Topic: Catholic School for an Orthodox Christian???

[SouthSerb99]

I had a discussion with my sister two days ago, who is becoming increasingly alarmed with the public school her children (aged 7 & 5) attend.

The reason this conversation came up is because it is "Christmas time" again and it seems as though every yeard, the "C" word becomes almost as bad as actually swear words.

The kids are having their annual "holiday" concert, with a "holiday" tree and "holiday" songs.  Yes, there will be no "Silent Night" or "Little Drummer Boy", but "Rudolph" and "Frosty" are okay.  Also, the holiday concert will be chalk full of traditional pakistani songs and dances, chinese songs and dances, caribean songs and dances, but NO "C"-word.

A few minutes away is a Roman Catholic school.  As you pass it, the first thing you see is Christmas decorations.  A "CHRISTMAS' tree, CHRISTMAS cards, and the kids will actually have a CHRISTMAS concert, where they will actually sing, yes, you guessed it... CHRISTMAS carols.

I remember, growing up IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM in Toronto that singing CHRISTMAS carols was one of my fondest memories.  While this was not a Serbian Orthodox tradition, I feel as though it brought me to love Christmas and not just because of the material items of Christmas.

When the little drummer boy sang about being a "poor boy to" and "having no gifts to bring", it meant something to me, about our belief in Christ.  Aren't my sister's children being deprived of something so wonderful? 

I understand that the purpose of a secular education is not focused on Christ, but it seems as though the public system is almost teaching that Christ is bad.

The flip side of all of this is that the public school ACTUALLY performs better than the local RC school and has MUCH smaller class size.  What do you guys think she should do?

Her 7 year old daughter is ultra bright (she's already advanced one grade) and my sister does not want to deprive her of a good education, but does she really want to expose her to this anti-Christian lean in the local public school? 

I put this in the Catholic-Orthodox discussion, because I wanted to also get some opinions about the permissibility of an OC to go to a RC school.  If Dan or anyone else thinks it should be moved out, please feel free.

[BoredMeeting]

I am sending both of my daughters to a Roman Catholic school.

I didn't want to send them to the secular public schools in the first place! If you put a child in a secular environment during their developing years, you should not be surprised when a thoroughly secular person comes out on the other side.

The fact that the public schools in our area are a train wreck got my wife on board with the idea.

Ok, so a Christian school was preferred over a secular school. Unfortunately, there are no Orthodox Christian schools in our area so we have to make a choice between the Roman Catholic schools or one of the Protestant schools in our area.

Do I want my daughters being taught that Communion is "only bread and wine consumed in remembrance" or that they are the body and blood of Christ?  That Mary had children after Jesus? That Jesus and Mary Magdalene had an affair?

Ok, so the Roman Catholics trump the Protestants by several exponential factors.

Now what?  Make sure the Orthodox children are aware of the differences on the way and make sure the teachers are aware of this as well. Many Roman Catholic schools already have non-Roman Catholic students so this is not unfamiliar territory for them. Make sure the teachers are aware of the difference and never assume they are even familiar with Orthodox Christianity.  We made sure that their teachers knew that our daughters would be crossing themselves from right to left and that they didn't need to be corrected on this (teaching the children to cross themselves is part of their curriculum).

So yes, you can send Orthodox Children to a Roman Catholic school and it is certainly preferable to public schools.

Now, how do we put aside the diocesan separation here in the US and start building Orthodox Christian schools?

[Elisha]

There are Orthodox Clergy that teach at Catholic schools and even universities (e.g. Fr. Alexander Golitzin, a Hieromonk, has been teaching at Marquette for many years).

My sister sends at least two of her kids to a Catholic school.

[BoredMeeting]

One other thing to keep in mind: the school children will be attending Mass once per week. Make sure they attend a Divine Liturgy at least as often! 

[Timos]

Wow, attending Mass once a week? We had 1 mass for the fall, Christmas, Good Friday liturgy, and then the spring mass. I wish we had more masses but most of the teens were disrespectful anyhow, chewing gum, swearing in church. Then again the priest asigned had a thing for religious rock music, so out went Ave Maria and "One Brad One Body" and in came secular songs like "You can do it- It's such a beautiful day!"

