News
Byzcath.org News provides news focusing on the Christian East from varous sources and offers links to other sites dedicated to providing the news about the Church.
Churches and organizations that provide news about the Eastern Churches are invited to submit their news stories to us for publication here (use the contact page for submission)..
Materials from the Vatican Information Service, Zenit, CWNews.com and other sources are published here with permission of their owners but may not be republished further without the permission of their original publishers. Please visit these sites to obtain additional general news about the Church. In addition to these sources EWTN News also provides a good general news summary.
Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
- Details
vatican.va - The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archeparchy of Prešov for Catholics of Byzantine rite, Slovakia, presented by Archbishop Ján Babjak, S.J.
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Peter Rusnák of the eparchy of Bratislava for Catholics of Byzantine rite as apostolic administrator sede vacante of the archeparchy of Prešov.
- Details
Inviting European leaders to Be Messengers of Peace between Russia and Ukraine
Sunday, March 6th. 2022
With much love, trust, tears and faith, as retired Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, I address His Holiness Pope Francis, the heads of European episcopal councils, the presidents of the countries of the European Union, owners of large corporations and all people of good will,
- Details
March 2022
Yes, let us bury war.
Though now retired, I was in the course of my life, first, a priest in south Lebanon, in dialogue with all denominations, then a metropolitan bishop in the Holy Land, sometimes amidst conflict between Israelis and Palestinians; lastly a patriarch, living through the scourge of war on Syria; I also experienced the horrors of civil war in Lebanon.
So, on the basis of my friendship with Russian and Ukrainian Churches and having experienced something of the tragedies of war, I appeal to my brothers in Russia, where there is the largest Orthodox Church in the Christian world, and to my brothers in Ukraine, where there is also a large Orthodox Church and a Greek Catholic Church in communion with the Church of Rome, saying, “Bury war, the God of war, and weapons of all kinds,” as this conflict unfolds from one day to the next, bringing calamities and destruction, thousands of victims and tragedies.
Yes, let us bury war, instead of burying war victims in their thousands, as we hear on the news.
- Details
Vatcan.va - The Holy Father has approved the change of the circumscription of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto of the Slovaks of the Byzantine rite in Canada, from eparchy to exarchate, transferring its jurisdiction from the sui iuris metropolitan Church of Prešov of the Byzantines to that of Pittsburgh of the Byzantines.
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Kurt Richard Burnette of Passaic of the Ruthenians, U.S.A., as apostolic administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto of the Slovaks of the Byzantine rite in Canada.
- Details
BYZANTINE CATHOLIC EPARCHY OF PASSAIC
Office of the Bishop
455 Lackawanna Avenue
Woodland Park, New Jersey 07424
February 26, 2022
Glory to Jesus Christ!
My dear friends in the Faith,
As everyone else, I am horrified and sorrowful about the brutal invasion of the Ukrainian nation. It is horrible for everyone, but it brings back recent memories in our own Church, even in modern times. The part of Ukraine where our church is located was annexed to the Soviet Union at the end of World War Two, and the destruction of our church was swift and ruthless. Our bishop in Uzhorod was murdered. The priests were told to convert or suffer the consequences. About half of the priests joined the Russian Orthodox Church, and about half refused. Who can condemn those who joined? They had wives and children to care for. But the priests who remained Catholic received long prison terms in Siberia, including the fathers and grandfathers of priests in our own Eparchy of Passaic today. Russia has been waging a propaganda war against us for decades now. I experienced it myself in Florida where I attended a party with Russians, and a simple man who watches Russian television began screaming “fascist” when he found out I was Byzantine Catholic. He ran to the others side of the ball room in terror and screamed fascist over and over while pointing to me. I don’t pretend that I suffered persecution, but I tell you this story so you can see how thoroughly the Kremlin propaganda machine operates twenty four hours a day seven days a week. Our Church was relegalized only thirty years ago in Ukraine. We can be sure that religious persecution will be inevitable during a Russian occupation.
In Romania, the soviets told the youngest Greek Catholic bishop they would make him the head of the church in Romania if he renounced the Catholic faith, and he refused. They cut him up with an ax while he was still alive. Our bishops in Slovakia suffered a living martyrdom for many years. Of course, not only were monks and nuns killed, but everyone lived a life of fear and poverty. Family members reported each other to the secret police, and people who attended church were denied all government jobs and many other jobs as well. Bishop Milan Lach’s father walked away from an excellent position and lived a life of agrarian hard labor because he refused to deny his faith in Slovakia. Both Milan and his brother Peter became priests because of the faith of their saintly father.
- Details
February 24, 2022
We enter the Great Lenten Fast. Just as the hope of relief from the Pandemic began to grow, the invasion of Ukraine and threat of a larger global war has arisen. Since 1991 the faithful living in Ukraine had the joy of political and religious freedom. The occupation of parts of Lugansk and Donetsk Provinces has already cost 14,00 lives. With the threat of Communist suppression of the entire nation, the shadow of the return to the decades of gloom has returned for the Ruthenian and Ukrainian Catholic members living in the nation of Ukraine.
We pray for our members who have families in Ukraine. Especially, we pray for the families of our ten priests from Ukraine serving in the Pittsburgh Archeparchy as well as for several other priests and religious serving other churches in the United States.
The Great Fast is the season of praying, fasting and almsgiving. We certainly will remember Ukraine in our paying and fasting during the Great Fast. Also, we will take up a collection on the Third Sunday of the Fast for the Church in Ukraine. We ask our parishes to send the collection to the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. We will transfer the offering to the Eparchy of Mukachevo.