Not Quite Rite

News: Updated Below

Is the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate founded upon Orthodox principles?
Is it even Orthodox?

Let us look at the latest issue of the Lion, the "Western-Rite" publication of St Mark's in Denver (February 2008): We find "Observations on the Book of Common Prayer".  More explanations, how we can see it in an Orthodox fashion.

But what is the "Book of Common Prayer"?

On Wikipedia, it is defined as such: "The Book of Common Prayer is the common title of a number of prayer books of the Church of England and used throughout the Anglican Communion. The first book, published in 1549 (Church of England 1957), in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English Reformation following the breach with Rome."

In other words, this book has nothing to do with Orthodoxy.

The reason for this inclusion is because many of the AWRV's "converts" still believe the book of common prayer is "Orthodox" or "correct".

So why isn't the hierarchy involved in stopping this intrusion of Anglicanism, or post-schism Romanism, in Orthodoxy?

Because that's precisely what they want, even though it is not an Orthodox Western Rite.

The Fraud

FRAUD Pronunciation: \ˈfrȯd\  Function: noun Etymology: Middle English fraude, from Anglo-French, from Latin fraud-, fraus Date: 14th century 1a: deceit, trickery; specifically : intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right 1b: an act of deceiving or misrepresenting : trick 2a: a person who is not what he or she pretends to be : impostor; also : one who defrauds : cheat 2b: one that is not what it seems or is represented to be (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

According to their own website, "More precisely, the Western Rite, as approved by the Antiochian Archdiocese is a theologically corrected form of worship used by the Latin Church (Roman) or the Anglican Communion. In some Western Rite congregations, the Liturgy may be a Latin or English form of pre-Vatican-II Roman Catholic worship. (In France , all native French Orthodox Christians, who number in the thousands, use this form of worship). Other Western Rite parishes use a liturgy based on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Modifications, while important, would not be terrible [sic] noticeable to even the most regular worshippers. Two of these alterations include the deletion of the filioque (“and the Son”) in the Nicene Creed and the addition of a stronger epiclesis in the eucharistic prayer said by the priest at the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ."

In other words, they are using Roman Catholic texts and prayers, Anglican texts and prayers, and even stranger, rejecting translations of Western Orthodox liturgics because it is to be considered "liturgical archaeology"!

Don't take our word for it: look at their own publications.

This is Western Orthodoxy?  This is the Church of St Bede, of St Columba, St Isidore and St Ambrose? This is the Church of St Augustine, St Hilary, and St Benedict? No, brother. Look at the definition above.  Then look at the publications. Look at the fruits.

This is fraud.

It's time for the truth to come out.  There are too many Western converts to Orthodoxy, who know their Orthodox history, to put up with this. It's time for us to stop the fraud foisted upon Western converts by the so-called "Antiochian Western-Rite Vicariate"-- and help unwitting victims of the fraud back to the ancient and Orthodox Catholic faith they were looking for.