Bishop Bohdan Offers Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, Ordains Subdeacon at St. John’s
Tradition and transformation met beneath the domes of St. John the Baptist as those across the region gathered to witness an ordination and celebrate the parish’s final Pilgrimage Hierarchical Divine Liturgy for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.
On Saturday, December 13, 2025, Bishop Bohdan Danylo offered a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Around 80 faithful showed up for the Liturgy, which also included the ordination of Mr. Andrew Kurzawski to the subdiaconate.
In keeping with Byzantine tradition, Kurzawski was first ordained to the office of reader. A candidate must progress through the minor orders of reader and subdeacon before he can be ordained to the major order of the diaconate.
Bishop Bohdan is the eparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma, Ohio. He was assisted by four concelebrants for the Liturgy, along with a deacon. Two additional priests heard confessions.
During his homily, Bishop Bohdan expressed his joy in returning to St. John’s to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope with his faithful once again. On May 28, 2025, he celebrated a Hierarchical Liturgy at St. John’s on the eve of the Feast of the Ascension. The bishop reminded the faithful of those Catholics who are unable to come to church to pray — being in occupied territories and beset by other difficulties — and to remember them in prayer.
Yet, he added, persecution and suffering lead to salvation, which is something the world cannot comprehend, and God never abandons us no matter how much the world presses in on us. The eparch also stated that St. John’s, with its beautiful domes, is a sign of Christ’s presence in the city of Pittsburgh. He encouraged his flock to answer the call to witness to the hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:5).
Kurzawski was a monk at St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe. He graduated from the eponymous seminary — the fourth-oldest Catholic seminary in the United States — in 2013 with a Master of Divinity. However, he left before taking final vows, got married, and returned to his Ukrainian Catholic roots by becoming a parishioner at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. Kurzawski was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Bohdan at Holy Trinity the following day.
A potluck with an extensive dessert table followed the Liturgy, during which T-shirts and Christmas cards were sold to raise money for the capital campaign to repair the church domes and masonry. Bishop Bohdan also recognized St. John’s parishioner Andrew Germansky, who celebrated his 100th birthday on December 1, 2025.
