Divine Liturgy

Schedule:

Saturdays at 3:30pm | Sundays at 10:30am | Weekdays & Holy Days – Please refer to the bulletin

Feast Days

In the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the liturgical year begins on September 1st. Throughout the year, the faithful witness and observe various feasts that honor Christ, the most holy Mother of God, the martyrs, apostles and saints. Throughout the church liturgical year, there are many feasts that are ascribed the denotation of “major” feasts and, supplementary to these feasts, the Ukrainian Catholic Church also celebrates “minor” feasts.

Introduction

So, it’s your first visit to our church, and you feel a little out of your comfort zone. That’s OK. It’s perfectly natural when worshipping in the Ukrainian Catholic Church that you feel a little strange. There are so many things occurring simultaneously that it is difficult even for some parishioners to fully comprehend what is happening during Divine Services. Hopefully, this brief introduction can serve as a tutorial of what to expect (or what you witnessed) in our Church. If not, please feel free to ask anyone of us any question you would like, and we will gladly answer it for you.

When approaching a Ukrainian Catholic Church, one notices immediately that the church itself is adorned with domes. As opposed to the steeples, which attempt to “reach” heaven, found in the Western tradition, these domes are round, which represents perfection and in turn represents heaven. Even in the church proper, the inside of the central dome contains an icon of Christ the Pantocrator. Pantocrator is Greek in origin and literally means “Ruler of all”. This icon is a constant reminder that God is eternally with us. In His left hand, Christ holds the book of Gospels, by which we are all judged. With His right hand, Christ blesses us. The icon therefore depicts God as Judge as well as merciful as he constantly bestows His blessings upon all of us.

The domes also represent the Light of Christ. Usually, they are flame-shaped and covered in gold. On top of each dome, one will find a cross (usually the three-barred Saint Andrew’s Slavic cross) that does not contain the corpus of Christ. After Christ rose from the dead, the symbol of the cross no longer held the meaning of fear and death; rather, it became the symbol of salvation, for through the cross, Christ trampled death and bestowed eternal life upon all of us.

Even when someone first walks into one of our churches, one is immediately confronted with the business of the décor of the interior of the temple. One notices icons on the walls, ceiling, behind the altar and choirs. The reason for such iconography within the temple is that, in the Early Church, the building itself served as a catechism lesson for the faithful. There were no books that people could read, and the only educated class of people was the clerics. The clerics would use the Church iconography as an instructional tool so that the people can see first-hand visually what the Gospels and sermons depicted verbally. The depiction of feasts and saints in their heavenly form allows the faithful to witness the greatness of the glory of God through icons or “windows into heaven”.

The church building itself is divided into three sections:

1. The Narthex
2. The Sanctuary
3. The Altar

The Narthex is the section of the church that represents the fallen world. This is where the Mysteries (Sacraments) of Initiation begin. Before being taken into the temple for Baptism, Chrismation (Confirmation) and Holy Eucharist, the catechumen renounces Satan in preparation to enter the temple. As the priest leads the catechumen and his/her sponsors into the temple, they profess the Nicene Creed.

The Sanctuary is where the congregation gathers for the celebration of Divine Services. If you think back to the old Hunchback of Notre Dame film, the hunchback runs into the church and exclaims “Sanctuary”. The church itself is where people running from the law would escape to evade civil law. If you observe church buildings in Eastern Europe, and even in Rome, you notice that there are no pews in the sanctuary. Traditionally, the faithful stand for the entirety of the Divine Services. In fact, pews emanate from Protestant worship where the main portion of the service is a lengthy sermon. Also, the Christian East emphasizes freedom of spirit during prayer, and sometimes you can witness people lighting candles, venerating icons and making profound bows to the floor (Metania) throughout various parts of Divine Services. Even if there are pews present in the sanctuary, it is still traditional to stand for the entirety of the Divine Services (except of course to sit for the sermon). This is especially true for the Divine Liturgy because the Liturgy emphasize the Risen Christ. Since we are celebrating a Resurrectional liturgy, the proper posture would be to stand as we, the literal Body of Christ, are rejoicing and participating in the Resurrection rather than merely watching some type of performance.

The sanctuary itself represents heaven where we join the celestial powers in their unending hymns of praise. Remember, the angels, archangels, principalities, powers and dominions are eternally praising God, and, when we attend Divine Services, we are taking part in their everlasting praise. Time and temporality mean absolutely nothing when the faithful gather as the Body of Christ for Divine Services, for one cannot place a “time” on eternity. As aforementioned, the sanctuary is adorned with icons of Christ, the Mother of God, saints and feasts to remind us that we are in the presence of the Divine. Again, icons reflect the Divine; they do not merely portray humanistic characteristics and qualities.

