About Us
St. John’s belongs to the
Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma, Ohio
which has its web site at
St.
Josaphat Eparchy
Our Mother
Church in Ukraine:
Who We Are
Although we have our own Patriarch
and Bishops, we are Catholics in
union with the “Pope of Rome”, who
is also simultaneously the Head of
the Western Church and the “Bishop
of Rome”. By virtue of the
Communion of our Patriarch and
Church in Kyiv-Ukraine with the Head
and Church in Rome, we are a
Catholic Church, sharing in the same
belief, faith and
sacraments
as all Catholic peoples. Thus,
all Catholics who liturgize (attend
Vesperal Liturgy or Matinal Liturgy
or Divine Liturgyn or the Typika
Liturgy) with us, fulfill their
Holy-day and Sunday obligations, as
attendance at Mass would do in their
own churches. Being Eastern
Catholics, we have an equally
apostolic approach to theology,
spirituality, church law and
liturgical tradition, as do Western
Catholics. However,
most
people’s first exposure to us occurs
when they witness our repetitive,
timeless, and non-rational way of
Liturgy (celebrating and expressing
our Catholic Faith), geared towards
effecting the subconscious.
This is where our Eastern-Byzantine
customs and traditions are most
conspicuous to a Western, or
non-Christian.At the Last Supper, which we call
the “Mystical Supper”, after Jesus
changed bread and wine into His own
true Body and true Blood, He told
His disciples to, “Do this in memory
of Me.” This they did.
As the disciples brought the Gospel
to different parts of the world,
they adapted ceremonies of the
Divine Liturgy to the customs and
music of that people. In the
end, four great Centers of
Christianity emerged with
distinctive Christian customs, but
the same Faith. One Center was
Western, located in the great city
of Rome. Three Centers were
Eastern, located in the great cities
of Jerusalem, Antioch and
Alexandria. A couple of
centuries later, when the capital of
the Roman Empire was moved to the
Eastern city of Byzantium, renamed
Constantinople, an adaptation of the
Antioch way of celebrating liturgy
was made. Thus, a new Eastern
Center of Christianity arose in
Constantinople and became known as
the Byzantine Church. This
Church’s missionary work especially
that of Sts. Cyril and Methodius,
began to reach out to the Slavic
peoples of Eastern Europe.
Various rulers of state, who were
often canonized as “enlighteners” or
“equal’s-of-the-apostles”
collaborated with the clergy.
For example, the Church of Kyiv-Ukraine,
and her Daughter Churches (such as
the Church in Russia), commemorate
Saints Volodimir and Olha, as such.
For many historical, political,
social and economic reasons, and
some theological ones as well, not
all of the Eastern Christians were
able to maintain an uninterrupted
Communion with the Church in Rome,
when she and the Church in
Constantinople progressively took
steps to break communion with one
another, during 1054-1204.
Although each of the Eastern
Churches has a history all its own,
those who are in Communion with the
Church in Constantinople are
generally referred to as “Eastern,
Russian or Greek Orthodox”.
Meanwhile, those who never lost, or
renewed, their Communion with the
Church in Rome are generally
referred to as “Eastern Catholics”.
The majority of these follow
Byzantine theology, spirituality,
liturgy and church law. But
not all of the Eastern Catholics are
“Byzantine”. (Other names
include the Austro-Hungarian term
“Greco-Catholics”, which is still
used occasionally; however, the term
“Uniate” is pejorative and should be
avoided). Furthermore, both
Eastern Orthodox and Eastern
Catholics are comprised of
ecclesiastical jurisdictions arising
from their ethnic or geographic
points of origin, for example:
Abyssinian (Ethiopian), Albanian,
Armenian, Belarusian, Bulgarian,
Chaldean (Iraqi), Coptic
(Egyptian), Croatian, Georgian,
Greek, Hungarian, Italo-Albanian,
Japanese, Malankarese (Indian),
Maronite (Lebanese), Melkite,
Romanian, Russian, Ruthenian
(Sub-Carpathian), Serbian, Slovak,
Syrian, Syro-Malabarese (Indian),
Ukrainian, etc. When these people migrated to the
United States, they brought their
treasure of Faith, as it was
incarnated in their persecuted
homelands. It was vital that
they be able to communicate not in
the language of foreign invaders,
but in the language reserved for
those who are near and dear, first
of whom is God. Nevertheless,
a valid concern and tension arises
if one is mindful that to be
Catholic (Universal), by definition,
means to be open to people of all
ethnic backgrounds and races.
Thus, even as we respect our
original languages and cultures,
Eastern Catholics strive to welcome
anyone whom our Lord, God and
Savior, Jesus Christ, wishes to add
to our family. We do not
mistake uniformity for unity; for,
we believe that our ability to
accept one another lovingly is what
reveals our
real Catholicity.
