Agni Parthene (Αγνή Παρθένε, O Virgin Pure) - Lyrics in Latin and Slavic Russian

Saturday, January 28, 2012


Марие, Дево Чистая, Пресвятая Богородице,
Marie, Devo Chistaya, Presvyataya Bogoroditse
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Царице Мати Дево, Руно всех покрывающее,
Tsaritse Mati Devo, Runo vsekh pokriyvayushchee
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Превысшая Небесных Сил, Нетварное Сияние.
Previysshaya Nebesniykh Sil, Netvarnoe Siyanie.
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Ликов девичьих Радосте, и Ангелов Превысшая,
Likov devich'ikh Radoste, i Angelov Previysshaya,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Небес Честная Сило, и Свете паче все светов,
Nebes Chestnaya Silo, i Svete pache vse svetov,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Честнейшая Владычице всех Небесных Воинств,
Chestneyshaya Vladiychitse veskh Nebesniykh Voinstv,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Всех праотцев Надеждо, пророков Исполнение,
Vsekh praottsev Nadezhdo, prorokov Ispolnenie,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
В подвизех Ты - Помоще, Кивоте Бога Слова,
V podvizekh Tiy - Pomoshche, Kivote Boga Slova,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
И девам - Ликование, и матерем - Отрадо,
I devam - Likovanie, i materem - Otrado,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Целомудрия Наставнице, душ наших Очищение,
Tselomudpriya Nastavnitse, dush nashikh Ochishchenie,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Покрове ширший облака, и страждущих Пристанище,
Pokrove shirshiy oblaka, i strazhdushchikh Pristanishche,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Немощных Покров и Заступнице, Надеждо ненадежных,
Nemoshchniykh Pokrov i Zastupnitse, Nadezhdo nenadezhniykh,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Марие - Мати Христа - Истиннаго Бога,
Marie - Mati Khrista - Istinnago Boga,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Ааронов Жезле Прозябший, Сосуде тихой радости,
Aaronov zhezle prozyabshiy, Sosude tikhoy radosti,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Всех сирых и вдов Утешение, в бедах и скорбех - Помоще,
Vsekh siriykh i vdov Uteshenie, v belakh i skorbekh - Pomoshche,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Священная и Непорочная, Владычице Всепетая,
Svyashchennaya i Neporochnaya, Vladiychitse Vsepetaya,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Приклони ко мне милосердие Божественнаго Сына,
Prikloni ko mne miloserdie Bozhestvennago Siyna,
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.
Ходайце спасения, припадая взываю Ти:
Khodaitse spaseniya, pripadaya vziyvayu Ti:
Радуйся Невесто Неневестная.
Raduysya Nevesto Nenevestnaya.


 Refrain: Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
O Virgin pure, immaculate/ O Lady Theotokos
O Virgin Mother, Queen of all/ and fleece which is all dewy
More radiant than the rays of sun/ and higher than the heavens
Delight of virgin choruses/ superior to Angels.
Much brighter than the firmament/ and purer than the sun's light
More holy than the multitude/ of all the heav'nly armies.
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
O Ever Virgin Mary/ of all the world, the Lady
O bride all pure, immaculate/ O Lady Panagia
O Mary bride and Queen of all/ our cause of jubilation
Majestic maiden, Queen of all/ O our most holy Mother
More hon'rable than Cherubim/ beyond compare more glorious
than immaterial Seraphim/ and greater than angelic thrones.
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Rejoice, O song of Cherubim/ Rejoice, O hymn of angels
Rejoice, O ode of Seraphim/ the joy of the archangels
Rejoice, O peace and happiness/ the harbor of salvation
O sacred chamber of the Word/ flow'r of incorruption
Rejoice, delightful paradise/ of blessed life eternal
Rejoice, O wood and tree of life/ the fount of immortality.
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
I supplicate you, Lady/ now do I call upon you
And I beseech you, Queen of all/ I beg of you your favor
Majestic maiden, spotless one/ O Lady Panagia
I call upon you fervently/ O sacred, hallowed temple
Assist me and deliver me/ protect me from the enemy
And make me an inheritor/ of blessed life eternal.
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!



________________________________________
Here is the Lyrics of this Eastern Christian Hymn composed by the Greek Orthodox Saints Nectarios of Aegina and has been widely used by the Eastern Rite Christians of the Byzantine Rite, both the Orthodox and the Catholics alike

For more, here are the  following Post of mine last year in regards of the Agni Parthene:




Read more...

ORIENTALES ECCLESIAS (On The Persecuted Eastern Church), Papal Encylical of His Holiness Pope Pius XII to Eastern Catholics suffering repression

