholicism known as “rites.” Due to different geographical points of origin, each rite varies in liturgical language, traditions, and theological outlooks. However, despite their differences, they are in union …show more content…
The remaining .9% rounds out to about 11 million people distributed amongst the other 23 rites. We are so small, that even a vast majority of Roman Catholics don't know we exist.
One very small yet obvious difference between Roman Catholics and Byzantine Catholics is how we do the sign of the cross. Roman Catholics cross up, down, left, right, while Byzantine Catholics cross up, down, right, and then left. I attended a Roman Catholic School from first grade through tenth, and every time we crossed ourselves, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I remember once, at the beginning of my 8th grade year, my religion teacher singled me out during class and said I was crossing myself backwards. She, as well as my classmates, had no idea what Byzantine Catholicism was.
I explained my faith to my teacher and classmates; they asked me so many questions and I loved having that opportunity to share my faith and culture. Then nearing the end of the discussion, my teacher said, "But you're not a real Catholic.” I insisted that I was just as Catholic as she, but she told me I was mistaken. Suddenly my faith and my culture, which had once brought me great happiness, became a source of shame. I felt like my beliefs were invalid, and for some time I was afraid to share my faith with