www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Eastern Rite in Taiwan

I have a simple question, does anyone know if there is an Eastern Catholic/Orthodox presence on the Island of Taiwan, and if so, which areas. Reason I ask is I'm applying for grad school in Taiwan and they have several cities to choose from and if one of them has a parish in it, that would be the one I would first apply to. Any information provided would be great, thank you.

You might try looking at this parish in Taipei, Taiwan.
http://www.orthodox.cn/contemporary/taiwan/index_en.html

The choir director and cantor centrist that parish is Joanna Katchen, daughter of the long time BCC cantor from Nesquehoning, Pa. It's great to hear Chinese singing Prostopenije. She is a university professor in Taipei.

As far as I know that church was the only Orthodox church in Taiwan. (though, if you check the website, the first link at the time of access was apparently about some folks who went vagante)

The parish is heavily Russian/East Slavic, though with a Greek priest and with most of the service in English (closest available thing to a lingua franca for the ethnically diverse crowd). Note that it's in a relatively small room on, IIRC, the 4th floor of a highrise. It's also fairly out of the way for most students, unless they attend National Taiwan University or National Taiwan Normal U. Will need the subway to a fairly non-central stop and then a bit of a walk. Unless you link up with a parishioner beforehand, a non-Chinese speaker will have a very hard time finding and attending, I'm afraid.

The Latin parishes are an alternative for those so inclined. There are at least 4 English masses in Taipei. Don't know about other cities.

I would be happy to put anyone interested in touch with Ms. Katchen, on vacation I think for two weeks though..she is a professor there..Don't know her personally, but her dad knew my father from when my dad was priest in Freeland, PA and was known for his knowledge of prostopenije. (Side note: My father was born in Nesquehoning and baptized at the Greek Catholic church there, for a very brief time my grandfather tried his hand at mining and did not find it to be where he wanted to be so he moved to New Jersey shortly thereafter! Prior to that he tried steel work in Northside Pittsburgh, where he and my grandmother were married, and didn't like the mill either! He then opened a saloon in Elizabethport, NJ. Smart guy until the Volstead Act got in the way....didn't completely shut him down though!)

Well, I actually speak Chinese and read Chinese, so the language isn't a problem. My Taiwanese teacher knows there is a parish in the capital. I just don't want to be without any Divine Liturgies for 11 months. Though I probably won't get the grant to go anyways, wishful thinking.

Well, if you know Chinese already, I'd highly recommend Taipei as a place to study. Either way, good luck with your studies.