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Fr. Alexei (Smith) in turn serves as Director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Dear Father Deacon Ed, it was the Melkite Patriarch of Antioch that took in the first Russian Catholic priest, Father Nicholas Tolstoy, under his omophorion in 1893.

Later Russian Catholic priests such as St. Leonid Federov, Ivan Deubner, Eustachy Susalev, Abrikosov, Zerchaninov, etc. were under the omophorion of UGCC Metropolitan Sheptytsky.

Actually there were Exarchs after the death of St. Leonid Federov - St. Klementy Sheptytsky, and later Andrei Katkov.

Two Saturdays ago I returned to South Boston, and the three Albanian Orthodox Churches off of the Broadway Subway Station serve as a bastion of Byzantine spirituality (and Community to the many arriving from Eastern Europe since the Fall of Communism), although they are sadly still under two different jurisdictions (two under the OCA and one under the EP). All are within very easy walking distance of each other. Of course, there was a fourth Byzantine Church in that cluster area, Our Lady Of Kazan Russian Greek Catholic Church. I walked around the corner to the former basement Heaven. The saintly Archbishop of Boston, Umberto Cardinal Mederios was the regular Bishop, ahthough pictured inside of the Church in the back hall area were the Melkites (who could do the episcopal visitations with the Cardinal's permission). Archbishop Joseph Tawil was the Bishop of Newton, and of course the nost pro-Orthodox (at least openly) of all the Greek Catholic Bishops in NA. The seminarians even worked out a way to study at Holy Cross with the Orthodox Greeks (even though the Basilian Salvatorians provided a more Latin thinking alternative to those who studied directly under the Archbishop). A little tongue-in-cheek anecdote, the Ukrainian GC Church of Christ the King going toward the Arborway on the Orange Line was not looked upon too well by the Kazans who referred to them as "the Galicians" and didn't like the Latinizations, including putting Stations of the Cross into a brand new Church before the iconostasis was installed. And Our Lady of Kazan NEVER said the Filioque (except perhaps for some Feeneyites who might mumble it to themselves or try to make a statement)!

God Bless the Albanians! They keep the Byzantine Light shining on D Street and Broadway in Hubtown!

Christ Is Among Us! Indeed He was THEN, Is Now and Ever Shall Be!

Just a stroll down Memory Lane!

Three Cents

Hello Fr. Chrysostom,

May God grant you many years and guide you to help your mission go onto the path of holiness.

If I'm ever in Denver, I shall try to come to your parish!

I have been to the Russicum in Rome. BOY. It is indeed BEAUTIFUL (the Divine Liturgy). Of course there are no shortcuts or anything of that sort.

In fact, the Russians like to do things the long way! Like the prayers for the deceased (Typikion of the Dead) would last about 20 or so minutes! WOW.

Not to make offense or anything because it's not directed to the Russian CATHOLIC, but I'd like to make an observation of what I've seen in the Russian ORTHODOX, it seems that they are pretty latinized or maybe it's more right to say "westernized" because of the way they set up their church temples with fancy gold baroces (sp?), Icons to be strongly influenced by the west, etc. I wonder how is it so? Is it perhaps that some of the Russian princes or Czars that takes fasination in the western world?

But all in all, the Russian CATHOLICS seem to be the least latinized from what I know. And so are the Melkites. The Ukrainian seems to be the runner up of the least latinized but still more to go.

God bless you all.

SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine

Dear Three Cents,

While I can't imagine anyone today defending the use of the Filioque, it does have an interesting past as a symbolic banner.

When the Polish gendarmes went about imposing the Unia in the late 17th century, they would listen for the Filioque during the liturgy - and our people would use ingenious substitutes like "Istynno" for "I Syna."

(I wonder if the Old Rite use of the above comes from this period.)

Later, the Filioque was used quite consciously by GC parishes as a way to "manifest" their opposition to Russification via the Russian Orthodox Church and this at a time when Ukrainian Catholic priests themselves were the leaders of a Russification movement in the UGCC.

That kind of fear of Russification still exists to this day and when we had priests of the Russified persuasion in Toronto, who shall go nameless, they quickly antagonized parishes with their promotion of Russian liturgical practices - or what people perceived as such.