Friday, January 27, 2012

His Holiness Venerable Pope Pius XII

Encyclical Promumgated on 15 December 1952
To the Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops and other local Ordinaries of the Oriental Churches having Peace and Communion with the Holy See.
1. The Oriental Churches, rendered illustrious by the doctrine of the Holy Fathers and in ancient times bathed by the blood of martyrs, in more recent ages, and also in our own day, have always formed in a special manner the object of Our solicitude, a fact which is known to all.
2. Indeed, as soon as We without any merit of Our own, but through the inscrutable design of God, were raised to the Chair of the Prince of the Apostles, We turned Our mind and heart to you, and to those also who "find themselves outside the Catholic Church" (Cf. Radio Message, March 3, 1939: AAS XXXI, Ser. II, Vol. VI, p. 86), and whom We ardently desire may return as soon as possible to the fold of the Common Father, the abode of their ancestors (Cf. Encyclical Summi Pontificatus: AAS XXXI, Ser. II, Vol. VI, pp. 418-419; and Encyclical Mystici Corporis: AAS XXXV, Ser. II, Vol. X, pp. 242-243).
3. We have given you other proofs of Our paternal benevolence during the course of Our Pontificate. As is known to you, We have conferred the dignity of the Roman purple on another of your Bishops. the Patriarch of the Armenians of Cilicia, and We are providing for the codification of the Canonical Laws which affect you: a work of the greatest importance, and one which is already in part completed.
4. But it is not necessary to speak at length of matters without doubt already well known to you; as for the rest, We have followed in the footsteps of Our predecessors (Cf. Encyclical Rerum Orientalium: AAS XX, Vol. XX, p. 277 ff), who from the very first days of Christianity not only surrounded your ancestors with a particular affection, but were accustomed besides to grant them all possible aid on every occasion when they were besieged by heresy or groaned under the terror and persecutions of enemies.
5. Thus it was that through the Apostolic Authority entrusted to the Prince of the Apostles and to His Successors by the Divine Redeemer the Roman Pontiffs defended the integrity of Catholic doctrine in the First and Second Councils of Nicea, in the First, Second and Third of Constantinople, and in those of Ephesus and Chalcedon; and when a lamentable dissension separated a great part of the Oriental Churches from Rome, they not only condemned it through their Legates in the Fourth Council of Constantinople, but they exerted themselves in every manner possible in order that, in the common interest, the situation might be happily resolved. After numerous, praiseworthy and difficult efforts, they were able to do this in the Council of Florence, although against the hopes of all good men the deliberations taken were not afterwards put into practice.

 Slavic Cross


6. Again when the Eastern regions were invaded by new peoples who devastated even the sacred places of Palestine, consecrated by the Divine Blood of Jesus Christ, the Roman Pontiffs then urged the Christian Princes to the great undertaking of the defense of religion. Nor has this eager solicitude and this benevolence of Our Predecessors towards your fellow-countrymen become less in intensity or diminished in Our day, but rather appear to be ever increasing.
7. As you in fact know, many were sent among you to explain Catholic doctrine and to convince all to return to the highly desired unity of faith and of rule. Here, too, at the See of Peter, there was founded a Sacred Congregation with the express purpose of regulating the interests and rites of the Oriental Church. Thus also there was founded an Institute for Oriental Studies with the object of cultivating and promoting with every care a suitable knowledge of all matters concerning you.
8. At the present time, unfortunately, other reasons require Our care and solicitude. In many regions where the Oriental Rite particularly flourishes, there has been unleashed a new tempest, which seeks to overthrow, devastate and destroy in misery flourishing Christian communities.
9. If in past centuries some particular dogma of Catholic doctrine was impugned, today, on the contrary, as you well see, [the enemies of the Church] rashly go even further. They seek to banish from public life and the domestic scene, from the universities, from the schools and from the life of whole populations, sacred rights, institutions and laws, indeed all that is divine or that has relation to divinity, almost as if they were dealing with matters of mythology and evil-omen.
10. Therefore, however greater the accumulation of evils which oppresses a most elect part of Christianity, in that degree, Venerable Brothers, is Our benevolence towards you increased, that much the more ardent is the paternal love which We cherish for you all.
11. And in the first place We wish that it be most clearly manifested to you that We consider your sorrows and your grief as Our own, and that there is nothing We desire more ardently than to bring some relief to your sufferings, above all by means of Our prayers and those of every Christian for all those who are being persecuted for having defended, as was necessary, the Catholic religion and its sacred rights.

Holy Martyrs of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church

12. We know that today there are multitudes of the faithful in Oriental regions who weep bitterly as they see their Bishops put to death or dispersed, or so impeded that they are unable freely to address their flocks and, as they rightfully should, exercise over them their authority; as they behold so many of their Churches destined to profane uses or left in squalid abandon; as they realize that no longer in these churches can they now raise up to heaven in prayerful union their voices harmonized in the wonderful modulations that are prescribed in your Liturgy, to call down the dew of heavenly graces that minds be elevated, hearts consoled and remedy found for such great evils.
13. We know that many from among you have been sent to prisons and concentration camps, or if they are living in their homes, are unable to exercise those sacrosanct rights which are theirs; that is, not only the right to profess their faith in the intimate sanctuary of their own consciences, but also to be able to teach it openly, to defend and propagate it in the family circle for the proper education of the children, and in the school, for the proper training of the pupils.
14. On the other hand We also are aware that the faithful of the Oriental Churches, in fraternal union with their brethren of the Latin Rite, are together bearing with fortitude the sorrowful burdens of these persecutions, and in like manner are together sharing in the martyrdom, the triumph and the glory that are resulting therefrom. Indeed, they are persevering with heroic courage in their faith. They are resisting the enemies of Christianity with the same unconquerable fortitude with which your forebears did in times past. They are raising their supplications to Heaven, if not publicly, at least in private. They are remaining faithfully attached in closest union to the Roman Pontiff and to their pastors. So also are they continuing to revere, beseech and love in a very special way the Blessed Virgin Mary, most loving and powerful Queen of Heaven and of earth, to Whose Immaculate Heart they have all been consecrated by Us.
15. All this is unquestionably the augury of most certain victory in the future, of that victory, however, which flows not from the blood of men in conflict among themselves, nor is nourished by unbridled desire for earthly power, but which is founded on just and legitimate liberty; on justice practiced not only with words, but also with facts, justice to citizens, peoples and nations; on peace and fraternal charity, which unites all in the bonds of friendship; on religion, above all, which rightly orders customs, moderates private aspirations by placing them at the service of the public welfare, raises up minds to heaven, and, in fine, protects civil society and the peace of all.
16. This is the object of Our most ardent hopes. In the meantime, however, the information that reaches Us is such as to render more bitter Our sorrow.
17. By day and by night We turn with paternal solicitude Our mind and Our heart to those who have been confided to Us by divine mandate (Cf. John 21: 15-1l), and who We know are treated in so unworthy a manner as to be the object of calumnies for their firm attachment to the Catholic Faith, and as to be deprived of their legitimate rights, not excluding at times even those so innate to human nature that whenever they are trampled upon by violence, fear or other means, the very dignity of man is lessened and subjected to injury as a result.
18. Among these saddening communications brought to Our notice, there is one which in these latest days has afflicted more than any other not only Us, not only all Christians, but also all those who hold in honor the dignity and liberty of citizens.