The altar is where the Sacrifice takes place. This section of the church building shows us what is to come after we repose in the Lord. We are constantly reminded of the blessings to come through Christ’s teachings, which rest on the Holy Table in the form of the Gospels, as well as through the most precious Body and Blood of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, of which we partake each and every Divine Liturgy.

Hopefully, this brief introduction answers some of the questions you may have about entering a Ukrainian Catholic Church. The usual question involves that “wall of icons” (iconostasis) that apparently separates the sanctuary from the altar. We shall discuss the iconostasis in its own section.

In the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the liturgical year begins on September 1st. Throughout the year, the faithful witness and observe various feasts that honor Christ, the most holy Mother of God, the martyrs, apostles and saints. Throughout the church liturgical year, there are many feasts that are ascribed the denotation of “major” feasts and, supplementary to these feasts, the Ukrainian Catholic Church also celebrates “minor” feasts.

The following is a list of the church’s “major” feasts:

As you can see, the majority of these feasts commemorate events that occurred during the lives of Christ and His Most Holy Mother. Each feast bears its own significance within the liturgical cycle of our Church Year.

The liturgical cycle for Great Lent and Easter, or Pascha as we call it in the Christian East, has a cycle of its own, beginning with the Lenten Triodion, progressing into Great and Holy Week. The glorious and holy Sunday of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ begins the Paschal season that concludes on “Green” Sunday or Pentecost.

It is the duty of every Christian to seek education in the Faith. During our baptism, we, as Christians take vows to live and grow with our Faith acknowledging Jesus Christ as our Teacher. Please take this opportunity to educate yourself and learn about the mysteries, beliefs, traditions, and feasts of our church.

This section just serves as a couple reminders of some of the motions Ukrainian Catholics practice when they enter the temple for Divine Services. We invite you to join us in these practices when you come to pray with us.

Welcome to this Holy House

This section just serves as a couple reminders of some of the motions Ukrainian Catholics practice when they enter the temple for Divine Services. We invite you to join us in these practices when you come to pray with us.

• When you first enter the church, you should make the sign of the cross. In the Christian East, the sign of the cross is made as such:
  • We first touch our head
  • Then our heart
  • Then our right shoulder
  • Then our left shoulder

If you notice in the image to the right, the person is holding his hand with three fingers (the thumb, index and middle) together and the ring and pinky are together.

• The three fingers symbolize the three Persons in One as we profess the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
• The two fingers represent the natures of Christ: human and divine.

• The reason why, in the Christian East (for both Orthodox and Catholic), we touch the right shoulder first is to acknowledge Christ who sits at the Right Hand of the Father. This is actually the most ancient form of making the sign of the cross.
• After making the sign of the cross, the faithful make a small bow (simple metania) as a sign of reverence.
• After blessing yourself upon entering the temple, you should then walk up the main aisle and venerate (kiss) the icon that rests on the tetrapod. The tetrapod is what looks like a table, and it is placed in the center of the aisle. On it, you will find a cross, two candles and an icon depicting either the patron saint of the faith community or a specific feast or saint whose day it is. To venerate the icon, you bless yourself twice, kiss it, and then conclude with a final sign of the cross and simple bow. This veneration shows your love and respect for the saint(s) depicted on the icon, and it is also much like the icon as a window into the Divine reflects the love and respect with which the particular saint serves God. It is also a warm sign of greeting. Much like when you go to grandma’s house and greet her with a hug and kiss, so should you greet Christ and His followers with the same respect.
• After venerating the icon on the tetrapod, if there are analoys (podium-like stands) that hold icons, you would proceed to them and venerate the icons on them.
• It is also customary in to make an offering of light when entering a Ukrainian Catholic Church. In Saint Michael’s we have candle stands in the back of the sanctuary where you can make your offering. In other churches, you will either see candle stands flanking the analoys or a specific “candle room” where you can light a candle. The sign of lighting a candle and offering a sacrifice of light connects us to Christ, for Christ proclaims “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). As we light our candle, we are immediately reminded that we are no longer slaves to sin, but rather that we have the light of Christ to guide and direct us in our lives.
• We then proceed to our place within the sanctuary, pray silently and await the beginning of Divine Services.