Since occasional mention has been made here of the Polish National Catholic Church, I add this announcement. If it does not belong in this topic or on this forum, I apologize.
The XXIII General Synod of the Polish National Catholic Church will be held from Monday, October 4th to Friday, October 8th, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 5685 Falls Ave., Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The XXIII General Synod is being hosted by the Canadian Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church.
The Synod registration fee is C$750. Hotel reservations may be made directly with the hotel by calling 1-800-519-9911. Guests should request the special convention rate for the Polish National Catholic Church which is separate from the Synod registration fee.
Synod Registration will take place Sunday, October 3rd from 5-9pm and Monday, October 4th from 8am to noon. Opening Holy Mass will take place on Monday, October 4th at 1pm. Synod banquets will be held on Monday and Thursday evening. Dinning vouchers will be provided to cover Tuesday and Wednesday evening. The Synod will close with lunch on Friday, October 8th.
Elections will be held for the Office of the Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church. Two candidates for the Office of Bishop will also be elected. As more details become available I will offer them here.
Additional information may also be obtained from the Pre-Synod Committee, Holy Trinity Parish, 880 Barton Street East, Hamilton, Ontario, L8L 3B7, Canada. Telephone the Parish at 905-549-0470 or contact Mr. Anthony Jasinski at 416-543-8910 or by E-mail.
Thanks for posting this, my friend. It will be interesting to read the reports of the meeting of our Polish brethren.
Many years,
Neil
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
Regional PNCC head elected church's seventh prime bishop
BY LAURA LEGERE (STAFF WRITER) Published: October 6, 2010
Bishop Anthony Mikovsky, the leader of the Scranton-based Central Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church, was elected on Tuesday to the denomination's highest post.
The New Jersey-native, who has spent his 13-year priesthood serving in the city, was elected prime bishop during the 23rd General Synod in Niagara Falls, Ontario, by a two-thirds majority of the ordained and lay delegates, including the prime bishop-elect's father.
Bishop Mikovsky has been bishop of the Central Diocese and pastor of St. Stanislaus Cathedral since 2006. Before becoming bishop, he served as the assistant pastor at St. Stanislaus, the mother church of the denomination, beginning in 1997.
For his new post, he will move less than two blocks from the East Locust Street cathedral to the seat of the Polish National Catholic Church on Pittston Avenue.
"I'm overwhelmed," he said by phone Tuesday, not long after the vote. "When people put trust in you to lead them in God's field, and in going forward to build up the church, it's a very humbling experience."
The Rev. Jason Soltysiak, assistant pastor at St. Stanislaus, learned the news of the vote on Tuesday from "about 150 text messages" from church members, but he spread the word in the traditional way - by ringing the cathedral bells.
"That's, I guess, our version of the white smoke," he said, referring to the signal that indicates the selection of a new pope in the Roman Catholic church.
Current Prime Bishop Robert M. Nemkovich must retire from the position because of age limits set by church law. He was elected in 2002.
Two other bishops, the Right Revs. Sylvester T. Bigaj, of the Canadian Diocese, and John E. Mack, auxiliary of the Buffalo Pittsburgh Diocese, also accepted nominations for the prime bishop position before the voting on Tuesday.
A successor for Bishop Mikovsky as head of the Central Diocese will be selected after the synod closes on Friday. The new prime bishop will assume his role at the end of the week, but he will be formally installed during a ceremony in Scranton this fall.
In addition, Very Rev. Paul Sobiechowski of St. Joseph’s Parish in Davie, Florida, was elected candidate to the Office of Bishop on the first ballot.
Reports on other matters discussed and adopted at the General Synod will be listed here as I receive them. Incidentally, I spoke with a number of Polish National Catholic clergymen at the Synod and received a sincere welcome as a Roman Catholic guest. Two past Prime Bishops as well as the new Prime Bishop were especially friendly and helpful. They informed me that the PNCC dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church continues but has made little progress lately on the subject of papal primacy. Nevertheless, relations between our Church and theirs remain cordial, and the PNCC remains committed to the Catholic heritage it inherited over 100 years ago.
In addition, Very Rev. Paul Sobiechowski of St. Joseph’s Parish in Davie, Florida, was elected candidate to the Office of Bishop on the first ballot.
I've actually met Fr. Paul and found him to be an incredibly friendly and welcoming man. His parish is small but they are very active.
Every year they host an ecumenical Candlelight Service, which one of our local Episcopal choir's has often been invited to perform in. It's really a great event.
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
St. Joseph's PNCC has pretty impressive bulletins, up to 18 pages, that I found on the site. Included in the bulletin are quotes from Presidents of the USA.
Originally Posted by LibCath2000
Originally Posted by Polish American
In addition, Very Rev. Paul Sobiechowski of St. Joseph’s Parish in Davie, Florida, was elected candidate to the Office of Bishop on the first ballot.
I've actually met Fr. Paul and found him to be an incredibly friendly and welcoming man. His parish is small but they are very active.
Every year they host an ecumenical Candlelight Service, which one of our local Episcopal choir's has often been invited to perform in. It's really a great event.
Scranton Bishop to Lead Polish National Catholic Church in U.S.
The installation ceremony starts at 3 p.m. Sunday at Saint Stanislaus in south Scranton and is open to the public. Since the new Prime Bishop has always been a Polish National Catholic, the local Roman Catholic diocese may send official representatives. In the past, if a newly consecrated bishop was a former Roman Catholic clergyman, the Diocese of Scranton did not send any observers to the ceremony.
Among the ecumenical dignitaries were the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, and Bishop Emeritus James C. Timlin.
"We have been in dialogue with this church for years, and they remain our brothers and sisters in faith," Bishop Bambera said of the PNCC before the procession, just as the hymn "The Church is One Foundation" began. "It is important that we celebrate this special day together," he added.
I was at this Synod and spoke with some of the PNCC clergy (including the past, present, and new Prime Bishops) who have participated in the RCC-PNCC dialogues, and all of them said that the discussions are stuck on the issue of papal infallibility. In addition, some PNCC members feel that the [Catholic] religious culture of the PNCC is now so different from the RCC one - married priests and bishops, general confession for adults, contraception, democratic government of the Church - that union with Rome would be very difficult.
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