 Bishop Eugene Bossilkoff, 1952, Bishop Bossilkoff of Nicopoli was imprisoned and executed immediately without public knowledge of his death. For a while there was a false rumour that he lived in a gulag somewhere in Siberia

19. We would refer to Bulgaria, where there existed a small but flourishing community of Catholics, and where a terrible catastrophe has caused profound mourning in the Church. With the usual method of accusations, public crimes were imputed to the ministers of God. Among these, Our Venerable Brother, Eugene Bossilkoff, Bishop of Nikopol, was condemned to death, together with three other of his priest collaborators in the pastoral ministry. Furthermore, many others already are imprisoned or impeded by the restraint of public authority, and to these are added a not inconsiderable number of Catholics punished in various ways, and thus invested with the same distinction and honor.
20. As a duty of conscience, We raise Our protest against all of this, while to the whole of Christendom We denounce the injury inflicted upon the Church.
21. These victims, in fact, have been condemned as enemies of the State not only because of having professed, but also for having striven openly and strenuously to defend, the Catholic religion, when in truth they are second to none in their love of country, respect for public authority and their observance of law, provided these be not contrary to the natural, divine or ecclesiastical law.
What indeed has happened, especially in more recent times, in Bulgaria, unfortunately has been happening already for some time amongst other peoples where the Church of the Oriental Rite flourishes, namely, amongst the peoples of Rumania, of the Ukraine and among many other peoples also.
22. As far as the first nation is concerned, by an Apostolic Letter of last March (Cf. AAS, XLIV, Ser. II, Vol. XIX, p. 249 ff), We have already protested vehemently against the many afflictions by which the faithful of your own and the Latin Rite are oppressed, and with fatherly sympathy We have exhorted them all to persevere, with that indomitable steadfastness by which they are distinguished, in the religion of their forefathers