Even our old pastor of St Nicholas UCC (of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fame!) who was a sincere Ukrainian patriot (risking his life in Ukraine to bring the Holy Mysteries to insurgents at their execution) was branded a "Russifier" to his death for introducing quite mild Eastern practices in our parish (practices that had nothing whatever to do with the Russian Recension).

Our Ukies in Europe seem to be especially vigilant in this respect, ready to write articles to warn everyone against such "dangerous people."

Sheeesh!

Alex

Dear Alex, ya znayu...once I was accused of being a Russophile after a Ukie Liturgy just for bringing the teplota to the priest...I felt afterwards like flipping the hot water on her head instead. Bozhe, milostivi bud' meni hrishnomu.

You know Alex, from the "There's Just No Way You Can Win Dept.", some of the Halychyna from Christ the King in Boston were not overly fond of their Bishop from Stamford Conn who looked quite Latin. But on the other hand, if Melkite Archbishop Tawil with his beard, veil and Byzantine staff walked into their church, some of the same people probably would have said, "on Moscaly".

Three Cents

Fr. Chrysostom,

It is very refreshing to hear of a commented and good priest as yourself!

Your talk of evangelization and outreach, wow! I can see God has BIG plans for you Father. I wish more priest spoke like that. It gives us hope you know.

May God grant you many years!

Sinner.

To all of you who sent so many supportive replies, thank you! I appreciate it a great deal. I really believe that it is time that Easterners of all descriptions, both Catholic and Orthodox, should really struggle to get over so many of those things that keep us from being a voice that can be heard in the new, post-modern world. Our tendency towards introspection and self-absorption means that often we simply lose a sense of both the great commission of Christ and the task of Christian unity. This, of course, does not mean that liturgy, spirituality and theology are to be set aside- God forbide!- but that we need to see all of this in relation to what Christ asks of His Church. If this new little community can do this in some small way, then its creation and purpose will have been vindicated, regardless of who may or may not like it. Thank you all once again for your generosity and kind words.

Dear Servant of God, Fr. Chrysostom,

Glory to Jesus Christ !

It is truly a blessing to hear from you again. Thanks for takeing the time to join this internet forum and inform us of what you are doing.

I remember several years ago that I mailed to you in South Africa, new Metropolia of Pittsburgh liturgical calendars. Two years in a row. I hope these liturgical calendars had kept the "Eastern spark" alive within you in South Africa.

I am quite thrilled with what the Lord is doing with you in Denver. May Christ, Our True God, guide you in doing His will in Denver.

"Blessed is he, who is but a tool in God's hand."

------St. Maximos the Confessor

Joe Prokopchak
St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church
McKeesport, Pa.

Dear Diak and Three Cents,

Yes, what nonsense that emanates from some of our people!

I don't know how some of our priests put up with the criticism, such as you, Diak, experienced.

What I find laughable is these people who seem to become liturgical experts extraordinaire once they cross the threshold into a Ukrainian Catholic Church on Sunday . . .

Alex

Fr Chrysostom,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I, too send my very best wishes for your work at St. Elizabeth/Sts Cyril and Methodius. When next I come to Denver I will come to liturgy at your church, for sure! Many years!

BTW, if you see Bishop Gomez, please tell him Woody Jones sends his best wishes as well...of course, we knew him as "Fr. Jose" when he was here in Houston.

Woody

My family goes skiing in the Colorado Rockies about once every year or so. Of course, we fly in and out of Denver. Last time we were driving through Denver, bound for Boulder, I saw a distinctively Eastern church directly to the right of the interstate. Only the top half was visible because of the elevation of the road, but the building itself had some kind of writing on it. I have no clue whether or not is was Russian, Ukrainian, or otherwise, but it was definitely Eastern European and, I suppose, Cyrillic.

I was breathtaken because, being a Methodist teen from west Georgia, I've never even set eyes on more than probably four or five Eastern churches in my life (other than on the internet). Come to think of it, that number isn't terribly exceeded by the amount of RC churches I've seen! Sheesh!

Does anyone know anything about this church?

Logos Teen

Here's something, from July 08, that's better:
http://www.swimmingthetiber.blogspot.com/

Why is this one better? It doesn't say much. He was very gracious.

I saw no great specific lacks of charity previously nor any ad hominem attacks. He made good observations for being a newcomer and it is difficult to record feelings in a situation that is of great spiritual and emotional distress to him and is unfortunately symptomatic of many Greek Catholic parishes.