There is a renewed interest and appreciation of iconography among Byzantine Catholics in the United States. It is an encouraging indication of a return to our centuries-old traditions. Our ancestors, accepting Christianity in the Byzantine Rite, also accepted the practice of venerating holy icons. Without them our liturgical worship becomes sorely mutilated and loses a great deal of its solemnity and splendor. Let us then become acquainted with the history, the meaning and the true spirit of the veneration of icons. Continue reading
Vatican Synod on protection of minors in the church
The Synod called by the Holy Father began on Thursday, February 21, 2019 in the Synod Hall at the Vatican in Rome, and it concluded on February 24, 2019 with a Divine Liturgy.
This Synod provided an extraordinary and welcomed opportunity to both engage in an appropriate discussion on a worldwide basis regarding the protection of minors in the Catholic Church and to advance a framework with the vital responsibility and accountability called for by the Holy Father.
The organizing committee had gathered information from all of the Bishop’s Conferences of the all the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches of the world in preparation for the Synod. I, as the representative of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church in the United States, appreciated the discussions of the reports and to the formulation of the critical next steps to be taken by the Catholic Church.
With the Holy Father and the other participants of the Synod, I look forward to the advancement and implementation of our decisions. Please pray that the Holy Father and the Synod participants will continue to be guided by the Continue reading
Seminary Board elects new Chair
The Board of the Directors of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Pittsburgh, Pa. elected Robert Grip as the new chair at its January meeting. Robert spent nearly 50 years in the field of communications, beginning … Continue reading
Golden jubilee – June
50th Anniversary of Metropolitan Church to be observed in June Fifty years ago an event occurred which had a positive, profound and lasting effect on our history in America. The Holy Father Pope Paul VI issued a decree on February … Continue reading
Waffling back and forth
As another Great Fast quickly approaches, I will take this opportunity to make a public statement: I will give up my favorite cereal, Waffle Crisp, for the next 40 days. Well…let me pump the brakes for a second. I’m not … Continue reading
An iconic pizza party
A pizza party at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methoidus in Pittsburgh, Pa. Feb. 15 included an impromptu iconography lesson courtesy of Marylyn Barone. Marylyn, who created icons for three students who will graduate this year, pointed … Continue reading
WORLD NEWS (Catholic News Service)
Read the latest world news as reported by Catholic News Service. With headquarters in Washington, offices in New York and Rome, and correspondents around the world, CNS provides the most comprehensive coverage of the church today.
- Worn marble steps of Holy Stairs to be uncovered for public to climb
- At memorial Mass, CRS remembers four employees who died in plane crash
- Update: After attacks, New Zealand bishops tell Muslims: ‘We hold you in prayer’
- Researcher: Difference between ‘considering leaving’ and ‘leaving’ church
- Head of African youth network: Listen to young people on ecology
- Update: Amid call for boycott of Lenten appeals, some see harm to poor, needy
- South Carolina Catholic school given national award for ‘full inclusion’
- For Lent, Irish Catholics urged to abandon ‘weapons of mass distraction’
- Update: Judge sentences Cardinal Pell to six years in prison on abuse charges
- CLINIC says South Sudan TPS extension should have included new arrivals
- Encore: USCCB publishes revised translation of rite for blessing holy oils
- Actress calls her deafness ‘a gift’; remembers Catholic school as ‘family’
- Update: Four CRS staffers, humanitarian workers aboard Ethiopian jet that crashed
- Benedictine abbot leads pope, curial officials in Lenten retreat
- Pope meets top leaders of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Group’s immigrant solidarity project ‘not about politics,’ organizers say
