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Not to start a flame war, but asking as one in the hinterlands of the Ruthenian metropolia, are there any ordinations from Ss. Cyril & Methodius Seminary this spring?

One seminarian was ordained lector and subdeacon.

It's slim pickings, for sure. I know that Passaic (my Eparchy) has only one seminarian, and he has a way to go. Meanwhile, the seminary in Uzhorod has 100+ seminarians, and I believe, Presov has over seventy. Says something about American culture, I believe.

Dn. Robert

Fr. Deacon

Perhaps in this one instance, but for that to be true in the broader sense this same phenomenon would be affecting all churches. I'm not sure if that is the case. I'm not sure you can blame American culture.

Andrew

I think I've asked this before, but IS there a priest shortage in America for ByzCath's? If so, how bad is it?

Bad enough that there are a growing number of parishes without a resident priest!

Dn. Robert

True. The culture is part of the problem, but we have additional problems, such as a lack of strong identity, and any sense of mission. A lot of younger Greek Catholics see our church as "Grandma's Church", and either go nowhere or elsewhere, themselves. Many Greek Catholics see this as Latin territory, and defer all evangelizing to the RC's. It has got to change.

Dn. Robert

It seems that are Eastern European brothers are the furtile ground for vocations. The BBC had an article that says that Polish priestly vocations are flourishing. There is a demand in Europe for Polish priest to supplement the void of local vocations. ( I should Clarify that this is the Polish Roman Catholic seminary)

It could be they don't take their religion for granted.

Its not just cultural, its also institutional and I am speaking from experience.

I did not chose the Carmelites to begin with.


David, Byzantine Catholic and Carmelite pre-novice

"It's slim pickings, for sure. I know that Passaic (my Eparchy) has only one seminarian, and he has a way to go. Meanwhile, the seminary in Uzhorod has 100+ seminarians, and I believe, Presov has over seventy. Says something about American culture, I believe.

Dn. Robert"

Does anyone have an idea about approximately what percentage of the Seminarians in Presov and Uzhorod are married?

Does anyone know how many Seminarians that ACROD has?

In Uzhorod and Presov, the great bulk (if not all) of the seminarians are young, and still single. But, the great bulk of them will marry prior to ordination to Diaconate. I remember back in 1992, when Bishop Ivan (Semedi) visited our Bayonnne, NJ parish, a priest I know asked one of the Uzhorod priests accompanying Bishop Ivan how many of the diocesan priests were married, and he replied "all". Their problem was that they needed a few celibates in order to have a prospective successor to Bishop Ivan, since monastic life had not yet been re-constituted in the area. The rest is history-the new Bishop is a Slovak former RC priest.

Dn. Robert

I think they only have a few at any one time because of the size of the jurisdiction. I could be wrong though.

Last year I spoke with our priest after he attended the diocesan convention during the summer and he said there were something like forty priests that had been ordained. The majority I think were converts, and 100% were married. I�m not sure what the numbers will be like this year. So far this year I would guess we have had four different deacons visit our parish who were preparing for ordination.

I don�t know what things are like in the other jurisdictions.

Andrew

Dn. Robert,
Maybe it does and maybe it doesnt say something about our culture.
One of the well know reasons in poorer nations for vocations was poverty or lack of opportunity in native lands. Don't be too too quick to point to a solution. Its not that facile.
Stephanos I

Dear Stephanos,

Perhaps, in a way it does say something about the American culture. We are "fat and happy", and do not perceive a need for God. Human nature being what it is, when we are poor and in difficulty, we tend to lean more on God. In the case of Ukraine, I can see where well-motivated seminarians are "leaning on God" in their lives, while those whose motivations might not be so pure see ordination as a way to secure a position in life. The latter group will find out, if they haven't already, that many of the newly ordained, and their wives and children, are living in difficult financial conditions, and that it is not a "way out" of poverty. I have heard that this is the case from one of our priests, who is a visiting lecturer at the Uzhorod seminary.
In referring to finding a "solution", if you are referring to the marriage issue, while I defend the right of our bishops to ordain married priests, since this is a part of our age-old tradition, and was a condition for the re-union of uniate Eastern Churches with Rome, I would not suggest that it will completely resolve the issue of priest shortages here in the U.S. While there are some Deacons, and some young men who would probably step forward if marriage were completely allowed, I don't think that this would completely fill the need. There are much deeper problems in our particular church, and in the American culture.

Fr. Deacon Robert

How are married Seminarians financially supported? (Catholic and Orthodox, Old World and New)

Do they generally receive a "salary" to support their families while in the Seminary?

Does the Eparchy pay 100% of Seminary tuition?