text: what is the byzantine catholic rite church? i am a roman catholic. i walked in to a byzantine catholic church by mistake and thought it was a catholic one because of its similariity from the outside, and the chants. everything was going ok, except that the priest was on his back, but i thought what the hell? they did this a long time ago anyways... and then  at the time of communion, the priest got a spoon and fed everyone a spoonfull of something that tasted like fruit-pie and wine.. what was that? i couldnt get out of the line so i had to take te spoonfull.. lol what was it? what are the differences between roman catholics and byzantine catholics? why does the priest give mass on his back? please help me understand where i went and what i tasted ! thanks you were most likely attending a catholic mass, in an eastern rite byzantine catholic church, which is probably fully in union with the holy see at the vatican, but using a different liturgy than western (roman) catholics are used to.  you should have just stayed around after mass and asked these questions to the priest. you likely received both the body and the blood of christ at the same time, rather than separately. there are many more details to share. for more, post your questions at www.askmeaboutgod.org and receive a free, private, complete, personalized answer via email in about one day. doug