 Holy Martyrs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

23. For the present, however, We sadly turn our thoughts and affection to another people, truly dear to Us, namely, to the people of the Ukraine, among whom are not a few of the faithful who look towards Rome with immense desire and earnest love, and venerate this Apostolic See as the center of the Christian religion and as the infallible teacher of Christian truth by reason of the mandate of Jesus Christ (Cf. Matt. 16: 18-19; John 11: 15-17; Luke 22: 32).
24. This people, nevertheless, as We have learned with overwhelming grief, are oppressed in no smaller degree with persecution and find themselves already for some time in a situation no less grave than the other peoples, of whom We have spoken to you, Venerable Brothers, in this letter.
25. In a special way We would recall the memory of those Bishops of the Oriental Rite who were among the first in the defense of their religion to endure hardship, affliction and outrage; who, transported to the city of Kiev, were there tried and condemned to various punishments—in the city of Kiev, We say, whence once shone forth throughout all those regions the light of Christian doctrine, and whence Christian worship was propagated.
26. Some of these have already met a glorious death, and so, as one may hope, from the abode of heavenly blessedness, which they enjoy, lovingly look down upon their sons and their companions in their unarmed struggle, and implore for them the all-powerful protection of God.
27. Besides, We cannot pass over in silence those faithful of the Latin and Oriental Rite who, after being driven from homeland and hearth, and deported into unknown and distant lands, are now there deprived of their rightful priests, who could console, help and direct them, and extend to them the heavenly comforts of religion.
28. All this is for Us a cause of grief so heartrending that We cannot restrain Our tears. Meanwhile We beseech the all-compassionate God and Father of Mercy that He would deign graciously to enlighten those who are responsible for such a sad state of affairs, and that He would deign likewise to put an end as soon as possible to the accumulation of so many evils.
29. Nevertheless, Venerable Brothers, in the midst of so many and such great calamities, on account of which Our soul and yours are overwhelmed with grief, We have reason to derive some consolation from news We have received. For it is made known to Us that those who are reduced to such a lamentable and critical situation remain steadfast in their faith with such intrepid constancy as to excite Our admiration and the admiration of every honest person.
30. Let all these receive from Us this merited recognition of Our paternal praise, and may it serve to increase and strengthen more and more their fortitude. And let them know for certain that We, as the Common Father Whom "the care for all the churches" (2 Cor. 11: 28) urges and the "love of Christ impels" (ibid. 5: 14), raise up each day ardent supplication that the reign of Jesus Christ, bearer of peace to souls, to peoples and to nations, may everywhere triumph.
31. Before the sad spectacle of these afflictions which have stricken not only Our sons among the laity, but more especially those who, raised to the priestly dignity, are for that very reason afflicted, that the words of Sacred Scripture may be verified: "I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered" (Matt. 26: 31; Cf. Mark 14: 27; Zach. 13: 7)—We feel obliged to recall to the mind of all that throughout the course of the centuries, not only among civilized but also among barbaric peoples, the ministers of religion have always been treated, in so far as they are intermediaries between God and men, with due honor and veneration.
32. When, moreover, the Divine Redeemer, after the dispelling of the darkness of error, taught to us heavenly truth and through His profound condescension wished to make us partakers in His eternal priesthood, this showing of honor and veneration was then greatly increased, so much so that Bishops and priests were regarded as most loving Fathers, desirous of nothing else than the common good of the people entrusted to their care.
33. Yet the Divine Redeemer has said Himself: "No disciple is above his teacher" (Matt. 10: 24); "If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15: 20); "Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, and speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you, for my sake. Rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in heaven" (Matt. 5: 11-12).
34. We should not wonder, therefore, if in Our days, and perhaps more than in past centuries, the Church of Christ, and in a particular way its ministers, is made to suffer from persecution, falsehoods, calumnies and afflictions of every kind; but rather place Our secure trust in Him Who, if He has already foretold these future calamities, wished also to forewarn us with these words: "In the world you will have affliction. But take courage, I have overcome the world" (John 16: 33).
35. Do not be downhearted, therefore, Venerable Brothers. Just as your forebears overcame so many difficulties, wiles and dangers by fighting with heroic fortitude even unto martyrdom, so also you who belong to the Oriental Church, together with the faithful of the Latin Rite, trust in the aid of heavenly grace and be not afraid. Supplicate together the Lord and His Most Loving Mother, praying especially for those who are today in greatest danger, that they may be endowed with Christian fortitude.
36. Pray too that all may finally understand certain truths, which are, in fact, clearer than the light of the sun, namely, that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but powerful before God" (2 Cor. 10: 4), that the Church does not seek temporal power but the eternal salvation of souls, that she does not intrigue against governing authorities, but, by means of the Gospel teachings which are capable of forming first-class citizens, she strengthens the very foundations of human society.
37. If, therefore, she is allowed to enjoy the liberty given her by God, if she is allowed to display her strength publicly and carry on her activities openly in the midst of the people, she can undoubtedly contribute much towards promoting the common good, towards bringing the various classes of citizens closer together in justice and in concord, and towards leading all nations to that true peace and tranquillity which, just as it is desired by all, must also be willed by all.
38. In order to obtain these things, We desire, Venerable Brothers, that you have public prayers said and that you exhort the faithful entrusted to you to perform also works of penance, so that the Divine Majesty, outraged by so many and so grave offenses, may be appeased.
39. Let all remember the words of Sacred Scripture: "Pray for those who persecute and calumniate you" (Matt. 5: 44); "Let the members have care for one another. And if one member suffers anything, all the members suffer with it" (1 Cor. 12: 25-26). It is necessary, furthermore, to imitate the example of the Divine Redeemer Who, in the midst of terrible pain, cried out from the Cross: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23: 34). It is necessary likewise to fill up in our flesh that which is lacking of the sufferings of Christ for His Body, which is the Church (Cf. Col. 1: 24). Wherefore, not only must we pray to God for our distressed sons and brothers, but we must willingly offer up to Him our sufferings, our voluntary penances and afflictions.
40. If, towards the numberless persons in those regions who are suffering infirmity, sorrows and anxieties, or who are in prison, We cannot put into practice the words of Jesus, "I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me" (Matt. 25: 36), there is, nevertheless, some way in which we can accomplish the same thing: namely, by our prayers and works of penance we can beseech the Most Merciful God to send His comforting angels to these our suffering brothers and sons, and to grant them most copious gifts from on high which will console and fortify their minds and elevate them to heavenly things.
41. In a particular manner, however, We desire that all priests who are able daily to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice should make a remembrance of those Bishops and priests who, far from their churches and their faithful, have not the possibility of ascending the altar to offer the Divine Sacrifice and nourish themselves and their faithful with that divine food from which our souls attain a sweetness surpassing all desire, and receive that strength which leads to victory. And, united together in fraternal union, let the faithful who approach the same holy table and partake of the same sacrifice do likewise, with the result that in every part of the world and in all the rites which constitute the ornament of the Church, there shall be raised to God and His Heavenly Mother unanimous voices imploring the divine mercy on behalf of these afflicted communities of Christians.
42. Since there will be celebrated next January as usual in many places the octave of prayers for the unity of the Church, it seems to Us particularly opportune that, especially on that occasion, earnest supplications should be made to God, not only that there be verified as soon as possible the desire of the Redeemer: "Holy Father, keep in thy name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one even as we are" (John 17: 11); but also that the prisons may be opened and the chains unlocked which today pitifully afflict so many for heroically having tried to defend the rights and institutions of religion; and also that Christian truth, justice, concord and peace, which are the greatest gifts of all, may triumph everywhere.
43. As an earnest of that and as a pledge of Our paternal benevolence, We impart from Our heart to you, Venerable Brothers, to the flocks entrusted to your care, and in a particular manner to those living in these difficult conditions, the Apostolic Benediction.
Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, on the fifteenth day of December, 1952, in the fourteenth year of Our Pontificate.


__________________________________________


reading at the Encyclical itself, we see how our Popes are too caring to our Eastern Rite Catholic brothers, at the time where they face the ordeal of intimidation, harassment, and even persecution to repressed their faith and unity with the Holy See and to the Holy Universal Pontiff, the Pope to be named. More of the Papal Encyclicals on regards to Eastern Catholicism in this Blog

Read more...

A Defence of using Vernacular in the Sacred Liturgy from a Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch during Vatican II Sessions

Monday, January 23, 2012

"Christ offered the first Eucharistic Sacrifice in a language which could be understood by all who heard him, namely, Aramaic. … Never could the idea have come to them [the Apostles] that in a Christian gathering the celebrant should read the texts of Holy Scripture, sing psalms, preach or break bread, and at the same time use a language different from that of the community gathered there … because this language [Latin] was spoken by the faithful of that time, Greek was abandoned in favor of Latin. … Why, then, should the Roman Church cease to apply the same principle today?"