[zebu]

I don't think there is a problem with Orthodox going to Catholic school.  I go to a Catholic university, and there are several other practicing Orthodox students there. My priest also teaches there.  They really don't do much to "indoctrinate" us, Catholics are so liberal these days anyways.  There are some required theology classes, but that's about it.

[lubeltri]

"One Bread One Body"

Oh, that song just sickens me. Even worse than "Gather Us In" and "On Eagles' Wings." 

[jmbejdl]

My son goes to the local RC primary school and I expect my daughter to follow suit. He's not the only non-RC there and none of them are compelled to take part in Mass or anything like that (otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to his going). I'm very happy with the school and they are very sensitive to the fact that we are Orthodox and not RCs and very accomodating of us and our beliefs. I can't guarantee that all RC schools would share the same attitude, so I'd visit and find out first, but I should think that there is little to worry about.

James

[FHL]

I went to a Catholic high school, and I must say it was very much worth it. Even though the Catholic church may seem "liberal" by our standerds, it is very conservative when compared to many Protestant groups, with hard lines drawn on modern issues such as abortion and homosexuality. The good Christian values that the faculty and teachers have greatly outweigh any negetive "non-Orthodox" side effects. It was actually a Catholic religion teacher who helped keep me from slipping all the way when I came to a period of my life where I was losing faith in God and Christianity.

On the other hand though... don't expect too much from the students. Kids are kids everywhere and there are the same dangers present in private schools as there are in public schools. Just make sure the education of your sister's children doesn't stop when the last class bell rings.

One thing that did annoy me though, was that Orthodox history was pretty much non-existant in their religion classes. Only during the Great Schism does Orthodoxy appear, and then there are no arguements made against it, content to just blow it off as something unfortunate that just happened, oh well. I would have at least liked them to acknowledge its existance, even if it meant a few paragraphs argueing against it from a Catholic view.

[Fr. George]

If one is taking care of their responsibilities to educate at home, and if the Catholic School in question is a quality school, then it is worth the investment.  I ended up going to Catholic HS (Benedictine, in Cleveland) - there was a riot in my local HS my 8th grade year, and my folks didn't want me anywhere near that.  The education was good, the monthly masses gave me perspective on the liturgical similarities and differences, the Catholic religion classes made me a better apologist for Orthodoxy... All in all, it was a wonderful experience.

(As I left, a few of the priests called me the best "Catholic" amongst the students - all without sacrificing my Orthodoxy.  The one said that if his Church kept straying, he'd become Orthodox in a second.)

[BoredMeeting]

One thing that did annoy me though, was that Orthodox history was pretty much non-existant in their religion classes.

Sort of reminds me of how annoyed I'd get when history teachers or professors would cite the end of the Roman Empire in the Fifth Century...and never mention that the Eastern half continued on for another 1000 years.

[Papist]

Oh, that song just sickens me. Even worse than "Gather Us In" and "On Eagles' Wings." 

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!! The worst songs ever written. God, in his infinite goodness must be offended by these songs. Whenever I hear them I feel like we should all be dancing in field full of daisies. BLEH!!!

[dantxny]

Whenever I hear them I feel like we should all be dancing in field full of daisies. BLEH!!!

Lol, and of course we must be all cow-eyed and having butterflies go around us . . . and then God puts us out of our misery and sends a giant meteor to land our dance fest. 

</End Thread break here>

[Timos]

At least you got some church history! Our school got NO church history. We got the history of every religion BUT Catholicism not to mention Orthodoxy. For Christianity, we learned a lot about the early church and then we jumped to today where we have to service the AIDs victims, drunkards, and have compasison on our fellow low-lives and makes sure we never say anything offensive to Hindus, and especially Muslims!  We had a nun named sister Ursula who'd wear colourful hawaiin t-shirts, neon bright pants, and would tear-up during the morning prayer. Then we had Deacon Dan who probably didn't knwo the difference betweem being a deacon, and being the school chaplain. THAT was the Christianity we got in catholic high school so you guys are lucky lol.

