HIS BEATITUDE CARDINAL LUBOMYR HUSAR, MSU (1933), FIRST MAJOR ARCHBISHOP of KYIV-HALYCH of theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church

Thursday, February 23, 2012

 

Its been a Year since His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, MSU willfully submitted his resignation as the Major Archbishop of Kyiv Halych to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, though the Synod and the Faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church gives him the Title Patriarch, a very unusual move for a Eastern Rite because there are no Canonical provision for it, even the Canon Law of the Eastern Church does not have such. Patriarch Lubomyr, or others addressed him as Cardinal Husar, will be forever remember for the Transfer of the Seat of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from Lviv to Kyiv in 2005 with the approval of then Pope Blessed John Paul II, reversing the decision of Pope Pius VII when in 1806 Lviv becomes the Greek Catholic Metropolia till the recent Transfer, changing the title Major Archbishop of Lviv into Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Here are his Historical First, Originally posted in the Blog Annales Ecclesia Ucrainae of Rev. Fr. Athanasius McVay, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Historian and Priest based in Rome

1. To have lived most of his life outside of Ukraine, in the United States of America and Italy. Although some of the Kyivan Metropolitans were Greek, most of his predecessors lived in Ukrainian lands;
 2. To have begun his ministry as a secular priest but later embraced the monastic life. Virtually all of his predecessors were members of the Basilian Order. Since 1806 all have been secular priests with the exception of Metropolitan Sheptytsky.

 (Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky)

3. To have been Archimandrite of the Studite Monks before becoming head of the Ukrainian Church. Metropolitan Sheptytsky had founded the Studites and became their first archimandrite.
 4. To have been Archimandrite of the Studite Monks before becoming head of the Ukrainian Church. Metropolitan Sheptytsky had founded the Studites and became their first archimandrite.
 5. To have been a regular professor at a pontifical university in Rome. Josyf Slipyj taught very briefly at the Gregoriana in 1922;

 (Cardinal Josyf Slipyj)

6. To have received episcopal ordination without the papal mandate (1977);
7. To have had his episcopal privileges confirmed by the pope and made public almost twenty years later (1996);
8. To be appointed exarch of Kyiv-Vyshorod (1996);
9. To have been designated a cardinal only a month after his election as major-archbishop (2001);
10. Not to have received a red hat during the public concistory. Isidore of Kyiv (1440), Sylvester Sembratovych (1895) and Slipyj (1965) received the ancient gallero. Lubachivsky (1985) received a red kolpak (Greek-Catholic biretta).

 (His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar wearing a Red Kolpak)

11. To have welcomed a Roman Pontiff to his diocese, namely the Papal Visit of His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II in Ukraine (2001);

(Patriarch Lubomyr and His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II)

12. To become Major-Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych upon the return of the primatial see from Lviv to Kyiv (2004);
13. To have participated in a papal conclave (2005);
14. To have lost his eyesight during his mandate;
15. To have willingly submitted his resignation to the Roman Pontiff. Josyf Sembratovych had been forced to resign in 1882. 

(Metropolitan Josyf Sembratovich)
15.  To be present at the installation of his successor, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk


 (His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar with the new Major Archbishop His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk)

Here is the Wikipedia Link of His Beatitude's Autobiography about his Life and Work



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Happy Birthday Patriarch Iosif I (Slipyj)!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

This post was a bit late, for the Ukrainian Catholics celebrated his birthday 2 days ago, but as the saying goes: "better late than never".

From Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU)

Today is the 120th anniversary of Josyf Slipyj, Major Archbishop, Patriarch, Cardinal and Metropolitan (1944-84).

He was born in Zazdrist in western Ukraine on 17 February 1892, he was a churchman of three careers: scholar, confessor of the faith and an international voice for persecuted Christians. After studies in Lviv, Innsbruck (Austria), Rome and Paris, he became a professor and then Rector (1928-44) of the Lviv Seminary and Theological Academy. A prolific writer, his collected works include some twenty volumes. In 1939 he was ordained archbishop by Metropolitan Sheptytsky and succeeded him as head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church upon the latter's death on 1 November 1944.

