Between East and West: Finding Both Lungs of the Church

Christ Pantocrator, Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily

For over a decade now, I have been a regular attendee of the Traditional Latin Mass. Its silence, reverence, and sense of sacred continuity have long nourished my spiritual life. Yet over time, I found myself increasingly drawn to the Christian East.

I had attended Byzantine and Melkite Catholic Divine Liturgies before, appreciating their beauty and ancient traditions, but only recently was I able to arrange my schedule in such a way that I could regularly participate in both the Latin and Byzantine rites each week. Far from creating a conflict, I have found that each deepens my appreciation for the other.

The Traditional Latin Mass impresses upon the soul the transcendence of God through sacred silence, ritual precision, and the contemplative spirit of the Western monastic tradition. The Divine Liturgy, by contrast, immerses one in a world of chant, iconography, and the language of the Church Fathers, constantly drawing the faithful toward the mystery of theosis and participation in the divine life. Together, they reveal different facets of the same Catholic faith.

Perhaps this attraction should not surprise me. As a son of Southern Italy, I come from a land that has long stood between East and West—the Occident and the Orient. Both have left their mark upon the Mezzogiorno. The mountains of Calabria, the coasts of Sicily, and the villages of Apulia once echoed with both Latin and Greek prayers. Even today, traces of that inheritance remain.

Having now made room for both in my spiritual life, I have come to appreciate more deeply the inheritance they share and the spiritual riches each continues to offer.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, June 29th, Feast of Saints Peter and Paul