I ended the last installment of this article with the thoughts of the Greek Fathers of the Church on the true destiny of humankind. They asserted that the goal of human existence is participation in God – deification. Maximus describes … Continue reading
Category Archives: Getting to Know Something About Our Greek Catholic Faith
Our Church introduces the Great and Holy Week by commemorating Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This event prefigures Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and also declares the truth about human immortality. We use the following Tropar for this celebration. … Continue reading
One of the unique things about our Church is that through her liturgical practices during the Great Fast she leads us gradually to the celebration of the Great and Holy Week, one of two weeks which she celebrates as beyond … Continue reading
Twice a year our Church decorates the Holy Cross with flowers and calls us to venerate it by making profound bows before it and kissing it. The first time is on the feast of the Veneration of the Holy Cross … Continue reading
Our Church, as all Churches that use and follow the rituals of the Byzantine Church of Constantinople, approaches the period of preparation for Easter in a very intense manner. It is probably the most liturgically developed part of the Church … Continue reading
What is important to understand about our Church, I believe, is that our faith is brought to maturity through our full and intelligent involvement in the liturgical life of our Church. The preparation for Easter, the Great Fast, is but … Continue reading
The Great Fast in the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is meant to prepare us for a meaningful celebration of Easter – The Great Day. Although I am sure that my readers already have an idea of how to observe this time, … Continue reading
Our Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church follows the Eastern Church’s approach to the Great Fast – Lent. It suggests ways of observing the Fast that are drawn from a long and noble history of ascetic practices that have proven to help us … Continue reading
Perhaps one of the most important things to remember about our Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is that we are a Church of Christ and that as Christians we are meant to engage in those things that are of Christ. This means … Continue reading
I realize that some of this information may be a repeat of things I have already shared about our Church. I do so in order to reinforce this information. Ukraine has a long Christian tradition, dating from the 10th century. … Continue reading