His Beatitude Cardinal Maximos IV Sayegh

______________________________________

One friend of mine told me before ( He is not anymore my friend, he is a Latin Traddie) that Eastern Catholic Hierarchs has nothing to do during the Sessions of the Vatican II Ecumenical Councils and should interfered on issues involving the Latin Rite. Well by these we can see totally how Eastern Rite Catholic Hierarchs championed reforms and even influencing the Sacred Liturgy of the West. Ooppsss it has nothing to do with that celebrated  Archbishop Annibale Bugnini or those Modernist and Freemasons Boo boo but the very old Traditions of the East being introduced in the Latin Rite, namely Concelebration and the use of the Vernacular. Seemingly there are some case of Latin Rite Traddies who are denouncing using the Vernacular in the Pauline Mass but attending Eastern Rite Divine Liturgies in Vernacular, look at this One sided Foolishness. Anyways i will thank Hierarchs like His Beatitude Maximos, who even defeated in a Debate the famous Traditionalist Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani after he has lost the time to make a rebuttal, well can you beat that, so will you say Latin is the OFFICIAL Liturgical Language of the Whole Church if you have Church Slavonic, Arabic, Greek, Malayalam, Armenians and others to be named eh  :P




Read more...

After One and a Half Year of Interregnum, a new Metropolitan Archbishop.

Friday, January 20, 2012

His Excellency William Charles Skurla, Eparch of the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic of Passaic promoted into Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh


"Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop William C. Skurla of the Byzantine Eparchy of Passaic, N.J., as archbishop of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. Archbishop Skurla, 55, will succeed Archbishop Basil M. Schott, who died in June 2010. The appointment was announced Jan. 19 in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States. His enthronement -- as the Eastern Catholic installation ceremony is known -- will take place April 18 in Pittsburgh. The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is the only self-governing Eastern Catholic Church in the United States, meaning it is directly under the authority of the pope rather than a Catholic patriarch in Eastern Europe or the Middle East. It stretches from Erie, Pa., to Texas and has 58,000 parishioners and 65 priests in 78 parishes. William Charles Skurla was born in Duluth, Minn., June 1, 1956, and attended local Catholic and public elementary schools. He graduated in 1974 from Chisholm High School, Chisholm, Minn. He attended Deerfield Academy postgraduate program in Deerfield, Mass., from 1974 to 1975. He then attended Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1981 with a concentration in philosophy in 1981. He entered the Byzantine Franciscan community in Sybertsville, Pa., in 1981 and studied for the priesthood at Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Pa., receiving master's degrees in divinity in 1986 and theology in 1987. Ordained a Franciscan priest in 1987, he was incardinated nine years later into the Eparchy of Van Nuys, Calif., where he served as pastoral administrator at St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church in Tucson, Ariz., from 1993 until 2002. The eparchy is now known as the Holy Protection of Mary Eparchy of Phoenix."

_____________________________________

Since the Death of His Excellency Basil Myron Schott in June 2010, it seems that the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh experience one of the longest Interregnum i ever seen. We pray for the New Metropolitan Archbishop that by the grace and mercy of God he lead his faithful with Faith, Багато років до Його Високоповажності митрополита архієпископа Вільяма.

Here below are some Photos of the New Metropolitan Archbishop, some taken from the Eastern Rite Catholic Filipinos Facebook Fan Page:

Episcopal Ordination of Most. Rev. John Michael Kudrick, Bishop of the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma. His Principal Consecrator is the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Pittsburgh, His Excellency Basil Myron Schott and his Principal Co-Consecrator is the present Metropolitan William Skurla

Hierarchs of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church at their Yearly Pilgrimage at Mount St. Macrina. from Left to Right: Most. Rev. Gerald Nicholas Dino, Eparch of the Ruthenian Eparchy of Holy Protection of Mary of Phoenix; His Excellency Basil Myron Schott, O.F.M, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Pittsburgh; Most. Rev. John Michael Kudrick, Eparch of the Eparchy of Parma and Most. Rev. William Skurla, Eparch of the Eparchy of Passaic


Another one here from the Website of the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh  on the Appointment of His Excellency William Charles Skurla as Metropolitan Archbishop. I have noticed the use of the term Metropolitan Archbishop-Elect. Clarification, we use the term Elect if the Bishop is still a Priest waiting to be Ordained into Episcopate, and that His Excellency William, a reigning Eparch, was thus promoted or should i say Elevated into a Metropolitan which Enthronement is necessary and not a Episcopal Ordination because he is a Bishop already.






Read more...

EPISCOPAL ORDINATION OF IGNATIUS GHATTAS, MELKITE GREEK CATHOLIC

Thursday, January 19, 2012


 

 


 

Compilation of Video clips of the Episcopal Ordination of His Grace Ignatius Ghattas of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, New York and a special commentary given by the Catholic Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), it was dated February 23, 1990. Because of difficulties finding collections of Photo, i could only post one Picture of His Grace, the 3rd Eparch to be Enthroned after it was named a Patriarchal Exarchate in 1966 and fully Elevated into a Eparchy in 1976. He became only Bishop for 2 years and 6 months after he died unexpectedly in 1992.

Here below is one known Photo of His Grace Most. Rev. Ignatius Ghattas, Eparch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton (Our Lady of Annunciation in Boston)




Read more...

