A Byzantine Catholic Community in The Carolinas

On the First Saturday of each month we will have a short informal presentation about our Church and Faith. All are welcome to attend and we will have sessions for Children and Adults.  Topics will change each month.

May 4th 

• Mysteries (Sacraments) of Reconciliation (Confession) and Anointing of the Sick

History of Byzantine Church.

Nativity Fast.

St. Nicholas.

Theophany.

Presentation / Meeting in the Temple.  

Preparation Season in Byzantine Faith 

Symbolism and Meaning of Aspects of Baptism, & Chrismation 

History and explanation of the Blessing of the Easter Basket

Pysanky Workshop:

Please come and bring a friend who is interested in deepening their knowledge of Jesus Christ and our Church.

Palm Sunday is the celebration of the triumphant entrance of Christ into the royal city of Jerusalem. He rode on a colt for which He Himself had sent, and He permitted the people to hail Him publicly as a king. A large crowd met Him in a manner befitting royalty, waving palm branches and placing their garments in His path. They greeted Him with these words: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! (John 12:13). 

The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the earliest Christian feasts, and was already being celebrated in the fourth century.   

The background of the Annunciation is found in the Gospel of Saint Luke (1:26-38). The troparion describes this as the “beginning of our salvation, and the revelation of the eternal mystery,” for on this day the Son of God became the Son of Man.

There are two main components to the Annunciation: the message itself, and the response of the Virgin. The message fulfills God’s promise to send a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15): “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; he shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for his heel.” The Fathers of the Church understand “her seed” to refer to Christ. The prophets hinted at His coming, which they saw dimly, but the Archangel Gabriel now proclaims that the promise is about to be fulfilled.

Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equals of the Apostles, and Enlighteners of the Slavs came from the Greek city of Thessalonica. 

The emperor summoned both of the holy brothers from the monastery and sent them to preach the Gospel to the Khazars. Along the way they stayed in the city of Korsun, There in Korsun they found a Gospel and Psalter written in Russian letters [i.e. Slavonic], and a man speaking the Slavic tongue, and learned from this man how to read and speak this language. After this, the holy brothers went to the Khazars, where they won a debate with Jews and Moslems by preaching the Gospel. 

Soon messengers came to the emperor from the Moravian prince Rostislav, who was under pressure from German bishops, with a request to send teachers to Moravia who would be able to preach in the Slavic tongue. The emperor summoned Saint Constantine (Cyril).

Saint Constantine prepared for the new task with fasting and prayer. With the help of his brother Saint Methodius and the disciples Gorazd, Clement, Sava, Naum and Angelyar, he devised a Slavonic alphabet and translated the books which were necessary for the celebration of the divine services: the Gospel, Epistles, Psalter, and collected services, into the Slavic tongue. This occurred in the year 863.

After completing the translation, the holy brothers went to Moravia, where they were received with great honor, and they began to teach the services in the Slavic language. 

This community is forming with the blessing of Bishop Kurt Burnette of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, New Jersey

This community is forming with the assistance of Fr. Steven Galuschik, Pastor of All Saints Church in North Fort Myers, Florida.  

We are offering weekly Liturgical services in the Byzantine Rite.

The Byzantine Catholic Church is an Eastern Church in union with Rome; Carpatho-Rusyn in background and is an American Eastern Church.  Our Liturgy blends the colors of our many icons with congregational chant and our fragrant incense in prayer.  

We invite you to come and see who we are and what we are all about as part of the Eastern half of the Universal Church.