Fr. Roman Planchak

Oct

31

2017

The Choir of the Holy Unmercenaries

Faith

ON THE FIRST SUNDAY in November a number of Byzantine Churches keep a special remembrance (Synaxis) for All the Unmercenary Healers: those who cared for the sick or aged in the spirit of Christ, without concern for gain. These physicians and other medical workers understood their skills in the spirit of St Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts (“To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” – 1 Corinthians 12:7). A Christian’s skills are given, according to Paul, not simply to enhance the person who receives them but chiefly to benefit the entire Body of Christ.…

Oct

14

2017

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Icons in the Bible

Faith, Featured Articles, Liturgy

FROM TIME TO TIME Eastern Christians are reproached for venerating icons because “icons are not in the Bible.” St John of Damascus, whose treatises on icons were instrumental in defeating iconoclasm, taught that the Church’s icons are “in the Bible” because they stand in the context of God’s own self-revelation to us through images. We make icons because God has made icons. The Perfect Icon of the Father God the Father Himself is unknowable, beyond our understanding, according to the Torah. To represent Him in physical form would be idolatry. For the Jews even to speak His name would be…

Dec

26

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Theotokos – She Who Bore God

FaithTheotokos

CHURCHES AND INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS of many traditions are displaying Nativity scenes this season. All of them will include an image of the Virgin Mary, although there are serious differences in how these Christians view her. The historic Churches, Eastern and Western, reverence her as blessed and ever-virgin and ask her to intercede with God for us. Most Protestants do not, in the view that there is no warrant in the Bible for such activity. Reverence for the Virgin Mary arose in the early Church in view of its growing belief that her Son, the Lord Jesus, is truly Godv and…

Dec

21

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

The Virgin Has Conceived

Faith

WITH THE FIRST SCENT of cooler weather in the air, merchants begin marketing potential Christmas gifts. As the holiday nears, the shopping frenzy intensifies with music, parties and decorations all telling us “Hurry up and buy something.” Our Church, on the other hand, tells us that it’s time for renewed fasting and almsgiving. Gift-giving as we know it became popular in the 1860s and grew as mechanical and, later, electrical goods came on the market and Santa began appearing in ads and in stores. For most Americans, handmade goods such as pastries, canned preserves or hand-carved toys were the most…

Dec

12

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Enough vs. Abundance

Christian Life, Featured Articles

DAY AFTER DAY Christians say the Lord’s Prayer, asking God to “give us this day our daily bread,” that is, to provide us with what we need for today. The rich man in Christ’s parable (Luke 12:16-22) clearly has a different perspective. He is not just concerned about today but about tomorrow, finding his security in the “grain and goods” he has stored up. The man’s approach seems eminently practical – we do the same with our IRAs and annuities. Nobody wants to end their days on earth in a welfare hotel. But if we put absolute confidence in any…

Dec

09

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

“You Are All One in Christ Jesus”

Faith, Featured Articles

“ALL OF YOU who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, alleluia.” This verse, sung at baptisms in Byzantine churches, is taken from the passage read at today’s Divine Liturgy (Galatians 3:23-4:5). The newly baptized is processed around the baptistery and into the nave wearing the white baptismal garment, the “robe of light.” This rite illustrates St Paul’s point in the passage that the Christian is one who has “put on” Christ. But what does “putting on Christ” mean apart from this ceremony? Neither Jew Nor Greek We see St Paul’s explanation in the next verse, “There is…

Dec

08

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Priesthood in God’s Plan

Faith, Featured Articles

THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF PRIESTS in the world. Most Eastern religions (e.g. Hindu, Shinto or Buddhist religions) have priests, generally for the performance of their temple rituals. What is the Christian priesthood and is it different from these examples or from the priesthood of the ancient Greco-Roman and Persian religions? The Old Testament Priesthood Chapters 28 to 30 in the Book of Exodus detail the choice, the anointing and vesting and responsibilities of the Israelite priesthood. We find some of this material summarized in the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews as well. The Israelite priesthood originated during the…

Oct

29

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Videos: Edmonton Eparchy Introduces Christ Our Pascha

Faith, Featured Articles, News, UGCC

Source: Edmonton Eparchy New Catechism - Christ Our Pascha. Now that the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has been translated into English, Bishop David has convoked an Eparchial Mini-Sobor which took place on Tuesday, October 18, at Saint Josaphat Cathedral Hall. Special guest speaker: Very Rev. Peter Galadza, Professor, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute, Ottawa. Father Peter and others will introduce us to the new Catechism, which is comprises of three parts: Part I - The Faith of the Church (what we believe); Part II - The Prayer of the Church (how we pray); and Part III - The Life…

Oct

29

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Enthroned in the Heavenly Realm

Faith

THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS is one of the most beautiful in the New Testament. It was probably written at the end of St. Paul’s life or compiled from his writings shortly after his death. Although it is addressed (in most manuscripts) to the Church in Ephesus, it does not deal with any local problems like some other Pauline epistles. Rather it speaks of the Church is a more general or universal sense, stressing its mission to make the Gospel known throughout the world. This has led some scholars to suggest that it was a kind of circular letter sent…

Oct

17

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

The Church in Council

Faith

THE BYZANTINE CHURCHES commemorate liturgically each of the seven Ecumenical Councils of the first millennium. Both Catholic and Orthodox Churches have held important councils since then, but none of those councils are celebrated with liturgical feasts in either the East or the West. Why are only the seven Councils which we commemorate so set apart? An answer may be found in the title of a recent book on these councils, edited by Sergey Trostyanskiy. Its title, Seven Icons of Christ, indicated the unique character of these gatherings. They articulated the heart of the Church’s faith in Christ, expressed in the…