Assault on the House of the Chaldean Catholic Hierarch

Monday, January 16, 2012



It seems that our Eastern Rite brethrens in Iraq are dealing with a very dangerous ordeal to keep the faith, namely those in the Chaldean Catholic Church

Article from the Net Site Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA)

"Gunmen Attack Iraqi Archbishop’s Residence


13 Jan 2012 



VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Gunmen shooting at guards keeping watch over the archbishop’s residence in Kirkuk in northern Iraq triggered a firefight, leaving two of the gunmen dead and five policemen wounded.
Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Louis Sako told Vatican Radio that he had just returned home from a parish visit before the drive-by attack Jan. 11.
After the shooting, the archbishop said he immediately went to the scene to We are not afraid,” he said. “It’s also true that the situation is a bit tense, and there’s no order or control in the country. We, however, were not afraid, at least not immediately.”
Archbishop Sako said he believes the gunmen had the wrong target. Police suspect the attackers were targeting a member of the Iraqi parliament who lives next to the archbishop’s house and whose home also was attacked Jan. 8, according to the Rome-based AsiaNews.
Archbishop Sako said the gunmen were from Baghdad “ and, therefore, were not sure where to go. They found themselves facing our security guards and fired, without knowing who they were shooting at.”
Three men in a white car shot at the residence guards. The guards at the archbishop’s residence and the parliamentarian’s house returned fire. Police nearby intervened as well, the archbishop said.
Two of the three gunmen were killed, and one was arrested."

His Excellency Louis Sako, Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Kirkuk

Being a Eastern Rite Christian and living in the Middle East is not a joke to be use to. Living a Christian life is a total Sacrifice even at the price of Martyrdom so let us pray for our Eastern Rite faithful and hierarchs, namely the Eastern Catholic ones, for our Lord by his grace and mercy protect them



Read more...

Let us leave everything in the Past, and Look unto the Future

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Before this Month let may be Clarify the following regarding this very first Article that i post within this Year regarding the Rebuttal i made due to some Polemical attacks against our Eastern Catholics, namely our Byzantine Catholic brethrens in Europe accusing of Persecuting their Sister Orthodox Churches

"Please tell me if i am Committing Calumny"

For me, without Historical evidence or not, i have just lay my Thoughts without proofs to support it.Whether it is True, using the Past justifying the our acts in the Present or the near Future may not save our souls or guarantee everything at all. I am very Sorry if i have make a very harsh remarks on that Post of mine, but regardless of it, i juts take away the Silence though knowing i should not make that one because nobody win if Polemics is concern and throwing each Argument are useless at all.

"A Clarification"

I repeat whatever i have say in this Article Last Year, i have nothing against with our other Eastern Rite brethrens. Apologies for the Heartaches that this Fan Page might have done, or a little crack on the possible Unity, that all may be One

Пресвята Богородиця, захищати США
(MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS, PROTECT US)
Господи Ісусе Христе Сину Божий, помилуй мене грішного
(LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER)

Read more...

Hierarchial Divine Liturgy of St. Mark, Christian Egyptian Coptic Church






This compilation of Video footage are the Full coverage of the Hierarchial Divine Liturgy celebrated during Christmas by His Most Blessed Beatitude Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. He is the head of The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. It is noticeable that even though the Liturgical Language is Coptic, Greek and Arabic was used widely during this Service, another note to be taken is the presence of His Beatitude Gregory III Laham, Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church near to the Coptic Pope. Nonetheless, the Divine Liturgy is indeed a manifestation of how beautiful Eastern Rite Liturgy is. Also the Coptic Catholic Church also celebrated a similar Church ceremony, though we cannot acquired a Clip. We also start making coverage from other Eastern Rite Churches, so as to go back from the common heritage of Eastern Catholics and the same roots they along with the Orthodox have come from.


Read more...

Divine Liturgy celebrated by His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II


This Video Clip is entitled "Pope John Paul II celebrates Ukrainian Divine Liturgy, St. Peter's Basilica 1996" but this one has a huge amount of Discrepancies and all of this have been Clarified by our Resident Priest and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Historian Rev. Fr. Athanasius McVay of the Blog Annales Ecclesiae Ucrainae, Here are the following Information correcting the Events and even the Personalities involved here.

1. This Video taken in 1996 was celebrated in 1988. It was in 1000th Anniversary of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus and not the 400th year Celebration of the Union of Brest
2. By the Year 1996, the current Major Archbishop at that time His Beatitude Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky was incapacitated to perform the mos intrinsic rubrics of the Church ceremony in Lviv and at that time Vatican had appointed Lubomyr Husar as the Apostolic Administrator, becoming Major Archbishop at the time of Cardinal Lubachivsky death in 2000
3. The Bearded Deacon, namely Vasyl Medvit, was already Ordained to the Episcopate in 1994, 2 years before 1996. He is currently the Auxiliary Exarch of the Major Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk.

_____________________________________


One of the very few to be exact Documentaries that a Pope celebrated a Eastern Rite Liturgy namely this one, including also His Holiness Blessed Pope John XXIII celebrating a Eastern Rite Liturgy even using his Tiara as a Mitre. It is also been said that the Mother of the late Pontiff is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic though we cannot confirmed such from our Eastern Catholic friends. Here is a quotation of His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul Papal Encyclical to Eastern Catholics Orientale Lumen And one of the easiest acquired reference for Latin Rite Roman Catholics who want to learned the Eastern Faith from a Pope who also came from the East in a way

"
Our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters are very conscious of being the living bearers of this tradition, together with our Orthodox brothers and sisters. The members of the Catholic Church of the Latin tradition must also be fully acquainted with this treasure and thus feel, with the Pope, a passionate longing that the full manifestation of the Church's catholicity be restored to the Church and to the world, expressed not by a single tradition, and still less by one community in opposition to the other; and that we too may be granted a full taste of the divinely revealed and undivided heritage of the universal Church which is preserved and grows in the life of the Churches of the East as in those of the West." - BLESSED POPE JOHN PAUL II




Read more...

The Immaculate Misconception

Friday, January 13, 2012



Does the Roman Catholic Church really teach that Mary did not taste death?


I grew up as a Roman Catholic before taking my faith Eastward.  I was taught about the dogma of the Assumption, and that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven.  It's one of the basic beliefs of every Catholic, East and West.