[Papist]

At least you got some church history! Our school got NO church history. We got the history of every religion BUT Catholicism not to mention Orthodoxy. For Christianity, we learned a lot about the early church and then we jumped to today where we have to service the AIDs victims, drunkards, and have compasison on our fellow low-lives and makes sure we never say anything offensive to Hindus, and especially Muslims!  We had a nun named sister Ursula who'd wear colourful hawaiin t-shirts, neon bright pants, and would tear-up during the morning prayer. Then we had Deacon Dan who probably didn't knwo the difference betweem being a deacon, and being the school chaplain. THAT was the Christianity we got in catholic high school so you guys are lucky lol.

Gross. I wish we could go back to the nuns who would beat bad kids with a ruler. At least then Catholicism was expressed, even if it was beaten into them. LOL

[Keightlynn]

Based on my experience in Catholic school, I would rather send my kids to a Protestant Christian school than a Catholic school.  I remember wishing my parents had sent me to a Christian school instead - at least there they learned basic Christian theology. What did we learn?

Let's see, a few of the highlights:

1) Jesus rose from the dead "symbolically" but not literally (this was from our religion teacher)

2) Mary was a "virgin" in the sense that she was a young woman and was a virgin before having sex with Joseph to conceive Jesus (also from my religion teacher)

3) My history teacher told us that "Joseph and Marry 'did it'"

4) My history teacher frequenly made fun of Christianity, removed the crucifix from the room, and told us how she didn't believe in God.

5) During the masses we would have "liturgical dancing."

6) Everyone was encouraged to help in the consecration.

7) Even if you weren't Catholic, if you wanted to take communion, it was fine.

That's just a few of the things that stand out in my mind, but really, I could go on and on.

I -hope- that my school was just a horrible exception and this is not standard for Catholic education, but it made me very leary of it.  Of course, my priest sends his girls to a Catholic school, so I'm sure he woudln't be sending them there if they were all as bad as mine, but I think I was sort of traumatized from the whole Catholic school thing...

[Keightlynn]

Oh, I just rememered another thing. I had been aruging with my religion teacher about him saying that the resurection is only symbolic during class, and then the next morning when I was coming to school, the other religion teacher saw me and called me over and cornered me and said, "So I hear you are having problems with the resurection" and then proceded to tell me how the apostles stole Jesus' body from the grave and the "miracle" was how they had the strength to overcome the guard and get in there and steal his body.

[Entscheidungsproblem]

Wow, I cannot believe that, I went to a Roman Catholic school and I am very glad I did.  Especially compared to the secular horrors in Public Schools.

It wasn't quite the Roman Catholic schools my Dad went to, but it wasn't too bad.

None of the things you mentioned occured, and though non-Catholics were present at mass, when they went up for communion their arms were crossed across their chest and they received a blessing from the Priest. 

I am a Roman Catholic looking into Orthodoxy, and the Serbian Orthodox Priest I am talking with went to a Roman Catholic school as well, and is glad his mother put him in it.  It opened his eyes to religion and sparked an interest in it.  It would eventually lead him to the Orthodox Priesthood.

[Νεκτάριος]

Especially compared to the secular horrors in Public Schools.

I guess I must have missed something during my school years.  Eitherway I'm not sure what the point of sheltering a kid during highschool is - as soon as they get their first job or go off to the university any sheltering is rendered useless.

[Keightlynn]

I'm sure (or at least I hope) that my school was just a really bad exception.  Even though it was a Catholic school less than 30% of the kids who went there were Catholic. But it wasn't attached to a church, it was indepenent. I don't know if that had something to do with it. Just be careful to check it out before you send your kids there. My parents didn't realize how bad the religion thing was at my school when they sent me there. Plus, the school was really good in terms of other areas (like 100% of the kids went onto 4 year colleges, etc) so that's why they wanted me to go there.  It was find in terms of my general education, but in terms of religious education I think I would have been better off in a secular or Christian school.  Although, in some ways, I guess it helped me strengthened my faith by forcing me to defend it. But sadly, I know this was not the case for all my classmates because I remember several stating that after what they learned in our religion classes they no longer believed in Christianity.

I'm not saying don't send them there. I'm sure there are some great Catholic schools, but just also be aware that there are some way out there theolgically liberal Catholic schools, so make sure you check it out.