On 11 April 11 1945 Slipij was arrested by the Soviet authorities and spent eighteen years in Stalinist prisons, labor camps and Siberian exile, where he earned a reputation for being an iron-willed, intrepid witness to the faith. Through the intervention of Pope John XXIII and President Kennedy he was released in 1963 to attend the Second Vatican Council.

During the following twenty-one years Slipyj energized the life of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the West, establishing the Ukrainian Catholic University and building the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Rome. His death on 7 September 1984 was followed in 1992 by the translation of his remains to Lviv, where they were interred in St. George's Cathedral with the participation of over a million faithful.



Previous Article here in Eastern Rite Catholic Filipinos about Cardinal Slipyj when he was imprisoned in the USSR and when he continued his pastoral ministry in Rome.

HIS BEATITUDE CARDINAL JOSYF SLIPYJ (1892-1984), Confessor of Faith and First Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Blessed John Paul II blessing and praying in front of the remains of his friend, Cardinal Iosif (Slipyj)

His Holiness Pope John Paul II visiting the remains of His Beatitude Cardinal Josyf Slipyj

Вічну пам'ять Блаженнійшого кардинала Йосипа Сліпого!!!!!



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Mnohaya Lita to the new Eastern Catholic Cardinals!!!!! AXIOS +


Yesterday a Consistory was held by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to create new members of the Sacred College of the Cardinals. 2 of the 22 newly created Cardinals are Heads of Different Sui Iuris Eastern Catholic Church, namely His Beatitude Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamalay of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church and His Beatitude Cardinal Lucian Muresan, Major Archbishop of Fagaras si Alba Iulia of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church. Like i say before, many have object this kind of Pro "Forma" because Eastern Rite should not be objected to the Authority of a Latin Rite Hierarch. Nevertheless, we should understand that they accept being raised or named to the Cardinalate as a gesture of Unity and being in Communion not just with the Pope of Rome, but the Holy Universal Pontiff of the Catholic Church as a whole

Above is the Video clip of naming them Cardinals, giving their position as Cardinal Priest and Cardinal Deacon. It has been highly heated Issue that Major Archbishop must be named the Highest Cardinalatial rank, the Cardinal Bishop because their position is equal to that of the Patriarch, though with slight difference.
Below are the handpicked Photos of the Consistory, including the very unusual Choir Dress of the Syro Malabar Cardinal which makes me Amazed that i cannot move on until now Hehehe all this Pictures are taken from the Facebook Fan Page in honour of the Syro Malabar Major Archbishop

CARDINAL GEORGE MAR ALENCHERRY





CARDINAL LUCIAN MURESAN





________________________________

For more of this Church event click on this link  and this one for more Information. I leave readers to give their Comments because i will reserved doing so a later on. Keep notice the Choir Dress of the Syro Malabar Cardinal, and the specially his Red Biretta with a St Thomas Cross on top of it :)


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That All maybe ONE +

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Thanks from my Friend, who happens to be a Orthodox under the Philippine Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the one who give me his Link being Originally posted in Facebook

THE KISS OF PEACE BETWEEN POPE PAUL VI & PATRIARCH ATHENAGORAS

Commemorating the first meet up of the Two Heads of this Christian Churches, namely that of  His Holiness Pope Paul VI and His All Holiness Patriarch Athenagoras here in the Vatican, the first one since the Schism in 1054. It is not the only time they have meet, prior to their first meeting in 1964 at the Papal Visit in Jerusalem. At the same time both lifted the Controversial Excommunications decrees of Cardinal Humbert and Patriarch Michael Cerularius. Since then it Improves the relation between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches

