Royal Doors

Mar

26

2012

Paschal Letter of Patriarch Sviatoslav 2012

UGCC

Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!Mt. 4:17 Dear in Christ! With these words of our Divine Savior, the Church of Christ is calling today each and every one of us to commence a blessed time of the Great Fast. The name “Great” of this fast is not accidental: it is caused by those God’s gifts and fruits for our spiritual life, which we can attain during this time, provided we spend it worthily. The greatness of this time is likewise determined by the depth of a spiritual change of our person and our life, which will be…

Mar

25

2012

By Respected Author

Great and Holy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

FaithGreat Fast, Great Lent, Holy Week, Lent

The following is excerpted from A Paschal Pilgrimage: A Guide to the Great Fast by Bishop Basil Losten. The Bridegroom Cometh On Palm Sunday evening at Vespers we “pass from the feast of palms and branches… to the saving solemnity of the sufferings of Christ.” On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning of Holy Week, Matins is popularly called the “Bridegroom Service,” because each time we sing the Troparion, “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming in the middle of the night!” (Hear this troparion on Youtube) Each day the Gospel is read. There is Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts on Monday, Tuesday and…

Jan

08

2012

By Respected Author

A House of Prayer

Christian Life

According to the age-old tradition of the Byzantine Churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, the home is a kind of church, because it houses an assembly of believers. When people occupy a new house, the priest performs a consecration, anointing the four walls with holy oil and sanctifying the house with holy water and incense. Psalms are chanted and the Gospel story of Jesus' visit to the house of Zacchaeus (cf. Luke 19:1-1O) is proclaimed. At the conclusion the traditional prayer for “Many Years” is sung by the priest for the family members. When the family moves into a new dwelling,…

Dec

24

2011

By Most Rev. David Motiuk

Tidings of Great Joy (Luke 2: 10)

FaithChristmas, Nativity of our Lord, Pastoral Letters

We are celebrating the Feast of the Birth, the Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, one of the greatest and most loved feasts of all Christianity. Yet, many people say they have a vague feeling of emptiness at Christmas. Even though they are doing things that they have looked forward to all year long and are surrounded by family and friends, they still have the feeling that something is missing. But for most people, the real problem with Christmas isn’t that they are spiritually bankrupt or that Christmas is devoid of meaning. It’s simply that they haven’t taken…

Sep

01

2011

By Most Rev. David Motiuk

Discover the Beauty of the Liturgical Year!

Christian Life, Liturgy

We're used to marking our lives by the events during the year that give shape to our existence and of those around us. A birthday. An anniversary. A graduation. A death. Each of these celebrations helps us mark significant moments in time. We record many of these meaningful moments in pictures, videos, greeting cards, letters and the such. And from time to time, we reminisce about the people and happenings recorded for posterity, bringing a smile to our faces when our memories fill our hearts with gladness, or bringing a tear to the eye when we recall the loss of…

Aug

06

2011

By UGCC Synod of Bishops

Today UGCC lacks missionary experience and ‘missionary spirit’

News

His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar: Today UGCC lacks missionary experience and 'missionary spirit' The church must be ready to serve, Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar) said during a meeting with the Greek Catholic missionaries, the pastoral missionary department informs. Former Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church told the priests about the history of Ukrainian missionary work and shared his thoughts on modern Greek Catholic Missiology. Patriarch Lubomyr calls missionaries to be open to others and not afraid of contemporary challenges. "People should be aware that our church is built within the Ukrainian community, but Ukrainians are ready to embrace people of other…

Jul

26

2011

By UGCC Synod of Bishops

Patriarch Sviatoslav Speaks His Mind

News

During the first three months of his rule, the new head of the UGCC gave more than a dozen interviews on various issues of church life. For leaders the first 100 days is a time for reflection, a period for making conclusions. On this occasion, RISU journalists and the periodical Patriarchate met with Patriarch Sviatoslav to hear his evaluation of the first one hundred days in power and his views on other important church issues. — The first one hundred days have passed since your enthronement (March 27, 2011), which is a traditional time for secular leaders to summarize their…

Jul

15

2011

By Fr. Michael Winn

Churches of the East

Faith, Featured Articles

Assyrian Church of the East Assyrian Church of the East Oriental Orthodox Churches Armenian Apostolic Church Coptic Orthodox Church Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Eritrean Orthodox Church Autocephalous Orthodox Churches Patriarchate of Constantinople Patriarchate of Alexandria Patriarchate of Antioch Patriarchate of Jerusalem Orthodox Church of Russia Orthodox Church of Serbia Orthodox Church of Romania Orthodox Church of Bulgaria Orthodox Church of Georgia Orthodox Church of Cyprus Orthodox Church of Greece Orthodox Church of Poland (reported as attack site on November 8, 2009) Orthodox Church of Albania Orthodox Church in Czech and Slovak…

Jul

15

2011

By Dr. Adam Deville

Eastern Catholics 101

Faith, Featured Articles

by Dr. Adam DeVille If you ask Americans how many states there are in the Union, they will tell you “fifty.” If you ask a Canadian how many provinces there are in Canada, few of us would hesitate before answering “ten.” But if someone asked you how many churches make up the Catholic Church, what would you say? Most of us would regard it as a non-sensical question; most of us view the Catholic Church as a singular entity, and therefore we would answer “one.” But we would be wrong! Just as there are not seventeen provinces or forty-two states,…

Jul

15

2011

By Fr. Michael Winn

Summary and Synthesis of the Encounter 2005

News

Summary and Synthesis of the Encounter of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada 24-26 May 2005, Winnipeg In May 2005, at the invitation and under the patronage of Most Rev. Michael Bzdel, CSsR, Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan for Ukrainian Catholics in Canada, the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Church met in Winnipeg. At the same time, there was a gathering of the Ukrainian Catholic clergy, religious and monastics of Canada for a national encounter on the theme Mission of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada and Its Future. The Winnipeg Encounter will be remembered as a particular historical…