[Νεκτάριος]

I think I would have been better off in a secular or Christian school.

Catholicism is a branch of Christianity, hence a Catholic school would be a Christian school and I'm assuming in this case you mean a Protestant school.  Perhaps it is because I've had a slew of Protestant relatives visiting this week, but I've been subjected to far too many Protestants using the term "Christian" to imply only they are Christians while Orthodox (if they even know such exist) and especially Catholics aren't Christians.   

[Keightlynn]

Catholicism is a branch of Christianity, hence a Catholic school would be a Christian school and I'm assuming in this case you mean a Protestant school.  Perhaps it is because I've had a slew of Protestant relatives visiting this week, but I've been subjected to far too many Protestants using the term "Christian" to imply only they are Christians while Orthodox (if they even know such exist) and especially Catholics aren't Christians.   

Sorry about that. You are right, I should have said Protestant.  I tend to use the term "Christian" in refering to Protestants, I guess becuase they do that and I associate when someone says "Christian" as Protestant.  I guess because of that I always tend to say "I'm Orthodox" when someone asks me my religion of if I'm Christian rather than just answering yes becuase I associate it with evangelistic Christianity.  But you are right, Catholics and Orthodox are of course Christian.

[Entscheidungsproblem]

I guess I must have missed something during my school years.  Eitherway I'm not sure what the point of sheltering a kid during highschool is - as soon as they get their first job or go off to the university any sheltering is rendered useless.

Secular schools here tend to be more anti-Christian, than actually secular.  Christmas is forbidden, yet Muslims are allowed to miss tests & exams, or skip class due to their fasting, etc.  Rooms were set up for prayers, the Koran was purchased with board dollars, announcements were made to encourage school members to fast for Ramadan as well (yet they were not given the same special treatment), etc.  Evangelical Islam was very common and allowed, though mention Christmas or Christ and you got hauled into the office since the school is 'supposed' to be secular.  Ask for equal treatment and you were trying to 'oppress their culture'.     Though, it could be a Southern Ontario thing.

[Νεκτάριος]

Though, it could be a Southern Ontario thing.

God Bless America!  Things aren't that bad here (yet!).

[SouthSerb99]

Friul,

I started this thread with my sister and her kids in mind.  They live in Woodbridge, which seems to be very consistent with what you said.  Last year at the "winter concert" I was quite amazed to see the level of "tolerance" towards everything BUT Christmas.  The only problem is the RC schools in Vaughan rank at the bottom for quality.

[BoredMeeting]

The only problem is the RC schools in Vaughan rank at the bottom for quality.

That sometimes is a problem that no parent can overcome. If the specific school that they are considering has a poor curriculum or academic reputation, then homeschooling might be the preferred option.

[GiC]

That sometimes is a problem that no parent can overcome. If the specific school that they are considering has a poor curriculum or academic reputation, then homeschooling might be the preferred option.

Homeschooling might be an option during the younger years, provided you are not too sheltering and you have enough activities outside the home to allow your children to grow up with a healthy interraction with other children their age. But it is a very bad idea once your children get to high school, unless you're well enough educated in a broad range of subjects, you need to be able to teach your children Physics, Biology, and Calculus as well as Foreign Languages, Literature, and History.

The best, and most practical, solution for most people is to send their children to the best school they can, regardless of religious and philosophical views, then they only need to concern themselves with proper religious/philosophical education in the home (something a parent should probably be doing even if their child is attending a school that is in line with their religion or philosophy; unless, of course, you're an agnostic and open to allowing your children to take any path they choose, but even then there is the responsibility to teach your children our society's values...we don't want them growing up to be Wahhabists, now do we? ).

[BoredMeeting]

Homeschooling might be an option during the younger years, provided you are not too sheltering and you have enough activities outside the home to allow your children to grow up with a healthy interraction with other children their age. But it is a very bad idea once your children get to high school, unless you're well enough educated in a broad range of subjects, you need to be able to teach your children Physics, Biology, and Calculus as well as Foreign Languages, Literature, and History.

Homeschooling curriculums require interaction and are bolstered by homeschooling groups that organize field trips for groups of students. There are also many children's organizations that are not tied to public schooling such as little leagues, Boy Scouts, etc. The concept of a child laboring in complete isolation is a left-wing myth that I thought the reality of the situation had rendered moot.

