News

Details

Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Clearwater, FL - 2009-03-14 - Eight bishops representing the Ukrainian Catholic hierarchy of North America gathered for two days of meetings in Clearwater, Florida 10-11 February.  Most Rev. Stefan Soroka, Archbishop of Philadelphia and Metropolitan for Ukrainian Catholics in the USA welcomed the participants of the two-day meeting, “It is good to be together for the next few days.  It will provide us a chance to pray together, to discuss both our shared challenges and blessings.

His Grace Stefan headed up the American delegation consisting of Most Rev. Richard Seminack of St. Nicholas Eparchy of Chicago, Most Rev. Paul Chomnycky OSBM, of the Stamford Eparchy and Most Rev. John Bura, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.

Most Rev. Lawrence Huculak OSBM, Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan for Ukrainian Catholics in Canada led the four-member delegation from Canada also consisting of Most Rev. David Motiuk of the Edmonton Eparchy, Most Rev. Ken Nowakowski of the New Westminster Eparchy and Most Rev. Bryan Bayda C.Ss.R., of the Saskatoon Eparchy.

The bishops received a presentation by Mr. Guy Camarata and Mr. Charles Neubecker who have been working closely with His Beatitude Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Patriarchal Curia on the development and overall structuring of the Patriarchal Curial offices in Ukraine.  Their presentation to the bishops was on the “Strategic Sudies & Roadmapping – Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church”.  The bishops along with Mr. Camarata and Mr. Neubecker discussed ways of positive areas of support for the work of the Curia and underlined the need to ensure good communications.

The two-day meeting allowed the bishops to evaluate and further develop the areas of pastoral collaboration between the American and Canadian Metropolia especially in the areas of seminary formation. 

Immediately following their meeting the Ukrainian Catholic Hierarchy of North America met with the Hierarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of North America for a two-day meeting.  This encounter allowed the Bishops of the two Churches the opportunity to discuss areas of pastoral concern for their faithful of the Ukrainian communities in Canada and the USA. (See attached Press Release in {English only} re: “Encounter” of the Ukrainian Hierarchs of North America)

 

Contact person:
Most Rev. Ken Nowakowski
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Details

Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Uzhorod - Twenty years ago this spring the Greek-Catholic eparchy of Mukachevo came out from the underground. Sixty years ago, on February 16, 1949, workers of the NCIA (National Committee of Internal Affairs) violently took away the Greek-Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross and episcopal residence in the town of Uzhhorod, forbidding the activity of the Greek-Catholic Church in Transcarpathia.

Apostolic Administrator of the Mukachevo Greek-Catholic Eparchy Bishop Milan (Sasik) talked about these events during a recent press-conference on the occasion of the presentation of a book of Father Stefan Bendas, “Five years behind barbed wire: The diary of a priest written in the Gulag.” The book was presented by the son of the author, Father Daniyil Bendas. Bishop Milan blessed a new stained-glass window installed on the premises of the episcopal residence with the image of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, the protector of the Mukachevo Eparchy.

After the pontifical Liturgy in the cathedral a prayerful procession with candles to a monument to persecuted Greek-Catholic clergy and a memorial service took place.

http://www.radiovaticana.org/ucr/Articolo.asp?c=271844

Translated by the Information Department of the UGCC

Details

Last Updated: 19 February 2013

New Westminister, BC - “For its growth the Church needs good spiritual leaders, which means, first of all, priests who are well-qualified and duly-appointed for ministry.” So wrote Bishop Ken (Nowakowski), Eparchial Bishop of New Westminister (Canada), and head of the Patriarchal Commission on Priestly Formation in Seminaries of the UGCC. The document underlying Bishop Ken’s message is the "Proclamation to the faithful of the UGCC in 2009 the Year of Christian Vocation with a special accent on priestly vocations," in which His Beatitude Lubomyr marks the exceptional importance of the priestly vocation for the development and strengthening of our Church.

“When we think of good priestly vocations,” Bishop Ken refers to the message of the Head of the UGCC, “we usually understand that to mean that there needs to be a sufficient number of vocations in the Church, in other words, that we have enough candidates in the seminaries. This is certainly an important issue, but not the only one, nor the most important.” According to the author, a vocation to the priestly state is born and nurtured long before that time when the youth decides to enter the seminary. The first Christian school is the family, which inculcates a child with certain values which will accompany it in life.

Then in his message the Eparch of New Westminster considers the next constituents of the development of a vocation, Christian society and the example of heroes of faith. Bishop Ken completes his message with an appeal for prayer not only for numerous vocations but also for their quality: “Following the call of the Synod of Bishops, I encourage all of us to pray in particular for priests and deacons ‑ not only that there be a sufficient number, but above all, that those who have undertaken this holy office find in it their life vocation and piously fulfill it according to God’s will,” wrote Bishop Ken (Nowakowski).

Information Department of the UGCC - ugcc.org.ua

Details

Last Updated: 19 February 2013

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem is the newest member of the Vatican Congregation for Eastern Churches.

