www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Ukrainian Catholic Church Questions

Does anyone know when and why the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the US began using the Filioque?

It is my understanding that this is limited to the US, but I'm probably wrong.

Also, does anyone know when and why the Ukrainian Catholic Church accepted the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception?

THANKS!

b.r.

If I should hazard a guess I would say the filioque began among the Ukrainians and Belarussians in Europe.

It could even have been introduced at the synod of Zamosc, but I don't actually know. There is also a possibility that the reformed Basilians began to introduce it in their assignments.

I am sure there must be someone who reads this board with have a better idea. :rolleyes:

+T+
Michael

Bob,
In my UGCC parish experiences none I have been to recited the filioque. Wheter or not they teach the doctorine I don't know.

The use of the Filioque in the Greek-Catholic Metropolitanate of Kyiv-Halych was legislated as a requirement by the Synod of Zamost' (1720); it had been introduced gradually in the latter part of the seventeenth century.

So far as I am aware, there was never a formal decision to "receive" the teaching of the Immaculate Conception, but a separate service for it was composed and introduced into the service-books.

Incognitus

And there's that Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philly ...

Incognitus,
What doth ye saieth about the Immaculate Conception. Does the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church have to follow the Latin Catholic Church's teaching on the Immaculate Conception?

I'm asking for two reasons. One, because the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Eugene, OR. uses the Filioque and it surprised me. I asked one parishoner and he didn't have a clue and another parishoner, a convert, told me that this was mandated in all or most Byzantine churches but could not tell me when or why or by whom. since this was the first time I heard the Filioque used in a Byzantine church I wondered about my comatose state. When I started my web searches I found quite a bit of discussion of it in Canada, and elsewhere, and it seemed that the matter was settled in those places by the hierarchy: no Filioque no way. I wrote to almost every Ukrainian parish and Eparchy office in the US I could find and got no responses. It seems, from the websites, that this is something unique to the US, but I could be wrong. Two, as I started looking around I began to wonder about at what point we are no longer Eastern; how much falls away before we are something else? I grew up with this stuff but never thought about it.

Now, before anyone attacks me for criticizing their theology or religion or church, please understand that I love the Eastern Churches and will live happily with whatever the answers to my questions are. I will still attend that Ukrainian church whenever I can; the priest and the community are marvellous and the chanting was strong and heartfelt. I'm asking for the sake of clarity, history and personal interest.

Can anyone help?

Faithfully,

b.r.

The Filioque is certainly on the way out from the Divine Liturgy in Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Churches. So far, however, in the Chicago Eparchy it's a matter of what one might call "local option" - and the priest in Eugene may have decided for whatever reason that it is not yet time to rock the boat on this one, or may prefer the Filioque himself, or whatever - I have no way of knowing.

Might I suggest a peaceful, politely worded and relatively brief letter to the Chicago Eparchy's newspaper asking what the current policy is?

Incognitus

Dear Bob,

The Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan and scholar, Ilarion Ohienko, discusses the history of the use of the Filioque among the Ukrainian Catholics in a number of his works.

He mentions that the Polish gendarmes were sent to the Ukrainian and Belarusyan villages to ensure that they recited the Filioque or "I Syna."

It is said that the new EC villagers, not wanting to incur the wrath of the gendarmes, but also being unwilling to change the Orthodox Creed, added the word, "Istynno" or "Truly" after the words "Who Proceeds from the Father (truly)." "Istynno" resembles "I Syna" etc.

It was under the Austro-Hungarian empire especially that the Filioque (without brackets) was required of all "Greek-Catholics." To want to remove it was a sign that someone was under "suspicion of wishing to become Orthodox" and even "pro-Russian."

At some point in the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian empire, wishing to keep the Greek-Catholics as far from the Russian Orthodox world as possible, ordered the GC Church to drop many miracle-working icons and Saints from her calendar that appeared "too Orthodox" (including the Saints of the Kyivan Caves).

The Filioque later became a badge of GC's "Catholicism" and Western orientation. Russian Orthodox campaigns to "Orthodoxise" Greek-Catholics invariably began with a call to return to the Eastern traditions. This became, however, a stepping stone to full integration with Russian Orthodoxy via Russophilism and the Russian priests who carried that agenda (an agenda that was also taken over by groups of Ukrainian Catholic "Russophile" priests who tended to become, oddly enough, more "pro-Russian" than the Russians).

