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Pastor Lay Representatives Cantors Director of Eastern Christian Formation |
The Churches of St. Michael the Archangel and The Blessed Apostles Peter & Paul are parishes of the Eparchy of Passaic, New Jersey, a diocese of the Byzantine-Ruthenian Metropolitan Church "sui iuris" of Pittsburgh, a self-governing Church of the Constantinopolitan or Byzantine tradition, in union with Rome and under the pastorship of the Pope of Rome.
As Eastern Christian churches, our parishes celebrate the Divine Mysteries according to the Constantinopolitan or Byzantine tradition, and are nourished by the spiritual and theological life of the early Christians of the East. As Catholic churches, our parishes maintian our juridical allegience to our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, as Supreme Pastor of the Church. Catholics of any tradition, Roman or Eastern, are free to practice their Catholic Faith with us, and may fullfil their ordinary liturgical obligations with us (though special attention should be given to Holy Days since our parishes follow the Byzantine rather than Roman liturgical calendar).
Although now a predominantly Amercian Church, the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic community traces its origins to Carpatho-Rus, known also as Carpatho-Ruthenia (Carpatho referring to the Carpathian mountains, and Ruthenia meaning "Little Russia"), situated between present day Slovakia and Ukraine. Originally evangelized in the ninth century by those equals-to-the-apostles, Saints Cyril and Methodius, this group received the Holy Gospel and Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments) from the Church of Constantinople. Although Cyril and his brother, Methodius, were Greek (from Thessalonika), they promoted the use of the vernacular language in worship. In time, Cyril and Methodius brought their liturgical books to Rome to receive the blessings of Pope Hadrian, and he in turn blessed their mission of establishing the Greek or Byzantine expression of the Catholic religion in the Carpathian mountains of Central Europe.
When the Great Schism of AD 1054 occured, separating the Roman and Constantinopolitan Churches from one another, the Ruthenian Church found itself by default among the communion of Orthodox Churches because of its Eastern origins; but reestabished its unity with Rome on April 24th, 1646. |
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Now, predominantly in the United States, with its administrative seat in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic Church has long ceased to be an immigrant community, and has become something unique: an American Catholic Church, in union with Rome, enlivened by the spiritual, liturgical and theological patrimony of the Early Apostolic Church as it developed in the Christian East. We invite all who sincerely seek to be one with Christ our true God to come and worship Him with us. |
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