Monsignor George Appleyard. Light of the East: A Guide to Eastern Catholicism for Western Catholics. Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of St. Josaphat in Parma and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership, 2000. xvi + 88 pp. Church genealogy, glossary, charts and bibliography. $7.95 (paper), ISBN 0-923635-02-1. Available at the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership's WWW site: http://www.nccl.org/resources2.html and the Parish Gift Shop.

Reviewed by Joseph Patrick Hayes Webmaster, St. Thomas the Apostle Byzantine Catholic Church

In his apostolic letter, Orientale Lumen, Pope John Paul II wrote:

The members of the Catholic Church of the Latin tradition must . . . be fully acquainted with [the treasures of the eastern churches] and thus feel, with the Pope, a passionate longing that the full manifestation of the Church's catholicity be restored to the Church and to the world, expressed not by a single tradition, and still less by one community in opposition to the other; and that we too may be granted a full taste of the divinely revealed and undivided heritage of the universal Church which is preserved and grows in the life of the Churches of the East as in those of the West.

In spite of this mandate, the vast majority of Roman Catholics remain unaware of their Eastern brothers and sisters. In the opening pages of Light of the East, Fr. George Appleyard relates the story of a Roman Catholic woman visiting an Eastern Catholic monastery. When this well-intentioned woman spotted a picture of the Holy Father, she exclaimed, "Your pope looks just like our pope!" (page 2). Teaching Roman Catholics about the eastern churches of the Catholic Church can often be a challenge. Fr.Appleyard shares this frustration: "As a pastor in a metropolitan area I still have problems when the children of my Eastern Catholic parish attend Roman Catholic schools. Strangely, the children are often treated as non-Catholics" (page 1). Meeting a real need, Fr. Appleyard's book seeks to provide a simple yet solid introduction to Eastern Catholicism.

Based on a series of articles originally published in Catechist magazine, the book is short, fast-paced, and easy to read, moving quickly through the history of the Eastern Catholic Churches. In it, Fr. Appleyard reviews the challenges the early Church weathered to survive as well as the history of the Great Schism, the rift between Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity that continues to divide the faithful to this day.

With the same speed Fr. Appleyard also discusses how both traditions view the sacraments (or "mysteries," as they are called in Eastern Churches) and the Divine Liturgy. Throughout his work, he manages to maintain sensitivity to both traditions while relating the misunderstandings that have arisen between them. Fr. Appleyard often indulges in pithy summations to make his point (e.g., "In a sense we can generalize by saying that the Latins view the Eucharist as a meal while the Byzantines view it as a banquet" (page 35)).

Some readers may wish that Fr. Appleyard had slowed down at some points and offered greater detail. Light of the East whets the reader's appetite but frequently delivers little more. For example, chapter five, which broaches the endlessly fascinating topic of the spirituality of the Eastern and Western traditions, covers too briefly some of the notable aspects of Eastern Christian spirituality: its heavy emphasis on the Trinity, its communal spirituality, and its ideals of theosis (man can share in God's divine nature), synergy (man and God must cooperate in order to achieve salvation), and apathia (spiritual apathy, indifference, or boredom).

Fr. Appleyard concludes his work by looking at the current precarious position of the Eastern Catholic Churches, uncomfortably situated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Communions. Although seemingly abandoned by both the Vatican and the Orthodox Patriarchates as a model for reunion, Fr. Appleyard feels the Eastern Catholic Churches still can play a vital role in illuminating the eastern traditions for Latin Christians.¹

In a series of appendices, Fr. Appleyard provides further resources for his readers: a genealogical chart of the various rites of the Catholic Church, which demonstrates their descent from the original five traditions of the Christian world (Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch, Constantinople, and Alexandria); a glossary of liturgical terms to help those unfamiliar with the eastern traditions understand the sometimes bewildering array of new terms that surface when studying the Eastern Churches; a chart comparing the similarities and differences between the various rites of the Catholic Church; a chart suggesting ideas on how to integrate sections of the book into catechetical programs; and a guide for further reading.

In the Foreword to Light of the East James J. DeBoy writes: "You can't be fully Catholic unless you have basic understanding and significant experience of the Eastern Catholic Churches" (pg. ix). Fr. Appleyard's book will encourage - and enable - Roman Catholics to realize their full Catholic identity.

¹ See the statement "Uniatism, method of union of the past, and the present search for full communion" issued by the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church VIIth Plenary Session, Balamand School of Theology (Lebanon) on 17-24 June, 1993 (commonly referred to as the "Balamand Statement"). Back to text.