But upon my journey East, I came upon the 12 Great Feasts. One of them is the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (for readers not familiar with Eastern theology, Theotokos is Mary's title and is how she is addressed by Eastern Christians.  The same way Christ is a title that eventually used as a proper name for Jesus because he is the one and only Messiah, Mary is referred to as the Theotokos which is Greek for "the one who bore God" or "God-bearer".  Loosely, it is also translated as "The Mother of God").  Now the Dormition is an interesting feast for a Roman Catholic to come upon on.  It is celebrated on August 15, which is the same day the Assumption is celebrated.  And the reason for that is that they are the same feast, we celebrate the Assumption of the Thetokos into heaven.  But the interesting part is that the Dormition does not merely celebrate the Assumption, but the entire translation of Mary from this life to the next.  Part and parcel of the tradition is that she died, was burried, resurrected by Christ on the third day and immediately assumed into heaven.  The tradition tells that the Apostles, who at that time have already been at different parts of the world preaching and establishing the early Churches, were miraculously transported to the bedside of Mary.  Instead of the usual death that every man and woman faces which is a violent separation of body and soul, believed to be painful, she had a light falling asleep.  Thus the term Dormition.


Now, many Roman Catholics today contend that Mary did not taste death.  She was assumed into heaven body and soul before she died, some say the very moment before.  Is this true?  And is this what the Roman Catholic Church teaches?  Why is there conflict between the traditions of East and West?  Is one right and the other is wrong?


One contention most Roman Catholics who want to come off respectful to Eastern traditions will say is that the death of Mary is a minor tradition of the East, something that is not "de fide" or required belief.  While the East does not dogmatize everything in Papal documents like the West, one proof that this is not a minor tradition, thus meaning "optional" belief, is the Troparion and Kontakion for Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Troparion
In giving birth you retained your virginity, in falling asleep you did not abandon the world, O Mother of God.
You passed into life, for you are the Mother of Life, and by your prayers you deliver our souls from death.


Kontakion
The tomb and death could not hold the Mother of God, unceasing in her intercession and unfailing hope of patronage,
for as the Mother of Life, she was transferred to life by Him Who had dwelt in her ever virgin womb.

The highlights are mine.  Clearly during the Divine Liturgy we pray and profess to the belief that Mary did die.  Lex orandi, lex credendi.  The law of prayer is the law of belief.  What we pray in our Liturgies is what we (should) believe in.  Its not optional belief, its not minor "t" tradition that people may or may not believe in if they want to.  Imagine if its optional and one would pray the Troparion and Kontakion on August 15, isn't that person lying during Liturgy?


Now, in relation to Roman Catholicism, does the Roman Catholic Church teach that Mary did not die?  Some would say that is the teaching, others say that we do not know and people are free to believe either she died or not.  Lets look at what the CCC says:

CCC 974 The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son's Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.


The CCC uses the phrase "when her earthly life was completed" which seems like an open ended statement.  One can validly contend that death followed immediately after the completion of one's life, and taking this phrase alone would suggest that she ether did not taste death, or that one is being careful in the wording so as not to suggest death while being completely open to that possibility.


So thats it?  Case closed?  Hold on a minute.  The best place to check what the dogma says is to read the Apostolic Constitution itself that dogmatically defined the Assumption (for those unfamiliar with dogmatic definitions, its not the creation of new belief but formalizing what the belief is so that there is no more disagreements or any contrary points to the belief.)  The document MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS can be found here in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus which proclaimed the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.


On paragraph 17, we read that:

17. In the liturgical books which deal with the feast either of the dormition or of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin there are expressions that agree in testifying that, when the Virgin Mother of God passed from this earthly exile to heaven, what happened to her sacred body was, by the decree of divine Providence, in keeping with the dignity of the Mother of the Word Incarnate, and with the other privileges she had been accorded. Thus, to cite an illustrious example, this is set forth in that sacramentary which Adrian I, our predecessor of immortal memory, sent to the Emperor Charlemagne. These words are found in this volume: "Venerable to us, O Lord, is the festivity of this day on which the holy Mother of God suffered temporal death, but still could not be kept down by the bonds of death, who has begotten your Son our Lord incarnate from herself."

Clearly here we see two instances mentioning Mary's passing from this world, with the second one clearly stating that Mary suffered temporal death.  Lets look at paragraph 20:

20. However, since the liturgy of the Church does not engender the Catholic faith, but rather springs from it, in such a way that the practices of the sacred worship proceed from the faith as the fruit comes from the tree, it follows that the holy Fathers and the great Doctors, in the homilies and sermons they gave the people on this feast day, did not draw their teaching from the feast itself as from a primary source, but rather they spoke of this doctrine as something already known and accepted by Christ's faithful. They presented it more clearly. They offered more profound explanations of its meaning and nature, bringing out into sharper light the fact that this feast shows, not only that the dead body of the Blessed Virgin Mary remained incorrupt, but that she gained a triumph out of death, her heavenly glorification after the example of her only begotten Son, Jesus Christ-truths that the liturgical books had frequently touched upon concisely and briefly.

Here we see that the document is already discussing the fact of the incorruptibility of the dead body of the Theotokos.  And further of course that she was granted a triumph out of death, which is the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection that eventually all of us will receive at the end of time.  The privilege granted to her is that her body did not suffer corruption (or decomposition) but that she was resurrected before that happened.  We all will suffer through bodily corruption before being restored on the last day.  Further on paragraph 21:

21. Thus St. John Damascene, an outstanding herald of this traditional truth, spoke out with powerful eloquence when he compared the bodily Assumption of the loving Mother of God with her other prerogatives and privileges. "It was fitting that she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to himself, should live in the divine mansions. It was fitting that she, who had seen her Son upon the cross and who had thereby received into her heart the sword of sorrow which she had escaped in the act of giving birth to him, should look upon him as he sits with the Father. It was fitting that God's Mother should possess what belongs to her Son, and that she should be honored by every creature as the Mother and as the handmaid of God."

