Holy Transfiguration Skete, MI

[Caleb Shoemaker]

Has anyone visited this monastery? I'm looking to plan a weekend retreat there for myself. Have you been? What do you know about it? Thanks.

[Ryan]

I don't know anything about it, but I looked at the website and they're a Byzantine Catholic skete, not an Orthodox one, which may or may not make a difference to you.

[Caleb Shoemaker]

I'm kind of new to this whole thing. What is Byzantine Catholic v. Orthodox? Can you give me a good definition and differentiate?

[Herman Blaydoe]

Byzantine Catholics are former Orthodox who are now in union with the Roman Catholic Church after the councils of Lyon in 1274 and Florence in 1439. They were promised that they would be allowed to follow all their Orthodox practices, including married priests, but over the centuries the levels of "tolerance" have waxed and waned. At one point Byzantine priests were required to be educated in Roman seminaries, and the Vatican periodically tries to eliminate the married priesthood when it feels it has the upper hand politically. But generally Byzantine Catholics are looked down on by the Roman Church as not "real" Catholics and the Orthodox cannot condone their acceptance of Papal authority.

I belong to a diocese that was once "Uniate" but is now Orthodox, they left the Catholic captivity at a point where the Romans were once again attempting to eliminate married priests and make the Byzantines more "Roman" in their practices, something they have never really stopped doing. In short, the Byzantine Catholics consider themselves as Orthodox under the Pope, and the Orthodox consider that an oxymoron.

You might try the "Search" feature of the forums, as this has been discussed in other threads in detail, you might try starting here (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?2586-Byzantine-Catholics&highlight=uniate).