Liturgical Year – Royal Doors

Becoming Byzantine

Akathists and Molebens, Catechism Resources, Christian Life, Christology, Church, Communion with the Catholic Church, Communities, Divine Liturgy, Divine Praises, Domestic Church, Ecumenism, Faith, Fasting, Featured Articles, Great Lent, History, Holy Mysteries, Holy Tradition, Liturgical Year, Liturgy, Pascha, Personal Prayer, Podcasts, Prayer of the Heart, Relations with other Churches, Salvation History, Scripture, Teaching, Theosis, Trinity, UGCC Catechism July 18, 2022 Fr. Michael Winn

The series, Becoming Byzantine, is intended to be an online introduction to Byzantine Catholic Faith, Worship, and Life, based on the teachings of the catechism, Christ Our Pascha. Each month, the series sponsors a 90-minute webinar which will serve as a conversation introducing the topics and themes from the Catechism (which can be read afterwards), […]

Ever Changing Liturgy

Both Lungs, Divine Liturgy, Featured Articles, Liturgical Year, Liturgy May 6, 2021 Brent Kostyniuk

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 […]

Restoring the Tradition

Featured Articles, Liturgical Year October 14, 2018 Fr. Roman Planchak

THE SECOND COUNCIL OF NICEAEA – the seventh ecumenical council – which we remember every October is chiefly known for formally recognizing the use of icons as a consequence of the Incarnation. If the Word of God could take on human nature He could be depicted in images. In effect, the Council taught, the Incarnation […]

Beneath Your Protection

Featured Articles, Liturgical Year October 1, 2018 Fr. Roman Planchak

IN 1917 THE JOHN RYLANDS UNIVERSITY LIBRARY in Manchester, England acquired a third-century papyrus fragment of great historic interest. It contained the earliest known copy of a hymn to the Theotokos. The verse, still used in the liturgies of all the historic Churches, reads as follows: “Beneath your protection, we take refuge, O Theotokos. Do […]

The Beginning of All Holy Days

Featured Articles, Liturgical Year September 1, 2018 Fr. Roman Planchak

SEPTEMBER 1 MARKS THE BEGINNING of the Byzantine calendar church Year. An important part of this annual cycle of feasts and fasts is the sequence of the Twelve Great Feasts which, together with the “Feast of Feasts,” Pascha, commemorates the major events in the life of Christ. The first of the feasts in this annual […]

New Cooking Show: Eastern Hospitality

Fasting, Featured Articles, Great Lent February 6, 2018 Fr. Roman Planchak

This is an Easter Catholic online cooking show hosted by Fr. Moses and Mother Gabriella. It follows the Traditional cycle of the Liturgical Year which takes us through periods of preparation (fasting) and celebrating (feasting). New episodes will be released this coming Great Lent. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/easternhospitality/ Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/channels/easternhospitality Website: http://www.easternhospitality.org

Meditation on the Prayer of St. Ephrem | Jim Forest

Great Lent, Personal Prayer, Prayer Texts February 5, 2017 Respected Author

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust for power and idle talk. But give to me, your servant, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love. O Lord and King, grant to me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother and sister. […]

The Purpose of the Great Fast

Fasting, Featured Articles, Great Lent February 5, 2017 Fr. Michael Winn

Because we did not fast we were banished from paradise. So then let us fast so as to return back to paradise. (St. Basil, On Fasting, 1) Although our time has brought with it many changes in church laws, traditions, and discipline, and the Second Vatican Council has relaxed the rules for fasting, including the […]

St. Lucian of Antioch: Scholar and Martyr

Liturgical Year, Lives of the Saints October 15, 2016 Fr. Roman Planchak

MOST CHRISTIANS KNOW that the books of the New Testament — the Gospels, the Epistles and the rest — were written in the first century ad. Some know that these books were compiled as the New Testament sometime in the next three centuries. Few know that the form of the New Testament which we use […]

St. Romanos: Patron of Church Musicians

Liturgical Year, Saints of the Day October 1, 2016 Fr. Roman Planchak

ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR CHANTS in our Church is the kondakion of Christ’s Nativity, “Today the Virgin gives birth…” What many do not know is that this hymn is an excerpt from a much longer work and that it was written by St Romanos the Melodist. Who is This Saint? St Romanos was born […]