What is the Byzantine Rite?

A "rite" is a way of worship, and a whole spiritual insight into the Gospel of Jesus Christ. AU the Byzantine Churches, Catholic and Orthodox, Greek, Slavic, American and so on, all share the same liturgical and spiritual heritage.

Byzantine worship relies heavily on icons. These are sacred images, paintings of Jesus Christ, His Blessed Mother and the saints. We do not worship these images as idols, but rather we see them as "Windows into heaven." They are points of contact between us and the holy people and events they depict. They are proof that God in Christ Jesus became a man, that Heaven became one with earth, and that here in our own lives we can touch aU that is holy and good.

The Byzantine tradition also insists on the essential unity of human beings: body, soul (mind) and spirit. AU aspects of the person are involved in worship. The body is taken up in sights (icons), scents (incense and candles), touch and taste (blessed foods and flowers). The mind and the emotions delight in the sacred mysteries of the faith sung in sublime religious poetry across the whole musical spectrum (the eight "tones" of ancient chant). The spirit is called to unite to God in sacra¬mental prayer in the long services in Church, and in observance of unstinting private prayer.

Outside of the Church, Byzantine Christians are expected to live lives of great holiness, again touching every aspect of their lives. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the three pillars of Byzantine Christian "praxis" (i.e. the practical application of the Gospel). In turn this leads one to direct Communion with the Holy Trinity, a process called "theosis", which means to enter into God's own life of eternal love. Monks and nuns are essential witnesses to this vision of Byzantine spirituality.