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.

Signs and Symbols of the Byzantine Church

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

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

Life of the Apostles after Pentecost

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

the Lord took Peter, James, and John “up to a high mountain”—by tradition Mount Tabor—and was “transfigured before them.”

. . . and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as snow and behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish I will make three booths here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead” (Mt 17.1–92, see also Mk 9.1–9; Lk 9.28–36; 2 Pet 1.16–18).

 In the Transfiguration, the apostles see the glory of the Kingdom of God present in majesty in the person of Christ they see that “in Him, indeed, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” that “in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 1.19, 2.9). They see this before the crucifixion so that in the resurrection they might know Who it is Who has suffered for them, and what it is that this one, Who is God, has prepared for those who love Him. This is what the Church celebrates in the feast of the Transfiguration.  

The feast of the Transfiguration is presently celebrated on the sixth of August. The blessing of grapes, as well as other fruits and vegetables on this day is the most beautiful and adequate sign of the final ­transfiguration of all things in Christ. It signifies the ultimate flowering and fruitfulness of all creation in the paradise of God’s unending Kingdom of Life where all will be transformed by the glory of the Lord. 

In the Church’s annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is “the last and great day.” It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end—the achievement and fulfillment—of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of the beginning: it is the “birthday” of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness.

This double meaning and double joy is revealed to us, first of all, in the very name of the feast. Pentecost in Greek means fifty, and in the sacred biblical symbolism of numbers, the number fifty symbolizes both the fulness of time and that which is beyond time: the Kingdom of God itself. It symbolizes the fulness of time by its first component: 49, which is the fulness of seven (7 x 7): the number of time. And, it symbolizes that which is beyond time by its second component: 49 + 1, this one being the new day, the “day without evening” of God’s eternal Kingdom. With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples, the time of salvation, the Divine work of redemption has been completed, the fulness revealed, all gifts bestowed: it belongs to us now to “appropriate” these gifts, to be that which we have become in Christ: participants and citizens of His Kingdom.

   “I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God, and Your God” (John 20:17).

In these words the Risen Christ described to Mary Magdalene the mystery of His Resurrection. She had to carry this mysterious message to His disciples, “as they mourned and wept” (Mark 16:10). The disciples listened to these glad tidings with fear and amazement, with doubt and mistrust. It was not Thomas alone who doubted among the Eleven. On the contrary, it appears that only one of the Eleven did not doubt—Saint John, the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” He alone grasped the mystery of the empty tomb at once: “and he saw, and believed” (John 20:8). Even Peter left the sepulcher in amazement, “wondering at that which was come to pass” (Luke 24:12).

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.