www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Russian Greek Catholic calendar republished.

Previous threads on "The Christian East & West" forum have inquired about the Russian Greek Catholic (RGC) liturgical calendar published in the 1940's:

Recognition of Saints post-schism
Documentation on approval of post-schism eastern saints..PLEASE!!
Post-Schism Orthodox Saints acknowledged by Rome

The primary question raised in all three threads was: Which Russian saints were included in the RGC calendar?

We finally have the answer! With the blessing of Bishop Joseph Werth, Ordinary for Catholics of the Byzantine rite in the Russian Federation, an official church calendar for RGC parishes in Russia has been published. It is a reproduced edition, originally prepared by the Congregation for the Eastern Churches and approved by Popes Pius XI and Pius XII. This edition was edited by Fr. Alexander Burgos of the RGC parish in Saint Petersburg. News article. [sib-catholic.ru]

Here is a 2021 article that provides the background of how the calendar was originally compiled as well as lists the Russian saints included in the calendar: Russian Liturgical Memories in t...sio Vulgata) of the Mid-20th Century [slovene.ru]

The article is in Russian with an English abstract. (I've attached a Google Translate version for your convenience.)

Dear Griego Amigo!

Thank you for posting this!

The presentation as to why certain Eastern Saints were not included reminds one of the statement by an Orthodox theologian when commenting on the Vatican II's Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches saying that it is a "Latin document about the Christian East."

We may assess arguments offered in the Calendar here against the inclusion of certain Saints of the Orthodox East, namely, that they are Latin arguments which fail to fully appreciate Eastern Christian principles of Hagiography.

Father Sergius Keleher (+,memory eternal!) often reiterated to me that when it comes to our Saints, East and West "do not question canonizations." He noted the RC prelates who attended Orthodox canonizations/glorifications of Saints and who not only reverenced the icons and relics of those saints but took home with them copies of icons and liturgical services prepared for their honour. He said that "If the Roman Caltholic Church did not recognize the validity of the Orthodox canonizations, why would its prelates attend the services as they did?" Fr Keleher, and others in the Eastern Catholic Churches like him, would often use the St Herman Orthodox Calendar of Saints for their daily commemorations of Saints as a "textus receptus" save for the commemoration therein of the "Return of Uniates to Orthodoxy" under Metropolitan Josef Siemaszko (who himself has a canonization cause pending in the Belorusyan Church).

There are Ukrainian Catholic churches that have icons of the "Pillars of Orthodoxy" which includes St Mark of Ephesus! Fr Keleher had such an icon in his study but said he "Wouldn't put it up in church because people would misunderstand it and would be upset by it."

Having said this by way of beginning digression, let's have a look at some of the arguments this document mentions against the inclusion into the EC Calendar of specific saints. I was shocked to see it reject the cultus of St Ihor of Kyiv because "he was not killed for religion" and therefore, presumably, he is not a martyr . . .

In fact, this is a bad oversight of historical study! This same argument could be used against the inclusion of Sts Boris and Hlib because they too were not killed for religion. And neither was the English St Edward the Martyr! These saints are classified as "Passion-bearers" i.e. saints who died a holy and violent death but not for a religious objective. They were glorified for the sublime manner of how they died rather than for what they died. This includes both St Edward the Martyr and the later Bl. Henry the Sixth who enjoyed a wide cult in England at one time. The Ukrainian Catholic Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius in St Catharines, Ontario depicts Sts Boris, Hlib AND Ihor together on the back wall above the upper choir.

This is but one example of bad "ecumenical theology" which has, to be fair, advanced further along in the Latin Church with respect to the Orthodox East.

EC Churches today have shed their inhibitions about venerating contemporary Orthodox Saints and having their icons in their churches (St Michael's UGC in Welland, Ontario). This will also include Orthodox saints notedd for their opposition to union with Rome! In addition, if the ultimate qualification of an Orthodox saint to be included on an EC calendar is that he or she is free of "anti-union" and "anti-Roman" sentiment - let's say that will disqualify a good number of them. At least the above document does raise the issue of Orthodox saints who, to paraphrase, repeated the prejudices of their environment etc.

The fact is, and in contradiction to what the above document maintains, a long-standing cult to a particular Orthodox saint will carry over into the EC Churches either by liturgical and hagiographical osmosis or else because the people have venerated them from time immemorial. This latter is the "Vox Populi" that is often touted by Rome when it decides to beatify a saint or group of saints on THAT basis alone (e.g. the English and Welsh Martyrs depicted on the walls of the English College in Rome).

Today's social scientific tools that are available to us for historical analysis enhance our understanding of historical processes and social/ecclesial contexts. And certainly most of the saints venerated worldwide are done so at a local or regional level, even in the Roman Church. For example, although Sts Thomas More and John Fisher were canonized only in 1935 for universal veneration, and this four hundred years after their martyrdom, they were in fact beaitified for veneration within the Roman Province in 1575 or forty years after their martyrdom. Blessed John Duns Scotus Eriugena, the Franciscan theologian who laid the Latn theological groundwork for the Immaculate Conception was beatified in the pontificate of St John Paul II but in fact this was really an extension of his cult as a local Beatus in a region of Italy where he was so honoured by a bishop back in the day. There are many other examples.

