Christ Our Pascha: In Communion with Rome
The Ukrainian Catholic Church: In Communion with Rome : The Ukrainian (Greek) Catholic Church has the following attributes:It is in full communion with the Holy See; It is an Eastern Catholic Church, following the traditions passed on from the Church in Constantinople; It has over 5 million members worldwide;It is the largest Eastern Catholic Church in communion with Rome; It has its own hierarchy (bishops, cardinal) that are subject to the leadership of the Holy Father in Rome.
Although Christianity was officially recognized as the "state religion" in Ukraine in 988 AD, St. Andrew, the first apostle of Christ, preached in the hills presently known as Kiev around 50 AD.St. Olga accepted Christianity in 945 and was baptized by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Her grandson, St. Vladimir the Great, Prince of Kievan Rus, accepted Christianity from Constantinople in 988 and proclaimed it the "state religion".Thus, religion in Ukraine was rooted in Eastern theology and liturgical traditions. Also, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, Apostles of the Slavs, were responsible for introducing the Cyrillic alphabet.
It is interesting to note that Ukraine, through the efforts of Prince Yaroslav the Wise during the 11th century, became the first European nation to be consecrated to the protection of the Mother of God - Pokrov.
During the "Great Schism" of 1054, Pope Leo XI of Rome and Patriarch Michael of Constantinople excommunicated each other. The Ukrainian Church thus, over time, became separated from the Holy See in Rome. However, the Union of Brest, in 1596, brought the Ukrainian Catholics back in full union with Rome. The Ukrainian Church was allowed to keep its customs and was given full autonomy as a "Particular" Church within the Byzantine rite.
When you visit a Ukrainian Catholic Church, you may notice some differences between this "Eastern Church" and the "Western Church" (i.e. Roman Catholic Church). In an "Ukrainian Catholic Church", you may experience: A more expressive Liturgy (icons, incense, repeated gestures, ceremonial singing); Very colorful priest’s vestments; Little or no statues in church; Icons are numerous; Evidence of Byzantium’s art, architecture, music and theological writings; Liturgies said in English or Ukrainian (or a combination of both); Parishioners following either the Gregorian or Julian calendars. The best way to describe the Eastern Catholic Churches is to paraphrase our Saint John Paul II. He eloquently stated that the Eastern Churches are like the "left lung" and the Western (Roman) Church is like the "right lung". Both lungs are needed to fully function. Taken from http://byzcath.org/ImmaculateConception/ukrainian.htm
What is a Byzantine Catholic Church? The Catholic Church is made up of 23 Particular Churches that are in communion with each other. All of the Catholic Churches have the same Christian faith, share in the same sacraments, and are united together by the leadership of the Pope of Rome, yet we express our faith according to our own rites.Each rite of the Catholic Church has its own faith tradition that has been shaped by its geographical culture, language(s), and history. All of the rites express their faith in different ways, yet they hold the same faith.The Ukrainian Catholic church worships according to the Byzantine Rite, which stems from the early church in Greece and Asia Minor. Our Church has an extremely rich spiritual, theological and scriptural tradition.As Byzantine Catholics we proudly maintain our orthodox liturgical, spiritual and theological way of life, yet we also recognize, work and pray with our Catholic brothers and sisters. In essence we are “Orthodox in communion with Rome”.
There are 14 Particular Catholic Churches that worship according to the Byzantine Rite. Each of these Churches share a common herritage of faith from the Greeks, yet each has developed further in a particular culture. Our Particular Church: the Ukrainian Catholic Catholic (also known as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church – UGCC) This Church has been shaped by its unique history, slavic culture, deep monastic tradition, and more recently extreme persecution at the hands of the Communists.The Ukrainian Catholic Church happens to be the second largest Catholic Church preceeded in size only by the Roman Catholic Church which worships according to the Latin Rite.
Do you have to be Ukrainian to be part of this Church? Absolutely not. The Ukrainian Catholic Church has many of its roots in what is today called Ukraine (thus the name), but we are made up of people from all cultures. (As they say: You dont have to be Ukrainian to be part of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, any more than you have to be Italian to be part of the Roman Catholic Church.) Taken from http://hspl.ca/hspl.ca/?p=8
An old legend tells that St. Andrew the Apostle blessed the hills of Kiev and foretold the victory of Christianity in the Ukraine. It is known with certainty that St. Clement, the third successor of St. Peter, was exiled by the Emperor Trajan to the Krimea, died there as a martyr and left an indelible influence on the Church in the Ukraine. Five hundred years later another exiled pope, Martin I, died a martyr's death on the Ukrainian coast for the unity of the Church. Martyrdom for the unity of Christians has remained the glorious mark of the Ukrainian Church. After the eastern schism she was the first Church to renew her union with Rome at Brest-Litovsk, and she has again and again sealed her loyalty to the Apostolic See with rivers of blood and mountains of corpses. This martyrdom reached its climax after the Second World War when, through the activity of Stalin and the Patriarch of Moscow, Ukrainians who were faithful to Rome were forcibly incorporated with the Orthodox Church. Countless laity, hundreds of priests and nearly all the bishops perished as a result of this unecumenical use of force, which those in authority in the Patriarchate of Moscow still look upon as a glorious page in the history of orthodoxy.