We believe that East and West were
(and can again be) complementary,
rather than contradictory. So,
it follows that the
entire Catholic Church,
be it Eastern or Western, is the
heir to a Faith in God, one in the
Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. This is essential in
our journey to God. It is both
traditional and modern, and
emphasizes that through our union
with Christ, we become God-like and
His beloved children. We
believe that God is with us and that
in Holy Communion we receive the
Body and Blood of Christ, the Son of
God, by the power of the Holy
Spirit.Our St John the Baptist Parish
belongs to the St. Josaphat Eparchy
(Diocese) in Parma, Ohio.
Along with our eparchies in Chicago,
IL and Stamford, CT, we are part of
the Archeparchy (Archdiocese) of
Philadelphia, PA; together these
four are an integral part of the
world-wide
Kyivan (Ukrainian) Catholic Church,
with its Patriarch and Synod of
Bishops, in Kyiv-Ukraine, which is
in union with the Pope of Rome,
supreme pastor of the universal
Church.
Everyone is Welcome!
Are You Looking for A Spiritual
Home?
If you are looking for a spiritual home, consider our
Parish Community, which is founded on one of the most important gifts of the
Holy Spirit: the fullness of Holy Tradition, just as it was handed down to us
from Jesus, to the apostles, to the bishops. Although containing many
written documents, Holy Tradition includes the total life and experience of the
Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, with all of its elements organically linked
together in real life. They cannot be separated or isolated from each
other. The Bible is in first place. It is followed by the liturgical
life and prayer (public/communal and personal/devotional) together with fasting
and almsgiving, the Church’s dogmatic decisions and acts approved by Church
Councils, the writings of the Church Fathers, the lives of saints, the church
laws, and the iconographic tradition together with other inspired forms of
creative artistic expressions (hymns, music, architecture, etc.). Our Community is open to any Catholic or to anyone else
who:
-
Is interested in seeking the
Lord Who has chosen to reveal
Himself in His Word and in the
Sacraments (Holy Mysteries)
-
Accepts the teachings of Christ,
as entrusted in its fullness, to
the Universal (Catholic and
Orthodox) Church.
-
Will help form a Community based
on the Lord Jesus’ love, and
therefore…
-
Wishes to receive the office of
the Pope of Rome as one who
presides in love specifically at
the service of the Lord’s will.
This means, in effect, that to
be Orthodox and to be Catholic
is not contradictory, as some
would claim, but complementary -
universal.
-
Is willing to grow as a
Christian, guided by the
authentic customs of our
Ukrainian Catholic Church and
lived out in our American
context, and to share these with
our community at large.
-
Is willing to support the growth
of St. John the Baptist Parish,
the St. Josaphat Eparchy
(Diocese), and the Ukrainian
Catholic Church in the sharing
of his/her time, talent and
treasure.
If this is the type of spiritual
home that you seek, please speak
with our pastor.
Divine (Eucharistic) Liturgies: Saturdays at
5:00 pm in
English. For the time being, this
liturgy is recited rather than sung, in
order to accommodate mixed marriages and
those not yet used to the more proper
traditions of our church;
Divine (Eucharistic) Liturgies: Sundays at
10:00 am.
This liturgy is always sung, either by
cantor and congregation in English and
some Old Church Slavonic, or by church
choir in Old Church Slavonic. The
priest-celebrant will usually
accommodate those present by switching
between Ukrainian and English as the
need arises. Between Pentecost
Sunday and Labor Day the one Sunday
Divine Liturgy is usually at 9:30 am.Also on most Sunday mornings: Liturgy of Orthros or Matins,
at 7:45 am sung in English.
The Instruction for Applying the Liturgical
Prescriptions of the Code of Canons
of the Eastern Churches
issued by the Congregation for the
Eastern Catholic Churches at the
Vatican on January 6, 1996, § 98,
mandates the restoration of the public
celebration of the Divine Office
(especially Vespers and Matins) in parish churches, “so as not to
deprive the faithful of a privileged
source of prayer, nourished by treasures
of authentic doctrine”. In § 64,
it states, “The Code of Canons of the
Eastern Churches thus provides for
the possibility, inspired by n. 15 of
the Orientalium Ecclesiarum, to
satisfy the precept of Sunday either by
participating in the Divine Liturgy, or
by taking part in the Divine Office.
Such a possibility emphasizes the
importance of the Divine Office, and
in a certain way renders concretely
possible its correct celebration, at
the proper hours, and in such a way
that the texts correspond fully to the
time in which they are celebrated,”
while in § 96, it states, “The Divine
Praises are each Church's school of
prayer, instructing in the ancient way
of glorifying God in Christ as one
Body, in union with and by the example
of its Head.”
For the time being, we
at St John’s on the South Side of
Pittsburgh, are planning on serving
Matins on most Sundays of the church
year. Please check each Sunday’s
church bulletin or call our parish
office to make sure.
Our sister parish on the
North Side of Pittsburgh, St. George’s
Ukrainian Catholic Church, usually
serves Vespers on most Saturday evenings
of the church year. Please check
their web site for their times and dates
at (http://saintgeorgepittsburgh.org/index.htm).
Also on most Sunday mornings: Catechism Classes
(Eastern
Christian Formation) at 9:00 am.
Please check each
Sunday’s church bulletin or call the
parish office to make sure.
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