Details

Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Prot. N. 189

“When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.’” (Matthew 9: 12)


To the Very Reverend Protopresbyters, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, Monastics, and the pious faithful of our God-saved Diocese,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear Fathers and faithful,

As we began our journey into the Triodion a few weeks ago, we were reminded once again of the lessons that several parables had to teach us, especially the two parables of the Publican and the Pharisee and the Prodigal Son; these messages are repeated in the hymns of the Church during the third and the fourth weeks of the Great Fast. Another parable was at one time also used as an introduction to the Great Fast, but it fell into disuse as a pre-Lenten theme; it is, however, still used in the hymns of the fifth week of Lent, and that is the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This Gospel parable is also used in the Mystery of Holy Unction, individually, and on the evening of Great and Holy Wednesday. We see in it the need for healing, physically, but even more importantly, spiritually. The Good Samaritan pours oil and wine onto the wounds of the unfortunate victim and loving cares for him at his own expense. In this we see an image of our loving God.

In a beautiful spiritual book First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew, which I recommend for Lenten reading, Frederica Mathewes-Green succinctly outlines the Orthodox teaching on salvation and the need for healing in this way: “In western theology, the word ‘salvation’ immediately raises an image of the crucified Christ. His death on the Cross reunited us with God the Father, paying Him the debt for our sins. Christians of St. Andrew’s world would have seen things from a slightly different angle. For them, salvation is being restored to the image and likeness of God. It means God dwelling within us and filling us with His presence.” A few paragraphs later, she says, “It’s sometimes said that we live in a ‘therapeutic’ culture, which means that people are led to cultivate feelings of self-pity and to seek out comfort. Early Christian spirituality was therapeutic, too, but to a very different effect. Here the idea is that sin is a kind of sickness. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they broke the connection they had with the only source of Light and Life. They began to die. The result is that every human is born with a spiritual ‘broken gene,’ so to speak, which will inevitably dispose them to sin as well… The goal of life in Christ is to be healed.”

These extensive quotes outline the position of our Holy Orthodox Faith to this very day. In another spiritually-edifying book Gifts of the Desert, “Father Maximos” (now a bishop of the Church) instructs his spiritual children about the mindset of the holy monastic and desert fathers. He says: “The Ekklesia” (the Church) was created for purely therapeutic purposes, for healing the split between us and God…” The Ekklesia (the Church) takes fallen, sick, and confused human beings, who suffer from all sorts of destructive passions and sins, and with its very tangible therapeutic methods helps them to attain real health.’

If, then, we view the Church as a “spiritual hospital,” nowhere do we see this practiced more obviously and intensely than during the period of the Great Fast. We might view this sacred season as an intense period of “hospitalization” to which we run for healing.

There are obvious analogies that we can observe between the healing of bodily ailments and that of spiritual illnesses.

The first that we will consider is the subject of food. We know, of course, that in order to return to good health and to maintain a healthy body, we may have to eliminate certain foods from our diet, such as fats, sugar, salt, alcohol and so on. These items are poison to our bodies; they make us sick.

In a spiritual sense, we call our type of dieting FASTING; we forgo animal products and other foods which weigh us down, steal us away from prayer, meditation, and Scripture reading, and place emphasis on the wrong part of our nature. FASTING allows the spirit to soar freely to the heights of holiness, which is the epitome of good health.

While still focusing on the subject of food, we are aware that when we eliminate certain foods that are harmful to us, we must replace these with healthful foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lower fat products and the like. Sometimes, we also need to take certain prescribed medicines. By ingesting all of these, we help our bodies to heal, prevent the onslaught and progression of diseases, build up immunity, and promote growth.

While we are fasting to strengthen our souls, we also need to consume the best food that the Lord offers to us, and that is the “FOOD OF IMMORTALITY,” the Holy Eucharist, the precious Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. This awesome Mystery is sacred Medicine for us. The more often we receive Holy Communion, the more developed and stronger our spiritual lives become, the more we build up immunity toward sin, and the more God-like we grow.

NEXT, our physical doctors always tell us that we need to exercise these corporeal bodies of ours and discipline ourselves in therapeutic sessions.

Our spiritual directors also teach us the necessity of spiritual exercise, especially at this time of year: to kneel more often in prayer, to bow abundantly, especially with full prostrations, before the Almighty Physician of souls and bodies. This discipline, while performed by the body, has a profound effect on our souls.

FINALLY, our bodies are sometimes so ill and diseased that SURGERY is necessary to remove some cancer or other malignancy or defect. This may be the best or only way to accomplish healing.

In the spiritual hospital, the Church, the GREAT PHYSICIAN excises SIN through the Mystery of Penance, Holy Confession. This merciful procedure removes the infection that has plagued our souls.

There is still one more observation that applies to both areas of our life: PROCRASTINATION. So often we put off going to the doctor until it is too late! God forbid that people who call themselves Christian should adhere to the same hazardous practice in their spiritual lives. St. Paul tells us emphatically: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2)

Let us not put it off one more day! Resolve to make this the best Lenten experience that you have ever had. Create a new maxim for yourself:

A HEALTHY MIND, IN A HEALTHY BODY, GUIDED BY A HEALTHY SOUL!!!

With my prayers for you and your families that you experience a meaningful, uplifting, and spiritually beneficial Great Fast, I remain


Most sincerely yours in Christ,


+METROPOLITAN NICHOLAS

Metropolitan Nicholas is the Bishop of the Orthodox Diocese of Johnstown, PA

Website: www.acrod.org

Details

Last Updated: 19 February 2013

"This Beautiful Church Awakens in Us the Nostalgia for Full Unity"

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 2, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the message Benedict XVI sent to a ceremony Sunday in which the president of Italy turned over the keys to a Russian Orthodox church in southern Italy to the president of Russia.