And yes, the curriculums include the full range of subjects that many public schools do not include.

Have you ever investigated any of them?

[Keightlynn]

Are there any private secular schools in your area? Sometimes they can be a good compromise as they tend to be strong accaemically (since they are generally made for that purpose rather than for religious reasons) and they won't necessarily have the pressure to be "anything but Christian openminded."  In my area there are a number of secular private schools and I haven't really heard anything about them favoring one religion over another. Of course, I'm sure it would be on a school by school basis, but it's definately something you could check out.  They tend to have more of these options at the high school level, but perhaps there's some at younger levels too.

Good luck! I'm sure this is one of the hardest parts as a parent.

[Asteriktos]

Homeschooling curriculums require...

Basically from that point on the rest of your post could be ignored   You can't possibly make such an absolute statement, not only because different states have different standards, but also because different homeschoolers are in different contexts, and teach their kids in different ways (some don't even claim to actively teach, but "unschool" their kids). I am a supporter of home schooling, but I think GIC raises good points. Too bad they were ignored, and the response was instead a reactionary apologetic against something he never said (ie. he didn't say home schoolers weren't socialized, he just rightly cautioned that special steps had to be taken to make sure that they were). To be frank, I don't know too many people who could teach high school level "Physics, Biology, and Calculus," and so forth.

[BoredMeeting]

Basically from that point on the rest of your post could be ignored   You can't possibly make such an absolute statement...

Very well then, replace it with "All of the homeschooling curriculums that I have seen require..." From that point forward, the rest of your post can also be ignored.

Have you reviewed any?

[Asteriktos]

Actually yes I have, since I plan on home schooling our two daughters. I have yet to see any which "require" you to interact with others, let alone one which purports to be able to enforce such a requirement.

[BoredMeeting]

Actually yes I have, since I plan on home schooling our two daughters. I have yet to see any which "require" you to interact with others...

Odd, the ones that I looked at (before deciding not to take that route) all had group field trips as part of the plan.

...let alone one which purports to be able to enforce such a requirement.

Ah yes, you don't actually learn about the enforcement codicil until afterwards.  Did you even read Stephen King's Quitters, Inc.?

[calligraphqueen]

ARGH!
Let's try to remember here that the point of an education is to EDUCATE!  we do not send our children to the government, or to private institutions in order to make sure they are products of a socialist agenda.  None of us need to be trained in "how to socialize correctly with 30-300 other people that have a birthday in the same calender year you do"

I SO despise the socialization thread, in regard to homeschooling or public schooling.  I did not attend school, and I attended a private protestant based one and finished in a public high school, to socialize.  I can't count how many teachers said "now children, we aren't here to socialize" during my school career!  Had i been more focused on academics that social agendas I would have done much better in school.

There isn't a state that demands you take your children on field trips or even that you enroll them in homeschool groups for peer interaction.  Although, it's suggested that you do and i would highly recommend it.  The point of a quality education is to prepare the child for the world in which he will live, enable him to find the information he needs for any topic or subject area, and give him/her the tools to retain necessary information.  As W.B.Yeats said,

"education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire"
Learning, or education, should take place throughout a human being's lifetime.
I would suggest we not be so intensely focused on what sort of offerings the government can give our children.  A schools' rating is based on how well it managed to showcase a higher percentage of passing test scores than another school.  Teachers spend the entire year of educational time teaching TO those tests and juggling social issues.  I guess I have been a homeschooler for far too long to tolerate the whole socialist thing.  *sigh*  My children have had to lose some time with peer groups on occasion, like when my back went out or I had a new baby.  HOwever, they are perfectly capable of getting a long with people of ALL ages at the drop of a hat.  It surprises everyone they run into.  YOu know why?  Because most kids can ONLY socialize with their own age range as that is how they have been programmed....

stepping down now...

[Friarmoo32]

While it is true that the parents have to meet certain requirements in order to teach their children highschool academics (at least in Pennsylvania), there are other options.  There are internet programs that they can use and earn their highschool diploma, while in highschool.  I believe it goes at the same rate as it would if they were in the school itself.  Not much secular liberalism can really get to them through such a program, while raising them in the Holy Orthodox Faith without interference.

