Both Lungs

The continuing series of articles about the relationship and experience between Eastern and Western Catholics as seen through the eyes, mind, and heart of Brent Kostyniuk of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Oct
30
2021
By Brent Kostyniuk
The Biblical Liturgy

The Biblical Liturgy

Both Lungs, Featured Articles
by Brent Kostyniuk Some years ago, a new priest in our parish caused a great stir when he delivered his first sermon—he brought a Bible with him to the pulpit. Not only did he bring a Bible, but he also quoted passages from it as he preached. “What’s going on here? Is he trying to turn us into Protestants? We are Catholic, we don’t read the Bible in church.” In fact, just the opposite is true. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom draws heavily on Holy Scripture, both directly and indirectly. While this may be surprising to some, it…
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May
06
2021
By Brent Kostyniuk
Ever Changing Liturgy

Ever Changing Liturgy

Both Lungs, Featured Articles, Liturgy
by Brent Kostyniuk A youngish man gets woken up by his wife on Sunday morning. “Time to get ready for church.” “No! I’m not going today.” “Give me three good reasons why,” his wife replied. “It’s always the same. The sermons are boring. Besides, I went last week. Give me three good reasons why I should go.” “It’s your duty. The Divine Liturgy is what you make of it. Besides, you are the priest.” One of the most commonly raised excuses for not attending Divine Liturgy regularly is that it is always the same. The reality is nothing could be…
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Mar
22
2021
By Brent Kostyniuk
All You Orthodox Christians

All You Orthodox Christians

Both Lungs, Featured Articles, News
by Brent Kostyniuk A priest once told me how he had been chastised by an upset parishioner because he prayed for the Orthodox Church during the Divine Liturgy. We both got a chuckle out of the story; however, it did point to a misunderstanding. The prayer, repeated several times during the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, is intended for something quite different from the parishioner’s understanding. Specifically, during the Ektenia of Fervent Supplication, the following petition is prayed by the priest. “We also pray for the people here present who await Your great and bountiful mercies, for those who…
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Dec
22
2020
By Brent Kostyniuk
Icons, but not Statues

Icons, but not Statues

Both Lungs, Faith, Featured Articles
by Brent Kostyniuk “Then we went on to Greece, and the Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it.” This is how Prince Vladimir’s emissaries described their experience of Byzantine Christianity in 987, leading to the baptism of Kiev in 988. No doubt, the emissaries’ feelings were shaped by the richness of the Byzantine Tradition – they heard the beautiful singing, they smelled the…
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Sep
26
2020
By Brent Kostyniuk

Internment

Both Lungs, Featured Articles, News
by Brent Kostyniuk It has become fashionable to resurrect historic injustices and blame them for present day conditions. However, there is one event which remains little known, which brought horrible sufferings to thousands, and for which no reparation has even been considered—the internment of Ukrainian Canadians during World War I. Imprisoned This infamous incident in Canadian history began when the War Measures Act came into law in 1914. Under the pretext of safeguarding the country from enemy aliens, some 8,500 men were interned as prisoners of war. Far from being enemy alien combatants, these men were civilians. Some detainees were…
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Aug
07
2020
By Brent Kostyniuk
Life of the World to Come

Life of the World to Come

Both Lungs, Featured Articles
by Brent Kostyniuk In this time of the pandemic, it is normal, if not expected, that people will worry about what lies ahead. For many, the fear of death brought about by this new plague has become a part of everyday life. However, as Byzantine Christians, we know full well what lies in store. At each Divine Liturgy we, along with many other Christians, pray the Nicene Creed and those words which tell us precisely what is in store for us. “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” We are further…
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Mar
30
2020
By Brent Kostyniuk
Ukrainian and Catholic

Ukrainian and Catholic

Both Lungs, Featured Articles
by Brent Kostyniuk “You’re not really Catholic. You belong to that Ukrainian church.” How often have we, as Ukrainian Catholics, had to explain to others that, yes, we are Ukrainian and Catholic? A young mother arrived at a Catholic school in Edmonton to register her son, bringing along his baptismal certificate from a Ukrainian Catholic parish. Despite this, she was told he could not be enrolled, as he was not Catholic. Ironically, the school is named after a Ukrainian Catholic bishop! So why the confusion? Did St. John Paul II not say that it is the duty of all Catholics…
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Dec
08
2019
By Brent Kostyniuk

Our Byzantine Heritage

Both Lungs, Featured Articles, News
by Brent Kostyniuk As Ukrainian Catholics, we, along with others, are the inheritors of a rich Byzantine Christian tradition. It provides a spirituality abundant in prayers, icons, hymns, and liturgies intended to draw us ever closer to God. It has been our birth-right for over 1000 years since St. Volodymyr arranged the baptism of the Ukrainian people. Even then it was centuries old. However, “Why Byzantine?” you may well ask. The answer lies deep in Christianity, in the first centuries of the Church’s existence. As the early Church grew it formed around five centres - Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Byzantium, and…
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Jul
27
2019
By Brent Kostyniuk

Fortunate

Both Lungs, Featured Articles, Liturgy
by Brent Kostyniuk Some years ago there was a popular film titled My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It followed the daughter of a Greek immigrant family in her romance with a very non-ethnic boyfriend. Eventually, romance led to marriage. However, before that could take place, the boyfriend had to be baptized. The girl’s father proudly told the boyfriend, “It is your lucky day to be baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church.” Similarly, it might be said that many of us are fortunate to have been baptized into the Ukrainian Catholic Church. For most, the decision to be baptized was taken…
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Jul
04
2019
By Brent Kostyniuk
Ditpych

Ditpych

Both Lungs, Featured Articles
Brent Kostyniuk For Ukrainian Catholics, and indeed all Byzantine Christians, icons are a vital part of their prayer life. So closely linked are the two, some faithful find it difficult to pray without being able to gaze on an icon. Often referred to as windows to heaven, icons are not meant to be realistic images of Jesus, the Theotokos, or the saints as they were on earth. Rather they portray theological truths. For this reason, icons are said to be written, rather than painted. We see the holy person as they are now, glorified in heaven. Praying before an icon…
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