Again, conclusively specifying that Mary did not suffer corruption after death.  Some Roman Catholics would contend that being free from corruption means being free from death, but here we see it says "after death", the corruption pointing to decomposition.  And this is made clear on paragraph 22:

22. These words of St. John Damascene agree perfectly with what others have taught on this same subject. Statements no less clear and accurate are to be found in sermons delivered by Fathers of an earlier time or of the same period, particularly on the occasion of this feast. And so, to cite some other examples, St. Germanus of Constantinople considered the fact that the body of Mary, the virgin Mother of God, was incorrupt and had been taken up into heaven to be in keeping, not only with her divine motherhood, but also with the special holiness of her virginal body. "You are she who, as it is written, appears in beauty, and your virginal body is all holy, all chaste, entirely the dwelling place of God, so that it is henceforth completely exempt from dissolution into dust. Though still human, it is changed into the heavenly life of incorruptibility, truly living and glorious, undamaged and sharing in perfect life." And another very ancient writer asserts: "As the most glorious Mother of Christ, our Savior and God and the giver of life and immortality, has been endowed with life by him, she has received an eternal incorruptibility of the body together with him who has raised her up from the tomb and has taken her up to himself in a way known only to him."

Again very clearly stated that the corruption being talked about is the decomposition of the flesh, which happens to all who died.  Even saints who are incorruptible do suffer from some point of corruption.  Though their bodies are relatively preserved than what would be the normal course for dead bodies in the given time.  They definitely do not look like the day they died.  And by giving Mary the resurrection soon after her death, it was ensured that her body do not suffer even the mildest of corruption.  On paragraph 29, it is explained how and why:

29. Among the holy writers who at that time employed statements and various images and analogies of Sacred Scripture to Illustrate and to confirm the doctrine of the Assumption, which was piously believed, the Evangelical Doctor, St. Anthony of Padua, holds a special place. On the feast day of the Assumption, while explaining the prophet's words: "I will glorify the place of my feet,"(27) he stated it as certain that the divine Redeemer had bedecked with supreme glory his most beloved Mother from whom he had received human flesh. He asserts that "you have here a clear statement that the Blessed Virgin has been assumed in her body, where was the place of the Lord's feet. Hence it is that the holy Psalmist writes: 'Arise, O Lord, into your resting place: you and the ark which you have sanctified."' And he asserts that, just as Jesus Christ has risen from the death over which he triumphed and has ascended to the right hand of the Father, so likewise the ark of his sanctification "has risen up, since on this day the Virgin Mother has been taken up to her heavenly dwelling."

"Since likewise" is a crucial term here because what happened to Mary is compared to what happened to Jesus.  Clearly the belief is like Christ, Mary died, was resurrected by her Son and lifted up to heaven the same way.  "So likewise... has risen up," Christ has risen up in his resurrection.  Mary likewise resurrected.  


Now most of the paragraphs quoted were from Eastern or Early Church teaching when the definition of East and West was still somewhat blurred.  But a more contemporary, definitely Western Saint is quoted on paragraph 35 saying:

35. In like manner St. Francis de Sales, after asserting that it is wrong to doubt that Jesus Christ has himself observed, in the most perfect way, the divine commandment by which children are ordered to honor their parents, asks this question: "What son would not bring his mother back to life and would not bring her into paradise after her death if he could?" And St. Alphonsus writes that "Jesus did not wish to have the body of Mary corrupted after death, since it would have redounded to his own dishonor to have her virginal flesh, from which he himself had assumed flesh, reduced to dust."


St. Francis de Sales clearly believed and taught that Mary did die.  Otherwise he would not asked that question that way.  Clearly at his time it is what Roman Catholics believe, and what they believed then went into the dogma.  Further on paragraph 40:


40. Hence the revered Mother of God, from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a most perfect virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate of the divine Redeemer who has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences, finally obtained, as the supreme culmination of her privileges, that she should be preserved free from the corruption of the tomb and that, like her own Son, having overcome death, she might be taken up body and soul to the glory of heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages.

To overcome something means to experience it and conquer it.  So Mary, overcoming death, means she died and subsequently resurrected.  Further to remove any doubt, its says "like her own Son."  And we know there is only one way Jesus overcame death.  In the Byzantine Rite we sing during Easter, "Christ has risen from the dead, conquering death by death, and to those in the tombs He granted life."


And there you have it!  Conclusive evidence from a Vatican document that the Roman Catholic Church do indeed believe that Mary died prior to being resurrected and immediately assumed into heaven.  To be clear, what the document declares as dogma and "de fide" is Mary's Assumption into heaven.  The part about the death is not what was declared infallibly, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen or that there is an option not to believe it.  Because of the entire event of the Dormition tradition of the East, that is Mary died then was resurrected and assumed into heaven by Christ, is what is the basis of the dogma.


What is the point of all this?  First, its to show that the faith of East and West really is not that different.  We may want to emphasize on things differently, in this case the West just wants to look solely on the Assumption while the East wants to look at the entire event, but what we believe especially the essential things are one and the same.  So stop the polemics between East and West, stop accusing the Eastern Catholics of being "anti-Pope schismatics" because what we believe in is not the same as what is dogmatically defined.  This proves, at least with the Assumption/Dormition, we believe in EXACTLY the same thing.  Second, more importantly, this puts into better perspective what Mary's roles is in our lives.  We have always talked about her being the best example we have in our lives, total submission to God.  And because the end of her life is something that we all can go through as well, she provides us a complete roadmap on how each and everyone of us will enter heaven.  Live life in total submission to God, die a peaceful death, be resurrected by Christ and partake in the Divine Life of God for all eternity.

Read more...