www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship The Other Sacramental Mysteries Greek Catholic Rite of Baptism and Chrismation in English

Hi,

I live in Slovakia with my wife and we just had last week the baptism, chrismation, and first communion of our son. I'm an American and changed rites last year when marrying. I would like to subtitle the video I'm putting together for my (mostly protestant except for my mother) family and (50% protestant) friends back home with the English text of some of the prayers used so that they can understand what is going on (I'll also be subtitling our priest's sermon on the meaning and purpose of baptism). I figure it is an easy opportunity for evangelization!

But, I don't want to re-invent the wheel with translating all of the prayers, so I wonder if anyone knows where I might find an English translation, which I assume is used in the United States some?

Thanks,

Andrew

dear Andrew:

Here is the text of the Holy Mystery (as used in the UGCC):

http://www.archeparchy.ca/liturgy/baptism.htm

Christ is Risen!

Herb

Thanks Herb! That appears from a quick glance to be 99% the same as what the Slovak GCC uses.

Voistinu voskrese!

Will you be posting this video on youtube? Many of us, both Byzantine Catholic (i.e. Greek Catholic) and Orthodox, here in the states would be interested in seeing how things are done today in the 'old country.' Thanks and congratulations! S'bohom!

Not youtube, but I'll be putting it on to my website. Today and tomorrow I'll be working on it. Unfortunately, we live in a Roman Catholic village, so it will be showing how things are done today by a Greek Catholic Redemptorist using a Roman Catholic church without the benefit of a cantor to sing responses.

If anyone is interested I can also put up our wedding, which had a cantoress and was celebrated in the GC Redemptorist Monastery of the Holy Ghost, a very beautiful church built by Bl. Metod Dominik Trčka. My very close family got to watch over a webcam, so I never got around to putting the video where it could be watched again (10 months of marriage isn't long enough for the sort of nostalgic feelings to come around which would get me to watch it!).

Thank you for the information. I am interested in that there appears to be a really wide range of Greek Catholic practice in Slovakia ranging from 1930's style American latinizations to a most Orthodox influence. I see from the map that this village is near the border and not far from Uzhorod.Must be confusing.

Well, I was a bit optimistic in how long it would take me to make time to do this, but now, within a month of my son's baptism, etc. I have the video made and posted to http://andrew.freedomlives.net/video.html

Husak is actually a Roman Catholic village. The priest is a Greek Catholic Redemptorist, my confessor who speaks English. We usually walk to the next village, Koromla, for liturgy, or go in to the city some to the Redemptorists. I wish we could pop over to Uzhorod for Liturgy, however the border is often not quick to cross. I don't think there are many latinizations here, but I'm certainly no expert on the matter!

My wife's father is Greek Catholic, but he has gone to the Roman Catholic church most of his life. Several years ago she started going some to the Greek Catholic Liturgy, and last year when we were preparing for marriage, realized that she is in fact Greek Catholic, following the rite of her father. I was Roman Catholic, but accepted the provision offered to me on getting married to change rites. I had become by then quite enamored of liturgy, finding it more beautiful than even the old Latin Mass, which anyway isn't available here.

May God grant many blessed and joyful years to Jan Metod and his parents!

A beautiful baby and a beautiful video. Thank you for sharing it with us, Andrew.

Many years,

Neil

Is it standard practice in Slovakia when using a Latin Church to use the Paschal Candle?

I don't know what standard practice is, I am just glad there were candles. The Roman Kaplan (parochial vicar) insisted a few months ago that there be real candles and real flowers in the sanctuary. Before they used some glass ball oil lamps, which are strangely popular in Roman Catholic churches here. I think that the Paschal candle is lit, at least in the new Roman Rite, for all baptisms and funerals, so I guess that Pani Kostolnicka (Church Lady) just lit it while she was re-arranging the altar.

It really was not so ideal in many ways, but we were busy with our 5 day old son to think much about preparations, like having extra missals for the Godparents and wife's family to join in the liturgy and asking someone to be cantor, though my wife, I, and Pani Kostolnicka (before marriage Greek Catholic) tried our best to sing during liturgy. Next year if (God willing) we have another child, we may just go to the Redemptorist Monastery instead.

Thank you for posting. That was 'the way it was' when I was a child in the 1950's through the early 1980's in ACROD and I am sure in the BCC as well. Today, the baptism is chanted, not read and immersion is practiced in ACROD along with the snipping of the hair and communing of the infant. Many Years!