Metropolitan William's Great Fast Message 2015

 “Considering all this, therefore, dearly beloved, and placing great store on our salvation, let us despise intemperance as mindless and harmful, let us embrace fasting, and right attitudes along with it; let us display a renewed lifestyle, and address ourselves daily to performance of good deeds.  In this way, having spent all the holy season of Lent dealing in spiritual goods and amassing great wealth of virtue, we would thus merit to arrive at the day of the Lord and approach with confidence that awesome spiritual banquet, and with conscience pure share in those ineffable and immortal goods. Being filled therefore with grace and with the prayers and intercessions of those well-pleasing to Christ, our loving God, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit we give glory, power, and honor, now and forever, for ages of ages.” 

Saint John Chrysostom - Homily for the Beginning of Great Lenten Fast

2015 Journey Toward Pascha - The Great Lenten Fast

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!   Slava Isusu Christu! Slava na v'iki!

Dear Faithful of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh,

As we begin the season of the Great Lenten Fast, we turn inward and look for spiritual healing.  When our bodies are not feeling well, we go to a doctor or a drug store for medicine to feel better.  Likewise, Saint John Chrysostom’s Homily at the Beginning of Lent described the Church as the pharmacy.  During the season of Lent, we go to Church for spiritual medicine to make us better. 

The strongest spiritual medicine is fasting.

Read more: Metropolitan William's Great Fast Message 2015

Great Fast Vespers

Pittsburgh Protopresbytery Great Fast Vespers  2015

Schedule of Sunday services Feb. 22 - Mar. 22
all services begin at 4:00 p.m.*

[View the 2015 Great Fast Regulations]

Read more: Great Fast Vespers

Pope Francis receives Bishops of Ukraine on Ad Limina visit

READ THE STORY from Vatican Radio

View official Vatican photos of the Ad Limina visit

To the bishops of Ukraine: indicate the values that bind Ukrainian society

Vatican City, 20 February 2015 (VIS) - “I welcome you to this house, which is also yours. And you are well aware of this, as the Successor of Peter has always welcomed his brothers from Ukraine with fraternal friendship,” begins the Pope's written discourse to the bishops of the Ukrainian Episcopal Conference, at the end of their “ad Limina” visit. The encounter takes place in the context of a serious and prolonged conflict within the country, which “continues to claim many innocent victims and to cause great suffering to the entire population.”

The Pope met with the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church [Bishop Milan Šašik and auxiliary Bishop Nil Lushchak], the bishop of Mukachevo of Byzantine rite, and the bishops of the Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops in separate audiences in the Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace. The signed discourse was handed to the representatives of each the three Ukrainian ecclesiastical jurisdictions. 

Read more: Pope Francis receives Bishops of Ukraine on Ad Limina visit

PIROHY and more!

A listing of parishes within the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh preparing pirohy and other fresh, homemade Lenten foods for sale during the 2015 Great Fast!

Read more: Pirohy