To be a Ukrainian Catholic with an independent-minded Ukrainian orientation tended to imply that traditions, like the Filioque, were zealously guarded and kept as a "shield" against Russification etc.

That period has passed and there is now an onus on rapprochement with the Ukrainian Orthodox which is why, for example, the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolia in Canada has formally issued a statement urging the dropping of the Filioque (but apart from those parishes who have not used the Filioque for years, no one else seems to know or care about that statement).

My parish of St Nicholas in Toronto is quite "high Eastern" but the Filioque is used and is not an issue with anyone that I know of there.

The Immaculate Conception was accepted by Ukrainian and other Eastern Catholics when it was proclaimed in the 19th century. In addition to the special service for the "Conception of St Anne" that is to be found in the Basilian prayerbook, there is also the Akathist to the Immaculate Conception that is to be found in the 1893 Akathist collection published in L'viv. According to Ohienko, this akathist was popular re private usage among Orthodox in the early part of the 20th century as well as the akathist to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

In addition, let's remember that the Immaculate Conception did not need a papal pronouncement to "come into being" - it has been around for centuries and was promoted even by Orthodox Saints and theologians, as Fr. John Meyendorff has discussed (+memory eternal).

The Kyivan Baroque period of Orthodoxy saw the introduction not only of the Immaculate Conception as a "theologoumenon" but also of the formation of Orthodox (not EC) brotherhoods dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

These brotherhoods wore a medal minted at Paris that is entirely similar to today's "Miraculous Medal," prayed the invocation "All Immaculate Theotokos, save us" and even took the "bloody vow" - a vow by which the member of the brotherhood pledged to defend to the death the Immaculate Conception.

It is clear that those Orthodox tended to accept a view of Original Sin that was quite similar, if not identical, to that of the Catholic West.

Also, the OCA website describes the icon of the "Conception of St Anne" that portrays the Mother of God standing with hands lowered from which flows grace etc. (Miraculous Medal or Our Lady of Grace) with icons of her parents in the frame. Poselianin mentions a number of Western images of the Theotokos like this that are honoured locally as miraculous in Russian Orthodoxy.

So Western Catholic influence was not only prevalent among the Ruthenian Catholics (Ukrainian, Belarusyan, Rusyn etc.) but also among the Orthodox.

Again, the Immaculate Conception is something that, in Eastern Europe, is accepted as a badge that affirms "we're not Russian Orthodox . . . any longer."

So is the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that is also locally practiced among Orthodox parishes in Eastern Europe as well. And then there's the Stations of the Cross that is popular too.

However, there are also UGCC parishes that are very "Orthodox in communion with Rome" and we have them here in Eastern Canada i.e. St Elias in Brampton.

There are those UGCC'ers who would also feel uncomfortable in such - to each his or her own, one has a choice.

Unless one lives in an area where there is only one UGCC parish . . .

Alex

THANK YOU! to everyone writing in to help my understanding. I subscribed to the various Ukrainian Catholic papers--or tried to--and if/when they start to arrive I will write in and ask. I'm pessimistic: if so many dozens of people don't answer invited e-mails, will they respond to snail mail?

Anyway, thanks and thanks again!

Now I need to figure out what this really means in practice:

"Further, the hierarchs reviewed the recent study presented by the Catholic/Orthodox Dialogue concerning the history and development of the �Filioque� (�and the Son�) clause added by some in the Western Church to the Nicene Creed of Faith, stating that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father �and the Son�. They affirmed that the Creed as proclaimed by the Second Ecumenical Council in Nicea reflects the true dogmatic understanding of the Church concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit. The Bishops welcome and support this study, noting the omission of the Filioque clause in the liturgical services of most Ukrainian Catholic Eparchies and pray that the findings will eventually impact upon the liturgical traditions of all branches of Christianity."

Faithfully,

b.r.

I wonder this myself! Have there been any official opinions given on the subject by the Metropolia?

That question is surely best addressed to the hierarchy of the Pittsburgh Metropolia.

You may wish to note that the Selected Epistle Readings book published by the Holy See in Church-Slavonic in 1944 does not include the commemoration of the Conception of Saint Anne.

Incognitus

Michael, that's the shrine at Mt.St. Macrina right?