www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Returning to the Church

I hope this is the correct place to post this.

As an infant I was baptized and confirmed as a Ukrainian Catholic, and as a child I often attended mass at the Church with my family. However, do to the distance of the school and its eventual shut down, I was sent to 12 years of Roman Catholic school. Schooling and my father's gravitation to the Roman Catholic Church pulled me away from the Ukrainian Catholic rite. Over the years, I have attended mass, weddings and funerals at the Ukrainian Church but I could feel my separation from it as I had not been fully taught in regards to the Ukrainian Catholic rite.

Now that I have gotten a little older, I have drifted away from the Roman Catholic Church and faith all together. Recently, I feel a great pull to return to the Ukrainian Catholic Church. However, I am hesitant on how to do so. I have found a church in my area to go to, but I am nervous. Could you provide me with any advice or resources that might help me make this transition? I feel that God is showing me this is what I need to do at this moment in my life and I would like to return to the faith in which I was baptized but am unsure on how to do so. Thank you for your time.

Welcome to Byzcath.

You could try phoning the priest and introducing yourself explaining that you have been away from the Church for a good while .

You could equally just go - find out the time of DL and then go , and drink it all in , and take it from there.

You may find answers to some of your questions on this Site

A very useful source of information [saintelias.com]


And of course you can always ask questions here - we will do our best to answer them

Thank you very much for your reply and the helpful website. I will be sure to give it a thorough reading to ease my worry about this upcoming Sunday. I have moved to a new city and therefore will be going to new and unfamiliar church. It makes me a little nervous, but I very much want to start my journey back.

I think I will attend the Liturgy and then go for there to see how I go about contacting the priest.

Are there any books you might suggest that might help start up my memory on some of the practices that I may have forgotten over time? Thank you again!

Wow - I seem to be the only one answering here

Being honest - if you dig into the various sections of St Elias Site - you will find lots of things to jog your memory

Try this - so called etiquette [saintelias.com]

This has the 'Survival guide ' and lots more things

As to books

well you can't beat the Sheptitsky Institute's The Divine Liturgy: An Anthology for Worship

Simply marvellous - most is in English [ ] but a lot is Ukrainian on the Left page and English on the Right - very useful

As the blurb says

It can be bought in various places as well as directly from the Sheptitsky Institute

Hope all this helps

Thank you again. I started to review those sections of the website. To be honest, some of it is familiar, while some of it is not so familiar. I hope being within the actual church will help as well. As a child I attended the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia which is a beautiful church but it looks a bit different than the picture on the website. The church had pews unlike the one on the website.

But I will most definitely look into getting a copy of the book you suggested.

Do most parishes offer some type of classes or meeting groups to reacquaint or assist those new to the Church? I feel I might be in need of this as much of what I know know is a mixture of both Roman Catholic and Ukrainian Catholic practices.

St Elias is rather special


Can't answer your questions in the last paragraph I'm afraid but do make sure you let us know how things go

Welcome to the forum.

St Elias in Brampton would look different in some respects from the UGCC Cathedral as it is a very traditional parish in many ways, one of which would be the lack of pews - which is not true of the majority of Eastern Catholic temples (churches). The Cathedral itself now has a website, one that is of relatively recent vintage - perhaps 3-4 years old, as best I recollect. You can see it here [ukrcathedralphiladelphia.net].

Feel free to ask any questions that come to you as you reacquaint yourself with the Church of your childhood. That's a not uncommon occurrence around here and we're always glad to be of assistance.

I think you'll find us a very welcoming community here. We're a diverse group, with active (regularly posting) members from most of the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches, as well as several from Oriental Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Your fellow Ukrainian Greek Catholics likely represent the second largest group of regulars here and they span the globe, from Eastern Europe through the British Isles (two of our most prolific Ukrainian Catholic posters, Anhelyna and Father Serge, call Scotland and Ireland, respectively, home), across the Americas, and down to Australia.

Many years,

Neil

R,

If you haven't found a website for the parish you're going to attend, let us know, we probably have the link if they have one. We're currently working on a new on-line Directory of Eastern Catholic parishes and have just recently begun to add Ukrainian Greek-Catholic ones in PA. Only a few are listed as yet, but I have a lot of the info at hand for others on which I'm about to begin work.

Many years,

Neil

Hmm after Neil's usual very friendly informative post I've just realised that I've unintentionally been a little rude

Been very formal and that was because I can't pronounce your surname never mind the fact that I couldn't type it to save my life

Do you have a name we can use - doesn't have to be your own - just somthing so we don't end up addressing you as

" hey you "

Welcome,

There are a number of parish links on the Philadelphia Archeparchy website.

http://www.ukrarcheparchy.us/

Also, you can read "The Way" which is the online newspaper of the Archeparchy.


John

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Welcome to byzcath.org...and welcome home! The Eastern Catholic Churches are still in a process of recovering our authentic Eastern Christian identity. Some parishes such as St. Elias in Brampton are a little further along in the process than others.

The Eastern Catholic Churches are small, but mighty.

You might find these podcasts of interest. See the list at http://www.byzantinecatholic.com/Supplement4.htm and then listen to them at http://www.byzantinecatholic.com/radio.htm .

Pascha (Easter) is a great time to come home!

Prayers for your journey.

I am sorry about at. My surname is a bit difficult. i tend to forget that sometimes. You can address me by Rachel if you would like and it would be easier for you. And I do appreciate all the help you have provided me with so far

Thank Neil. I am familiar with the website, because I have been to the church recently for a few events but I have recently moved away from the city and am now located in NYC. I have found the website for a church in Manhattan by the name of St. George's but it does not list whether it has any Divine Liturgies in English. I am not sure if there are any other parishes here. Any help you have would be most appreciated.

Rachel

Thank you JohnS. I will definitely give the podcasts a listen and I am glad to be welcomed back so warmly. I had been giving my return to the Church much thought and I feel so sure that this is the path I am meant to take now after receiving such help and support.

That's quite a church. I'm surprised we didn't notice it on our last trip to Philly.