[calligraphqueen]

As far as RC schools vs protestant ones-stick to RC.  I grew up in Jerry Falwell's protestant k-12 school.  There is entirely too much false doctrine to wade through, and if you happen to have a firm enough head on your shoulders to question it you are in trouble.  You don't want that for your child, and it's spun into everything from Bible class to gym.  Yes, even gym.

If you can't find a RC school that is academically challenging, there are actually RC courses online now, I think Seton offers one. I just get our yearly tests from them, but they do offer entire course offerings nowaways I believe.  If protestants can offer schools and online schools, it behooves the RC and Orthodox to get moving in that direction.  The Orthodox are even more behind as far as curriculum offerings of any kind.  Many of us hs'ers have to buy secular texts, and work to add in missing information.  The only other option is buy protestant texts and then spend the whole semester excising false doctrine out, quite annoying after a while.

[Simayan]

My elementary school was pretty religious...for a while. I changed about half way through. In third grade we had a teacher who would have us sing patriotic religious songs (Battle Hymn of the Republic, etc), then we would sit down, pass bread around a circle, and as we broke it, say something nice about the person across from us.


Then we had a communist wench in 4th grade who stated about 12 times a day: "I'm voting for Mr. Gore!"


I heard a good analogy once for this topic, "If your child went missing, wouldn't you feel better to have him living with your estranged sister than with a complete stranger?"

[Myrrh23]

Hey Guys!


I went to an RC grade school and high school, and I thought the social scene of it all was very terrible. The non-religious classes were incredibly intelligent, but we had sarcastic smart-alecks and liberal sneakies in the religion classes. Before she was removed, my senior year Theology teacher told the class it was okay if non-Catholics took Communion, it was okay if you didn't pay attention to the Mass as long as you thought of something "constructive" during Liturgy, and promoted contraception. Also, the kids I went to school with were mean and spoiled BRATS, and the nuns were EVIL! I eventually left the RCC for New Age Paganism, until I realized that it wasn't Jesus who mistreated me, only his followers...so here I am now.
However, reading a few peoples' posts here convinces me that not all RC schools are black holes like mine were. I'd also choose an RC school over a Protestant one, even with a gun to my head. Okay...<phew>..I'm stepping down too. 

Myrrh23

Edited to tame down the language a bit.  Also, please be careful about referring to anyone as "evil," let alone nuns.  --EofK

[jnorm888]

I guess I must have missed something during my school years.  Eitherway I'm not sure what the point of sheltering a kid during highschool is - as soon as they get their first job or go off to the university any sheltering is rendered useless.

I disagree. If you went to a public highschool....well I was protestant back then but our highschool bible club had both Roman Catholics and mormans their too........ so it wasn't just protestant. But the Bible club kept my head on straight. My morals straight and my faith in tact.


In college one can find a thing called "campus ministries". Orthodoxy has one called OCF. Conservative Protestants have a bunch of them.



and even after college life one can support pro-life causes. I think Orthodoxy have an active pro-life group. One can get involved in ORthodox church missions, prayer gatherings, Bible studies, going to Church conferences, visiting monasteries, joining a brotherhood, feeding the poor and homeless........ect. There is alot one can do and be involved in to help keep their Faith intact.


So I disagree. One can have one foot in a subculture and one foot in the mainstream culture all of their life.


You don't have to Apostatize in order to live in a secular world.



I believe in the BIBLE  100%ly I believe in the Church Fathers 100%ly and I believe in the Church and her councils 100%ly! And I'm not ashamed of it.



It's possible to survive in a hostile carnal, atheistic, and materialistic world.









JNORM888

[Irish Melkite]

Just a note regarding concerns about theological issues, etc, that might arise in these circumstances. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops and their Oriental Orthodox counterparts agreed, about a decade ago, to Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Oriental Orthodox Children in Catholic Schools. I am almost positive that there was a nearly identical document developed from one of the various EO-RC dialogues, but I can't put my hands on it (and the USCCB site is a miserable place to search for reasons that I've never understood). Regardless, the context of the OO-RC document appears to be a relatively sound basis for an understanding on the part of any Catholic school providing education to Orthodox children of either Communion.

