www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Introducing ByzantineDiaspora.com

Good afternoon everyone. I've been working on a back burner project for the last several months, and I think its ready to roll out for some initial feedback and fine tuning.

The project is Byzantine Diaspora [byzantinediaspora.com]. The genesis of it is this: once I found I would be moving to Montana, I realized there would be no Byzantine (or any other Eastern) Catholic presence in the area. I became part of a diaspora of Byzantines that exist around the country. This is a set of our rite that needs resources to keep in touch with their spiritual heritage, and I thought I could help provide that.

On the site right now are links to podcasts by Byzantine Catholics, a list of the most recent Eastern Catholic blog posts, free Byzantine/Eastern Catholic eBooks, a link to the streaming liturgy at St. Nicholas (Tampa), prayers, and online articles. If you think I'm missing something that needs to be there, let me know. (FYI: I am going to be continuing to add ebooks and magisterial/patristic writings... but this is a back burner project!)

The biggest area for improvement is explicitly catechetical interactive material. I've started to put together a means of connecting online through user groups. It is much like this forum, but narrowed specifically to prayer group, book study, or Bible study. It will, hopefully, be structured. However, it needs leaders (and more importantly, users!).

So any initial thoughts? The idea is really to complement and pull together a lot of what is out there. But right now its only a "first draft".

I suppose one thing to ask is whether there is any value added? If not, no reason to keep it up.

So, this is for those "in diaspora from the Diaspora"?

Actually, my brother, I think it's an interesting idea with the potential to be a valuable resource to those who, like yourself, are in what Stuart has somewhat aptly described. I had intended to comment on it sooner but a monitor that is threatening to go south (and, hopefully, will this weekend) has somewhat cut back on my on-line activities.

As webmaster of the Directory, I not infrequently field e-mails from folk who, like yourself, are in places that make two hours round trips to Divine Liturgy look like jaunts.

If you check the 'Start-A-Parish page here, you'll note folk in places like Idaho - seen a roadsign to there lately? or the other extreme - the deepest South, hoping - without much hope of successa - to find others in their neck of the woods with a possible interest in starting mission activity.

While you're all a bit too scattered to be that kind of support to one another, it's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that there might be interest in a supportive on-line community that shares prayers and other aspects of spirituality. Those parts of being an Eastern community that aren't fulfilled merely through conversation and discussion, as one has here.

Might I suggest touching base with some of those who are, like you, effectively isolated from a community with which to worship - the respective entries have contact info in them. There are also likely others who lurk here or post only occasionally who may also be interested. I'd be curious what efforts yield.

Many years,

Neil

(I'd guess that we also have a few members outside North America who are similarly bereft of any community - I know that we have had at various times in the past)

I think it's a very good idea. There is a whole different set of concerns when in the Diaspora. Finding others can be difficult when dealing with hundreds of square miles of territory. Byzcath is fine, except many of us do not come out of lurkerdom that often, and unless you happen to note someone's location, there's no real way of telling who happens to be close by. A place where there can be a concentration of materials focused on mission work is definitely needed.

In Christ,
Adam

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear Mountain,
Through the prayers of Blessed Paul Gojdich, may your evangelical vocation be blessed!

I registered hoping that I could post directly, but that feature is not available, so here is my contribution. I looked up the websites of the four Byzantine Catholic newspapers/newsletters and they are below:

Archeparchy of Pittsburgh BCW [archeparchy.org]

Parma Horizons [parma.org]

Passaic Eastern Catholic Life [eparchyofpassaic.com]

Phoenix Light of the West [eparchyofphoenix.org]

With these links anyone in the USA can keep up with fairly current eparchy news. I think the BCW and Eastern Catholic Life are published every three weeks.

Fr Deacon Paul Boboige

This is a good thing ... and a noble effort.

I intent to support it.

All my life - I've sought my Eastern Heritage - and mostly through the internet was I able to find it and learn about it.

Serbian Diapora ... especially in the Western U.S. cover vast distances. My father was baptized in Glove Arizona in 1932 by
a chance visit from a Serbian Bishop from Los Angeles (a once in a lifetime opportuniy from what I hear). So even in his time in his small serbian community of miners in Globe AZ - the heritage was being lost.

My search for Byzantium started just with Serbian songs ... then I realized most Serbian songs were religious - which led to learning religious songs ... now I am Byzantine Catholic.
I almost become Serbian Orthodox but the Divine Liturgies were too complex for my wife and she did not like the church we were attending.

We never lived near a Byzantine Church ... I never even saw one till I made a concerted effort to find one and go.

It's exactly 2 hours from my house - and I make Sat and Sun liturgies and focus all my holidays around that church.

I would attend daily but I would have to move.

I think this website is an opportunity for evangelization as well.

Let me know what I can do to help you ...

I starting thinking about the comment where someone was comparing Byzcath.org to ByzantineDiaspora.com

They could and should have different goals and missions.

My view of ByzantineDiaspora is an active gathering back together of Byzantine Catholics (kind of like the RENEW movement of the Latin Catholic Church of the 80's)

It should also be a Missionary style evangilization in my humble opinion ... as opposed the Byzcath as I see as a educationial, Catechetical, resourse of information about Byzantine Catholics.

I would actively support ( and promote on facebook, twitter, etc) this effort.

If it's just a rehash of Byzcath.org then the other gentlemens comments may well be heeded.

John

A wonderful piece of news for Mountain Ruthenian and others in MT. Apparently, this began back in Aug of this past year. May God bless Father Bill O'Brien in his far-flung ministry.

Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy [clarkforkcatholic.com]

Montana Byzantine Catholics [facebook.com]


Our missions frequently meet at Latin parishes and the latter are most often very gracious hosts, but I have to note that this is one of the very few instances in which I've seen the hosting Latin parish devote such prominent space on its website to the guested mission. That says a lot about them.

Many years,

Neil

I went to the link and it says the account is suspended. Are you continuing it?

I'll add it to our parish website's links if it returns.

I just tried to access the website, but it says that it has indeed been suspended. I hope it comes back, as it sounds like a wonderful idea if properly implemented for those unable to live near other Eastern Catholics.

Many Years!