"In effect, this unity bestowed by the Holy Spirit does not merely consist in the gathering of people as a collection of individuals. It is a unity constituted by the bonds of the profession of faith, the sacraments and hierarchical communion. The faithful are one because, in the Spirit, they are incommunion with the Son and, in him, share in his communion with the Father: "Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 Jn 1:3). For the Catholic Church, then, thecommunion of Christians is none other than the manifestation in them of the grace by which God makes them sharers in his own communion, which is his eternal life. Christ's words "that they may be one" are thus his prayer to the Father that the Father's plan may be fully accomplished, in such a way that everyone may clearly see "what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things" (Eph 3:9). To believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church; to desire the Church means to desire the communion of grace which corresponds to the Father's plan from all eternity. Such is the meaning of Christ's prayer: "Ut unum sint". - Papal Encyclical UT UNUM SINT, His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II



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)
Слава Ісусу Христу
(GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST)


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Is this Blog just a Fan or a Promoter??!!!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

In a short span of almost 10 Months, only 4 Months to go for this Blog Anniversary, there is one question i am still asking myself for a very long time since I, along side Mr. Jared Dale Combista of Verum Nocet and Gino Pastoriza Paradela of If the Fathers had Laptops, what is the Main purpose of our Endeavor at all??? Are we just Afficionados by being simple Fans or we are Promoters trying to propagate the Two Lungs of the Holy Mother Church, that of Catholic East as well with the Catholic West co-existing with one another


Even if our primary focus is Eastern Catholicism, which is in Communion with the Holy Father the Pope. Ever since we also posted Articles and post of other Eastern Rite Christian brethrens, namely the Orthodox Churches of the Byzantine in Communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Miaphysites or the Oriental Orthodox Churches in Communion with the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, even the Assyrian Church of the East, formerly known as the Nestorians for we know that One day we can achieve that dream that ALL MIGHT BE ONE, as His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II stressed in his Papal Encylical Orientale Lumen and that all of our Filipino Latin Rite Roman Catholics might have learned about our brothers in different Churches, not just those within Western Christianity which includes the Protestants, the Fellowship Christians and even the Anglicans, this one we are making everyone know about EASTERN CHRISTIANITY, though our concentration is on Eastern Catholic Sui Iuris Churches

We have focus some Articles here on Church Politics, which i carelessly done in many times though i will refrained from making such Commentaries, instead even focusing on the Theological, Liturgical and the Devotional Tradition within the several Rites of the Catholic Church, namely the Byzantine; Antiochene; Syro-Oriental; Alexandrian and the Armenian Rite. It is our duty that our Catholic brothers and sisters might have a glimpse on the other side of Christianity and namely the Eastern side of the Catholic truth. 

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)
Слава Ісусу Христу
(GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST)




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AKATHIST Hymn to our fathers among the saints Cyril and Methodius

Tuesday, February 14, 2012


Hymns

Troparion (Tone 4)
O Cyril and Methodius, inspired by God,
You became equal to the Apostles by your life.
Since you were teachers of the Slavs,
Intercede with the Master of all
That He may strengthen all Orthodox peoples in the True Faith,
And that He may grant peace to the world
And great mercy to our souls.
Kontakion - Tone 3
Let us praise the two priests of God who enlightened us,
And poured upon us the fount of the knowledge of God by translating the Holy Scripture.
O Cyril and Methodius, as abundant learning has been drawn from this work,
We exalt you who now stand before the Most High,
Interceding with fervor for the salvation of our souls. 
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That all maybe One, Today we celebrate the Feats of the Two Brothers who have become the Apostles of the Slavs, Sts. Cyril and Methodius though few Eastern Catholics and most of the Latin Rite Roman Catholics observed the Commemoration of this Two Saints today February 14 while some Eastern Rite observed it on May 11. They are also Co-Patron Saints of the Continent of Europe.
For more click on this Orthowiki Link and the other one from Wikipedia to know their Lives and Works. Also here is the Papal Encylical of His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II in Commemoration of the Eleventh Centenary of this Two Brother Saints Evangelization, Slavorum Apostoli


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Spontaneous prayers vs. recited prayers

Sunday, February 12, 2012

This topic has been on my mind for a while, but I was inspired to finally write after reading the blog post of our brother, The Secular Catholic.  A very nice article talking about the merits of recited prayer from the Western praxis.  Now I offer the Eastern.