Also, I think that the days of requiring non-Catholic children to participate in Catholic religious classes or Mass is pretty much a thing of the past, as there are increasing numbers of such children - including both Protestants and Jews - attending such schools out of concern for the happenings in public schools.

I must have attended a particularly progressive Catholic grammar school back in the 1950s, as my two 2 Orthodox classmates were never required to attend or participate in religious classes or services and it never occurred to anyone that we should think the less of them for not doing so. The Sisters of Saint Francis and our beloved Father Joe explained to us (probably first in grade 1 and periodically thereafter, annually I think) that they were Orthodox Christians, which meant: that they belonged to a Church that was like ours in many ways, but differed in others; that they received Sacraments in somewhat different forms than we did; that they signed themselves differently; that they did not often kneel; and that they - their parents - their priests - and their Churches - were equally as holy as we and woe be anyone who looked down on, ostracized, criticized, ridiculed, or in any way failed to respect their Faith.

May the memory of Father Joe and the good Sisters be eternal.

Neil

[tweety234]

At least you got some church history! Our school got NO church history. We got the history of every religion BUT Catholicism not to mention Orthodoxy. For Christianity, we learned a lot about the early church and then we jumped to today where we have to service the AIDs victims, drunkards, and have compasison on our fellow low-lives and makes sure we never say anything offensive to Hindus, and especially Muslims!  We had a nun named sister Ursula who'd wear colourful hawaiin t-shirts, neon bright pants, and would tear-up during the morning prayer. Then we had Deacon Dan who probably didn't knwo the difference betweem being a deacon, and being the school chaplain. THAT was the Christianity we got in catholic high school so you guys are lucky lol.

Gross. I wish we could go back to the nuns who would beat bad kids with a ruler. At least then Catholicism was expressed, even if it was beaten into them. LOL

whatever.

[tweety234]

Oh, I just rememered another thing. I had been aruging with my religion teacher about him saying that the resurection is only symbolic during class, and then the next morning when I was coming to school, the other religion teacher saw me and called me over and cornered me and said, "So I hear you are having problems with the resurection" and then proceded to tell me how the apostles stole Jesus' body from the grave and the "miracle" was how they had the strength to overcome the guard and get in there and steal his body.

nevermind

[Shanghaiski]

At least you got some church history! Our school got NO church history. We got the history of every religion BUT Catholicism not to mention Orthodoxy. For Christianity, we learned a lot about the early church and then we jumped to today where we have to service the AIDs victims, drunkards, and have compasison on our fellow low-lives and makes sure we never say anything offensive to Hindus, and especially Muslims!  We had a nun named sister Ursula who'd wear colourful hawaiin t-shirts, neon bright pants, and would tear-up during the morning prayer. Then we had Deacon Dan who probably didn't knwo the difference betweem being a deacon, and being the school chaplain. THAT was the Christianity we got in catholic high school so you guys are lucky lol.

Gross. I wish we could go back to the nuns who would beat bad kids with a ruler. At least then Catholicism was expressed, even if it was beaten into them. LOL

whatever.

A thread resurrection for that?

[biro]

At least you got some church history! Our school got NO church history. We got the history of every religion BUT Catholicism not to mention Orthodoxy. For Christianity, we learned a lot about the early church and then we jumped to today where we have to service the AIDs victims, drunkards, and have compasison on our fellow low-lives and makes sure we never say anything offensive to Hindus, and especially Muslims!  We had a nun named sister Ursula who'd wear colourful hawaiin t-shirts, neon bright pants, and would tear-up during the morning prayer. Then we had Deacon Dan who probably didn't knwo the difference betweem being a deacon, and being the school chaplain. THAT was the Christianity we got in catholic high school so you guys are lucky lol.

Gross. I wish we could go back to the nuns who would beat bad kids with a ruler. At least then Catholicism was expressed, even if it was beaten into them. LOL

whatever.

A thread resurrection for that?

Everybody's got to have a hobby. His seems to be annoying people.

[Cyrillic]

A thread about this subject was opened yesterday. Why resurrect one that's been dead for years?