About Us
Formation
Our Divine Liturgy
Our Divine Liturgy
This community was formed in 2016 and is growing in Fort Mill South Carolina. Fort Mill is minutes from North Carolina and 25 minutes from Downtown Charlotte.
Our Divine Liturgy
Our Divine Liturgy
Our Divine Liturgy
We Celebrate The Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom - Byzantine (Ruthenian) Rite.
Divine Liturgy Celebrated Weekly on Saturdays since January 2018
During the Great Fast we will celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St Basil.
Upcoming Services
Our Divine Liturgy
Upcoming Services
- Sat Mar 25 Divine Liturgy @ 4 PM @ St. Philip Neri Ministry Center (building across from the main church). Feast of Annunciation
- Sat Apr 1 Divine Liturgy @ 4 PM @ St. Philip Neri Ministry Center.
- Sat Apr 8 Divine Liturgy @ 4 PM @ St. Philip Neri Ministry Center.
March 25
The Annunciation to the Most-Holy Theotokos
The Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to the Virgin who was betrothed to Saint Joseph: “Hail, thou who art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
And Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ And the angel departed from her.” (Luke 1: 26-38)
Meatfare Saturday and Saturdays of the Great Fast
ALL SOULS SATURDAY
“The Holy Fathers were convinced that the commemoration of the departed by alms and sacrifices (Divine Liturgies) brings great comfort and benefit to them.”
The custom of offering prayers and sacrifices for the departed comes to us from the Old Testament. Holy Scripture praises the custom as holy and wholesome or pious, as is written in the II Book of Maccabees, ch. 12, v. 45: “lt is therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins.”
ln the Byzantine Rite, we commemorate the deceased every day at the Divine Liturgy immediately after the Consecration with the petition: “Remember, O Lord, all those who have departed in the hope of resurrection unto eternal life … N.N. … , and grant them rest where the light of Your face shines.” (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom)
The Byzantine Church has, since the ninth century, established a special day of prayer for the departed popularly known as “Za dušna Subota” (Gr. Psycho-sabbaton; psyche-soul) which literally translated means Souls Saturday. Since the Synaxarion calls for the “universal commemoration” and prayer for “all the souls departed in the faith,” fittingly then, in English, we call these Saturdays – All Souls Saturdays.
ln the Byzantine Liturgical Year there are five All Souls Saturdays – namely, Meat Fare Saturday, the Second, Third and Fourth Saturdays of the Great Lent, and Pentecost Saturday. Meat-Fare Saturday as a special day of prayer for the deceased can be traced down to the sixth and seventh century, the time when the Typikon of St. Saba, known as the Jerusalem Typikon, had developed. On Meat-Fare Sunday we liturgically commemorate the Last Judgment (Mt. 25:31-46). Therefore, on the previous day, we, in our charity, intercede with the merciful Judge for the de ceased that they be placed at His right hand when He will come to judge the Living and the dead. During the ninth century, the Second, Third and Fourth Saturdays of Lent were also dedicated to the commemoration of the dead. On Pentecost Saturday we commemorate “all the departed souls since Adam” (cf. Pentecostarion).
Every year, just before Meat-Fare Saturday, the families give the lists of their departed loved ones (Hramoty) to the pastor with the request that they be mentioned at the services held for the deceased on the All Souls Saturday. Members of the family are encouraged to attend these services on the All Souls Saturdays for by their presence and by their personal prayers and receiving Holy Communion they strengthen the bond of love with their departed loved ones and indeed keep their memory everlasting!
PRAYER FOR THE DECEASED (Ascribed to St. John Chrysostom) O God of all spiritual and corporeal beings, You trampled death, broke the power of Satan and granted life to the whole world; now, O Lord, grant also rest to the soul of Your departed servant N. in a place of light, freshness, and peace, where there is no pain, sorrow, or mourning. As a gracious God and loving mankind, forgive him (her) every transgression committed by him (her) in word, deed, or thought, since there is no man alive who has not sinned. You alone are without sin and Your justice is everlasting justice, and Your word is always the truth. For You are the resurrection, the life and the rest of Your departed servant N., O Christ our God, and we render glory to You, together with Your Eternal Father, and Your most Holy, gracious, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.
Excerpt from Byzantine Leaflet Series No.6 With Ecclesiastical Approbation March, 1977 BYZANTINE SEMINARY PRESS Pittsburgh, Pa. 15214
February 2
Meeting of Our Lord
In accordance with tradition, Forty days after Christ was born He was presented to God in the Jerusalem Temple. Forty days after Christmas, on the second of February, the Church celebrates the feast of the presentation called the Meeting (or Presentation) of the Lord.
The meeting of Christ by the elder Simeon and the prophetess Anna (Lk 2.22–36) is the main event of the feast of Christ’s presentation in the Temple. It was “revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Lk 2.26) and, inspired by the same Spirit, he came to the Temple where he met the new-born Messiah, took Him in his arms and said:
Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for the revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Thy people Israel (Lk 2.29–32).
It is customary in many churches to bless candles on the feast of the Meeting of the Lord.
More Details about Us
Our Eparchy
This community is forming with the blessing of Bishop Kurt Burnette of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, New Jersey
Clergy
Our Celebrant is Fr. Vasyl Sokolovych, Adminstrator of SS Cyril and Methodious church in Cary (Raleigh) North Carolina.
About the Byzantine Catholic Church
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.
The big news
Check out the Eparchial Newsletter. Available online, or in print for only $15 per year.
Come Join Us
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.