And the above document's contention that "Sts Peter and Alexius, Metropolitans, were canonized" also for political reasons is completely wrong. In fact, St Peter (Akerovych) of Kyiv (even though he relocated his See to Moscow, he continued to be "Metropolitan of Kyiv!") attended the union council of Lyons and himself actually signed the union document. He was individually in union with Rome - a fact reiterated by the Servant of God, Patriarch Joseph the Confessor!

And the Local and Regional focus of Saints in the East is something that is more emphasized there than in the West. The Church of Russia has its own saints who, in a number of cases, were transformed into grand political, as well as religious, figures and heroes. Recently, the Kremlin invited the Moscow patriarchate to consider glorifying a Russian general, Suvorov as well - enough said. Such cults may answer certain spiritual and also political needs within Russia and they are best left alone. Their cults won't be expanding beyond Muscovy. Rome need not micromanage the calendars of Eastern saints. It might want to have a hard look at its own processes of canonization first and foremost and see where reforms might be in order - especially the idea of a full return to the right local RC bishops to declare Beati for their own Dioceses . . . But I digress yet again.

The cult of St Josaphat is not without its own set of dynamics. The very anti-Orthodox akathist to St Josaphat used by the Basilians has been toned down in a recent republication of it to remove previous unecumenical hard thrusts . . .

When it comes to the East, Rome is still trying to reframe its paradigm of the Union of Brest, when one comes down to it and despite the Balamand agreement. It really needs to throw the whole idea out once and for all.

Many years ago, I once saw online a photo of a mural of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych and Saint Job of Pochayiv standing side-by-side in the interior of a Ukrainian Catholic church. I wish I could remember which parish it was as I would like to see it again.

Dear Griego Amigo,

I believe that is a Church in Alberta and I have seen that too.

St Job has an interesting history, BTW. He was simultaneously popular among both the Orthodox and Eastern Catholics back in the day.

He opposed the Union of Brest and his printshop at Pochayiv became renowned for its vast publishing of Orthodox liturgical and patristic texts in particular.

And he appeared in the heavens praying to the Mother of God stretching out her mantle of protection against the attacks of the Turks, a miracle which is widely popular throughout Ukraine both Orthodox and EC (we pray to her now to repulse the New Hagarenes who have invaded Ukraine).

Count Myron Potocky, a worldly nobleman who was converted to a pious life through yet another miracle of the Mother of God of Pochayiv, became the monastery's great benefactor and this was during the time when it was under the EC's and the Basilian Order.

It was he who funded efforts to bring the question of St Job's canonization at Rome to the attention of the West. Thanks to his work and support, Rome acknowledged the icon of Pochayiv as miraculous and sent two gold crowns to adorn it (so those are papal crowns in fact!). Hundreds of EC and RC priests and many prelates attended the spectacular event of the icon's Coronation and Count Myron, undaunted, struck special medals for the event. On one side is the miraculous and crowned icon of the Theotokos of Pochayiv with Her Footprint and on the other side . . . an icon of St Job of Pochayiv! I happen to have an antique medal like this.

Professor Ivan Ohienko wrote a book on the Pochayiv Lavra and went into great deal about all this, alas it is in Ukrainian.

There is a picture, not really an icon, of St Job praying before the Pochayiv icon that can be found in some Basilian publications such as the pamphlet, "Two Molebens and the Rosary." Usually the person in that picture is said to be . . . St Josaphat. And the church I used to attend has a mosaic of this same image referring to the saint depicted again as St Josaphat. When was this saint ever in Pochayiv as a monastic??

The other saint of Pochayiv is St Amfilokhy, recently glorified. An ethnic Ukrainian, he worked miracles of healing during his lifetime for which he was imprisoned by the Soviets. The daughter of Stalin himself who was helped by his prayers had Amfilokhy released from prison. Russian monastics at the Lavra notwithstanding, St Amfilokhy was a Ukrainian patriot who wanted a Ukrainian Orthodox church independent of Moscow and he even assisted in the healing of wounded Ukrainian guerilla fighters who came to the Lavra. This I found in UOC-MP literature about the saint.

May he also intercede for Ukraine and her people at this terrible hour!

The book, Saint Job of Pochaev: Life, Liturgical Service and Akathist Hymn, does mention the efforts of the Basilians to have him canonized.

Yes, the Pochayiv icon was crowned on September 8, 1773, but then I was surprised to learn that those crowns were eventually removed and replaced:

Dear GregoAmigo,

It is interesting that while the papal crowns were replaced, when the Pochayiv Lavra fell back into Orthodox hands in the 1830's, the Orthodox monastics appealed to the Russian Synod in Moscow to remove not only the crowns, but a number of other "Latinist" church decorations that had been added thanks to Count Myron Pototsky (he was good friends with Count Auguste Jablonowskie, from whom I have the blessing to be descended ).

At that time, the Moscow Synod told the monks to keep their hands off of all the decorations - regrettably later largely Russophile and anti-Western bishops went against even the decision of their own Synod.

Count Myron, as you know, became a member of the Third Order of the Basilians of St Josaphat and reposed in the odour of sanctity. His tomb in the main cathedral of the Lavra remains there to this day.