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Oct

26

2025

Feast of the Great Martyr St. Demetrius

News

Come all you faithful, having assembled,let us praise the fighter of Christand courageous luminary Demetrius.(Stichera in the Small Vespers Service) St. Clement of Alexandria describes the greatness and significance of a martyr in these words: “A martyr gives a threefold witness — first, to himself, that he remained faithful to God by his true loyalty to the faith; secondly, against his enemy, who attacked him in vain because he was unshakeable in love; and thirdly, to the Lord, whose teaching is so powerful that even the fear of death cannot prevail against it. Holy Church from the first centuries of…

Oct

01

2025

By Respected Author

Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God

Faith

We sing your praises, O Most Holy Virgin, Mother of Christ our God, and we glorify your all-glorious patronage.Hymn of Praise from the Sixteenth CenturyAmong the Marian feasts listed in our Liturgical Year, the feast of the Patronage of the Most Holy Mother of God deserves special consideration. The cult of the Mother of God as the Protectress of our nation reaches like a golden thread from the times of the Kievan princes to the present day. The secret of honouring the Mother of God as a Protectress lies, perhaps, in the fact that we are dealing here not with…

Sep

14

2025

By Respected Author

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Christian Life, Faith, Liturgy

We extol you, O Lifegiver Christ, and honour your venerable Cross,by which you saved us from the slavery of the enemy.(Hymn of Praise in the Matins Service of the Feast) “The veneration of the Holy Cross of the Lord,” – says the Servant of God Andrew Sheptytsky in his pastoral letter on the Holy Cross – “is one of the most significant aspects of the worship of the God-Man... Signing ourselves with the sign of the Cross is one of the oldest customs of Christians.” The Holy Cross is an ever-living symbol of God’s everlasting love toward us sinners, a…

Sep

02

2025

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How Our Liturgical Year Developed

Christian Life, Faith, Liturgy

by Fr. Julian Katrijtranslated by Fr. Demetrius Wysochansky, OSBMIn the Old Testament we read about the mysterious tree of life, which God had planted in the garden of Eden. Although this tree no longer exists, the Lord has planted a new tree of life in the supernatural garden of the Church. This tree flourishes before our eyes, blossoming every year with new freshness and vigor; ever renewing itself, and bringing forth abundant fruit for eternal life, - and that mystical tree is the Liturgical Year.The development and growth of the Ecclesiastical Year can be aptly compared to the growth of…

Sep

01

2025

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Spiritual Significance of the Liturgical Year

Christian Life, Liturgy

by Fr. Julian Katrijtranslated by Fr. Demetrius Wysochansky, OSBMIn the pastoral letter written by our bishops and the Archbishop Major Cardinal Joseph Slipyj at the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council (1965), we read: “The Liturgical cycle of our Church is very rich. Our Liturgical Constitutions guide the faithful throughout the whole year and continuously place before their eyes the mysteries of the life, passion, death, and resurrection of our Divine Saviour, the grandeur of the Divine Motherhood and powerful intercession of the most Holy Virgin Mary, the lives of holy men and women, who by their heroic imitation of…

Aug

31

2025

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Our Liturgical Year

Christian Life, Faith, Liturgy

by Fr. Julian Katrijtranslated by Fr. Demetrius Wysochansky, OSBMO Author of all created things Who has establishedthe seasons and the years, bless the crown of the yearwith your goodness, O Lord.Troparion of the Indiction Our Eastern Rite is a priceless heritage and treasure of the Eastern Church and our Ukrainian people. It is noted for its venerable antiquity, its profound content, its mysticism, symbolism, and magnificent liturgical ceremonies. Developed by the greatest and most gifted of the faithful of the Eastern Church of different ages, countries and peoples, it has been sanctified by the prayers, tears, and sacrifices of the…

Apr

20

2025

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The Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom

Faith, LiturgyPascha

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have laboured long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in no wise be deprived therefore. If…

Mar

02

2025

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A Fastless Fast?

Christian LifeFasting, Great Lent

Cheesefare Sunday is traditionally the last day for eating dairy products until Pascha, as the Great Fast begins tomorrow. This poses a problem in our society where meat and dairy are the substance of every meal. Some people say that they cannot do without meat and so they only fast sporadically. By this they may mean they need protein and are not aware of other sources of protein, such as beans, peas, soy products (tofu), as well as seeds and nuts. But it is perhaps more likely that people miss the taste of meat, fish or dairy products more than…

Jun

23

2024

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A Short Historical Summary of the Ukrainian Catholics in Canada

Faith

by Most Rev. Andrew Roborecky, D.D. [CCHA Journal 16 (1949), 25-36] In 1891 two Ukrainian Catholic peasants left their wives and parents, and alone, knowing no friends, language or customs, sailed for Canada. Like Joshua, they sailed “to spy out the land.” These two sturdy pioneers were Wasyl Eleniak, still living in Chipman, Alberta, and Ivan Pilipiwsky, who died several years ago. They came from the village of Nebiliw, county Kalush, in Galicia, then Austria-Hungary. Pilipiwsky went to Alberta, while Eleniak worked hard for two years on a farm near Winnipeg, saved his earnings, and sailed back to his native…

Nov

15

2023

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Pastoral Letter on St. Philip’s Fast

UGCCnativity fast, pilipiwka

Pastoral Letter of the Ukrainian Catholic Hierarchy of the USA Behold, I am about to do something new!Now it already springs forth; do you not see it?(Is. 43:19) Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We are commencing the Fast of St. Philip, embarking on a journey that culminates in the contemplation of an indescribable mystery – God’s condescension to humanity. It is at the Nativity of Our Lord that God draws near to us, for “In the union of the divine and human, ‘the incorporeal one takes on flesh, the Word becomes approachable, the invisible one is seen, the impalpable…