The Western praxis thrives on a balance of spontaneous and recited prayers.  Many Roman Catholics I have come across with (and during the majority of my life I was one) love their "personal prayer time" especially before and after receiving Communion, and immediately before and after the Mass.  Its a time when we get to "lift up our hearts" to God and tell Him what we want to tell Him.  Not that he doesn't know already what we want and need, but as humans we feel the need to petition the King in our own words.


The East is quite different when it comes to spontaneous prayers.  The Eastern praxis relies on more recited prayers and less, if not completely eliminate spontaneous prayers.  Why is that so?  Can we not petition God?  Of course we can.  But we also know that God knows what we need (...for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  Matthew 6:8).  Prayer is seen as something that not only communicates with God, but communicates with ourselves.  Our Latin brethren has put this down into simple words (in Latin, nonetheless), "Lex orandi, lex credendi."  In simple English, it says "the law of prayer is the law of belief."  Or in simpler terms, how we believe is how we pray.  But the reverse is also true.  Our prayer also teaches us how to believe.


Now, how does "Lex orandi, lex credendi" apply to spontaneous prayer?  We often pray how we are taught what God is in our lives.  Most of us grow up seeing God as some sort of Genie in a lamp.  We ask for things and expect to receive these things (or something very close to it).  We say sorry for our sins hoping he'll give us what we ask for.  We thank Him for His blessings so that He will recognize our faithfulness and gratitude and hopefully give us what we ask for.  Because many who are poorly Catechized, or belong to communities with defective theologies, we tend to approach prayer that way.  And because we pray that way, it perpetuates our misguided belief.


Now, by using recited prayers, we use prayers that are theologically correct.  Theologically correct prayers are important because it expresses the right way to approach God.  But more importantly, prayers do not speak to God alone, but speaks to us as well.  By meditating on the pre-written prayer, we learn more about our relationship with God.



Another question is, how do I communicate myself to God using a prayer written by someone else?  As stated in the last paragraph, prayer is not meant only to communicate to God but also to speak to us.  And in speaking to us, transform us into what the prayer really stands for.  Our objective in prayer is not to merely talk to God in a verbal sense.  The Eastern goal of salvation is Theosis, which means we aim to become partakers of the Divine Nature of God.  And to accomplish this is we need to be transformed ontologicaylly, meaning our very being is transformed from this fallen nature subject to sin and death into the Divine Nature of God.  Of course we accomplish this via the Mysteries (or Sacraments) which enable us to receive the graces of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  But prayer is also one of the ways this is achieved.  As the prayer transforms us, the goal is for us to live the recited prayer in our lives.  We don't speak the prayer anymore, but rather think and act as the prayer says, thus making our lives the prayer to God.  And that would be pleasing to God, that we live a life according to how He taught us to live through Scripture and the teachings of the Apostles and the Church Fathers.  That is why as I said earlier, theologically correct prayers are important.  If the theology of our prayer is incorrect, our lives will be transformed incorrectly, and we'll be off the right path.  That is why Jesus said that the road to life is narrow (Matthew 7:14), because one tiny mistake in the theology of our prayers will lead us off the straight and narrow path, and lead us to damnation instead of salvation.


The greatest example of recited prayer in Eastern Christianity is of course the Jesus Prayer.  Its simple, yet speaks deeply.  The continuous invocation of the Divine Name of Christ, plus the admission that we are nothing but sinners begging for His mercy, its the entire Gospel of Christ summarized in one short paragraph.  "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."  A short and simple prayer that says so much.  Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  We are sinners.  We need His mercy to be saved.  Isn't that what Christianity is all about?  Why do we need to make up prayers worth 1000 words but doesn't really say anything?  And what else can we say, really, other than what we already know.  To pray to God is not only to talk with Him, but to give ourselves to Him by transforming ourselves through the prayer.  The goal of prayer is not to speak to God in human words, but to transform ourselves and create a union with God that is beyond all human comprehension.  Having the correct words lead us there because it guides us. Thus we take up "pre-written" prayers written by holy men and women before us who have been able to achieve such a union with God.


