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Mar 25th, 2025
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Joined: Apr 2002
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"Wondrous" is the right word.
The back cover of Fr. Chris Zugger's new book FINDING A HIDDEN CHURCH says, "The wondrous tale of the underground life and revival of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in the former Soviet Union." (Eastern Christian Publications, 2009)
I finished reading this book this past Saturday. I was so moved. It was the story of the martyrs and how much the people suffered for their Faith -- their treasure. And then Sunday was the Feast of Bl. Theodore Romzha whose name is interwoven throughout the pages. Repeatedly over all the decades of the 1900s, these folks had a fierce adherence to the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite for worship and prayer even though they had to worship "underground."
Please, Lord, I would like to have that fierce devotion to You.
This book will give "goosebumps" to any one who has even a smigeon of Central/Eastern Europen blood in them. We have the blood of the martyrs in us!
And this book goes right up to 2009 and includes the struggles and tension as the underground church emerged into the open. The Church in Europe survived because of the tenacity of the souls who would not abandon their faith.
Our Byzantine Catholic Church roots in the U.S. have the blood of the martyrs in them. We need to know our Faith and our History.
THANK YOU to Fr. Chris Zugger for all his research and hard work to bring us this book. I heartily recommend it to everyone.
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Joined: Apr 2009
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One thing to keep in mind: The book covers pretty much only the period after the formation of the Eparchy in the US... these struggles are within the lifetime of many Ruthenian Parishioners in both the American Metropolia and the Eparchy and Exarchate in Europe.
But it is a powerful book; at times, too powerful.
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Joined: Jun 2009
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I agree with you assessment and I have yet to finish reading the book.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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I knew I made a good choice to join this forum. Thank you for the information. I am interested in learning more about courage and faith.
John
Florida, USA
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Joined: Jun 2009
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My review of "Finding A Hidden Church" will be appearing in the September/October issue of "The Saint Austin Review."
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Joined: Nov 2001
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I found this book very inspiritional-a must read for Greek Catholics. It shows our Church is worth fighting, living and dying for. My only real qualm with it (and Fr Puskas' book on Heiromartyr Theodore Romzha) is that in the early going can be read as being anti-Orthodox as the distinction between the true Orthodox faithful (who suffered much persecution themselves) and the state church is not clearly made until later in the book.
In Christ,
Adam
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