I understand that Rome has it's version from the 1940's, then there's the 1965 English version and that there were differences. But what kind of Liturgy are they using in Uzhorod? Or Kosice? Or any other number of places in what is now Eastern Slovakia and Western Ukraine.

Announcing a Historic Reprint of The Ruthenian Recension
August 4th, 2007

In the first half of the twentieth century, bishops from the group of eparchies around the world known as “Ruthenian” within the Catholic Church (churches associated with both the Unions of Brest and Uzhorod), petitioned Rome to promulgate an official set of liturgical texts in Church Slavonic for their usage.

This movement of standardization also had an ecumenical dimension in that Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky believed that the Slavonic texts could also be used by the corresponding Orthodox Churches, namely the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox and the Ukrainian Orthodox in both Europe and North America.

This collection of books was promulgated from the 1940s through the 1970s, with the last book, the Bishop’s Service Book, or Archieratikon, appearing in 1973. Some of these books are now out of print and no longer available, and I have been advised that the Congregation for Eastern Churches in Rome has no intent of re-printing these books.

With the encouragement of several hierarchs, both Catholic and Orthodox jurisdictions, and the authorization of Bishop Milan Šášik of the Eparchy of Mukačevo, Ukraine (Protocol No. 132/07 dated February 2, 2007), Eastern Christian Publications has reproduced the entire set of the Ruthenian Recension and offers it for sale.

The original seven books have been divided into twelve volumes for uniformity of page count, binding and ease-of-use (some of the original books are too small to read to too many pages in one book). All seven original books have been normalized to the same size – 5.5”x8.5”. The reproductions are in two-color, on high-quality paper, and hand-bound. A complete 12-page Table of Contents in English of all twelve books appears in the front of each volume for easy reference. The twelve books include:

Volume I: Evangelion — The Holy Gospel
Volume II: Apostol – Apostle: Part 1
Volume III: Apostol – Apostle: Part 2
Volume IV: Archieratikon – Book of Hiearchical Services
Volume V: Sluzebnik – Book of the Priest and Deacon: Part 1
Volume VI: Sluzebnik – Book of the Priest and Deacon: Part 2
Volume VII: Casoslov – Book of the Hours: Part 1
Volume VIII: Casoslov – Book of the Hours: Part 2
Volume IX: Casoslov – Book of the Hours: Part 3
Volume X: Trebnik – Book of Sacraments and Blessings: Part 1
Volume XI: Trebnik – Book of Sacraments and Blessings: Part 2
Volume XII: Moleben – Book of Prayer Services

...

By making these texts available in the 21st century I pray they will help achieve further unity of the Church of Jesus Christ, and preserve the scholarship and tradition of the Ruthenian Recension well into the future.

Before we see what our brothers in the homeland are doing, we must realize one important thing about the homeland.

The Greek Catholic Church in the homeland has already gone through extensive latinization as well as massive Slovakization and Ukrainization efforts in those respective countries.

The attempted liquidation of Rusyns through communism did not cease after the fall of those regimes. It is still going on throughout the Church.

As is the case here in America, many clergy as well as faithful are trying to regain and restore what was once exculsively Rusyn.

You can read more about it at this website in English:
http://www.rusynacademy.sk/english/en_religions.html

For the record, I think we need to see what kind of liturgies they use in Medzilaborce, Kamienka, Svaliava, Komloska, and Krynica.

Using the models in Kosice and Uzhorod are not good examples. I was in Kosice once when they had a "folk liturgy" using guitars and other instruments. What's up with that!?! Here is a picture I found from the 2007 Palm Sunday liturgy in Kosice: http://www.aetos.sk/images/f2007-007/P1010392.JPG There are many others like this, some even with electric guitars in church.

In Presov, the "vicar" for Rusyns Fr. Halko is basically a plant for Bishop Babjak. His Rusyn is not that good and does everything that Bishop Babjak tells him to do, even if it is anti-Rusyn.

If you want a better example for Uzhorod, you need to go to the Orthodox Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross. Fr. Dimitri Sidor uses Church Slavonic in his liturgies and proclaims the Gospel and gives homilies in Rusyn, not Ukrainian.

Has anyone talked to our counterparts in SubCarpathian-Rus?

Maybe that's what they were doing here:

http://www.grkatpo.sk/fotoalbumy/?zobrazit=album&id=440



Dave

They look completely Roman Catholic.