Finally, recited prayer is better than spontaneous prayer because recited prayer means we can pray as one.  One with our brothers and sisters on earth, one with the saints in heaven, and if the theology in our prayers are correct, we are one with God because what is expressed in our prayers is what has been revealed to us by God.  The highest form of prayer is the Divine Liturgy (or the Mass, for the Romans out there).  Compare that to free form services found in many Protestant denominations.  On a given Sunday you go to 10 different services and you get 10 different services.  One might say that variation is good.  The problem is you have 10 different beliefs.  Ever wonder why there are so many different denominations?  You go to a Divine Liturgy (or Mass or Holy Qurbana or any other equivalent) and its the same.  It gives us all the beliefs handed down to us by Christ through the Apostles and the Church Fathers.  While the externals differ from each Rite and each particular Church, the essence of the faith is the same.  We believe in a Trinitarian God, we believe that Christ became man, came into the world, we listen to the word of The Word, we offer the gifts of sacrifice which are made for us the Body and Blood of Christ, we give thanks to God and we receive God in Holy Communion.  It is the same every single time.  We need the repetition to transform ourselves.  It is like memorization for the soul.  When we memorize, we repeat until we can recall from memory.  When we pray repeatedly, we repeat until not only can we recall from memory, but our soul have joined our lips and our minds and that the words of the prayer echo within our souls and transform our lives and that we live the prayer, we become the prayer, and that prayer that is our very essence is what God will receive.  But only if the prayer is correct.

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Enthronement of a Romanian Greek Catholic Eparch

Saturday, February 11, 2012


Episcopal Enthronement of His Grace Most. Rev. Vasile Bizau as the New Eparch of the Romanian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Maramures after the Dead of its former Bishop, His Grace Most. Rev. Ioan Sisestean. And we can see the main rubrics surrounding a Episcopal Enthronement and a Episcopal Ordination. He was enthroned by His Beatitude Cardinal-Designate Lucian Muresan, Major Archbishop of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church. Bishop Vasile Bizau was previously the Bishop of Curia of the Romanian Greek Catholic Major Archdiocese of Fagaras Si Alba Iulia

Here below are the few Pictures of the Enthronement:










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Hierarchial Syro Malabar Catholic Holy Qurbana

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

  

Above is a fine example of a Hierarchial Holy Qurbana celebrated by a Syro Malabar Catholic Hierarch in India. On this Eastern Rite Liturgy, notice that the Eparch use his Crozier, Mitre and even a Blessing Cross, though at this Video we see that the Bishop does not have any Hand Cross, signifying the fact that half of the Syro Malabar Hierarchs are still Latinized. The only difference it had on the Holy Qurbana celebrated by a Priest is that the words in the Prayers of Altar Assistants changes, to denote that the Syro Malabar Liturgy is celebrated by a Bishop. One known Eastern Rite custom shown here is the Concelebration between the Eparch and his Priest and the Chanting of some Prayers in the Holy Qurbana in the Liturgical Language of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, which is Malayalam.



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History of the Byzantine Catholics in America

Friday, February 3, 2012

Many thanks to the Blog St. Elias... Today for this Link of Information regarding the start of the Greek Rite Catholicism in the United States



Historical Mirror Greek Rite Catholics 1884-1963

This link contains Facts from the History of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the United States. Also included here are the Papal Encyclicals Ea Semper and Cum Data Fuerit and the initial reactions, even the mass exodus of some Greek Catholics to Orthodoxy because of this somewhat "repressive" Documents


On showing this Files of accurate Historical evidences, we are not engaging for Polemics or whatsoever. By showing this Link we are trying to imply here that we should not repeat the mistakes from the Past, so as to fasten the healing from the Division cause by Schism, as the Papal Encyclical Oriental Lumen of His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II states: "That all maybe 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)


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