Blog Post

Jun
30
2014
By Fr. Roman Planchak
Peter the Rock of Faith

Peter the Rock of Faith

Christian Life, Faith, Featured Articles
Most of the Epistles found in the New Testament are attributed to St. Paul. In addition there are three Epistles of St John, one each of James and Jude, and two of St Peter. Since these are not read at a Sunday Divine Liturgy, we may be less familiar with them. They are all read at weekday Liturgies in the time between the Theophany and the beginning of the Great Fast. In addition portions of 1 Peter are read at Great Vespers on June 29, the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul. 1 Peter is addressed to Christians in “Pontus,…
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Jun
26
2014
By Fr. Michael Winn
UGCC bishops urge the faithful to continue fasting and to continually pray for peace in Ukraine

UGCC bishops urge the faithful to continue fasting and to continually pray for peace in Ukraine

Featured Articles, News
“Our Christian conscience tells us … that we do not have the right to let our hands down. We should continue in praying and fasting. In this complicated time for our country, we beseech the Almighty for victory over the machinations of an outside aggressor and for peace on our land,” write the members of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC Kyiv-Halych Major Archbishopric in their “Appeal to the faithful and all people of goodwill” to continue on-going praying and fasting for peace in Ukraine. The Greek-Catholic bishops are appealing to UGCC faithful and generally to all Christians and…
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Jun
23
2014
By Fr. Roman Planchak
Harbinger of the Sun

Harbinger of the Sun

Featured Articles, Liturgy
Our Church Calendar remembers many events in Christian history: martyrdoms, ecumenical councils, miracles, and even earthquakes. There are only three births celebrated, however: that of the Theotokos (September 8), the nativity of Christ Himself (December 25) and the birth of St John the Forerunner (June 24). We do not know where or when this feast was first observed, but it is mentioned in writings of fourth- and fifth-century Fathers in both East and West (Saints Ambrose, Augustine and John Chrysostom). The oldest shrine of the Forerunner, at Ain-Karem, home of his parents Zachariah and Elizabeth, was destroyed during the fifth-century…
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Jun
18
2014
By Fr. Roman Planchak
Glorified In His Saints

Glorified In His Saints

Faith, Featured Articles
Catholic and Orthodox Christians are sometimes criticized by people because of the reverence we show to the saints. Critics may feel that we ignore the Lord, preferring to pay homage to favorite saints. Seeing how some believers act, we may understand why some Protestants and others may feel as they do. Some devotees of the saints lavish more praise on the saints than on Christ. While such behavior may be misguided, an appropriate devotion to the Theotokos and other saints is not. For us, the saints are the “proof” that the Holy Spirit truly came upon the Church at Pentecost.…
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Jun
11
2014
By Brent Kostyniuk
Both Sides

Both Sides

Both Lungs, Christian Life, Faith, Featured Articles
by Brent Kostyniuk “I’ve looked at life from both sides now…” I’m sure Joni Mitchell’s words mean something different to just about everyone who hears them. Over the past several months, they have taken on a special new meaning for me, as I reflect on St. John Paul II’s famous exhortation that the Church needs to breathe through both lungs - East and West. For the past five years, this column has used the saint’s words as a focus in attempting to spread knowledge and appreciation of Eastern theology and spirituality to those from the Christian West. Often, the theme…
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Jun
10
2014
By Fr. Roman Planchak
We Have Received the Heavenly Spirit

We Have Received the Heavenly Spirit

Faith, Featured Articles
“On the first day of the week we pray standing, but everyone does not know why.” This issue, raised in the fourth century by St. Basil the Great, may be just as timely today. In most Eastern Churches standing is the most appropriate posture for prayer. Sitting is always in order for those who are physically weaker (due to sickness, age, pregnancy, etc). Kneeling, however, is not considered proper on Sundays or during the Paschal season, which ends today. St Basil gives two reasons why we should pray standing on Sunday: the first is that it is the day on…
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Jun
03
2014
By Fr. Michael Winn
The Feast of Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost

Christian Life, Featured Articles, Liturgy
by Fr. Julian Katrij, OSBM Exceprt from A Byzantine Rite Liturgical Year We have seen the true light, we have received the Heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith, we worship the undivided Trinity, for It has saved us. (Stichera of Solemn Vespers of the Feast of the Pentecost) The glorious feast of the Resurrection concludes with a feast also most glorious and great – and that is, the feast of the Pentecost. After the Nativity and Resurrection of our Lord this feast belongs to the greatest feasts in the Ecclesiastical Year. The Descent of the Holy Spirit is, as…
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Jun
03
2014
By Fr. Michael Winn
Edmonton Eparchial Sobor

Edmonton Eparchial Sobor

Christian Life, Featured Articles, UGCC
Edmonton Eparchial Sobor May 23-24, 2014 Vision 2020 “The Vibrant Parish: The Place to Encounter the Living Christ” From time to time, the Church gathers together the clergy, religious, monastics and laity to study and reflect upon pastoral concerns which affect the life and well-being of the Church. In the context of an eparchy, such gatherings are called an Eparchial Sobor or Assembly. Since the Jubilee Year 2000, the Eparchy of Edmonton has now convoked 5 such Sobors: 2001 – “Jesus Christ: Fountain of Rebirth” 2003 – “The Ukrainian Catholic Church in Alberta: 100 Years Later” 2008 – “Evangelization and…
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Jun
01
2014
By Fr. Roman Planchak
Of True and False Apostles

Of True and False Apostles

Faith, Featured Articles
What happens when it's time for a strong leader to step down and be replaced by another? Sometimes there is continuity: the successor has similar gifts and a similar vision to his predecessor. Too often the successor is not up to the task: a poor choice to follow the predecessor’s lead. The Apostle Paul was a driving force in setting the Church at Ephesus firmly on the Rock of Christ. From AD 52 to 54 he lived in the city which became the base for his missionary travels as well during those years. St Paul, however, was not a local…
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