EUCLID, Ohio — Father Robert Jager remembers a time before 1989. "The whole world just surrendered to the red hordes and sacrificed the Christians behind the Iron Curtain to be forgotten,” he said of the years of communist oppression in Central Europe, where he grew up in the Greek Catholic Church. “However, it was the Byzantine Catholic Church in North America that spoke up for us,” he said. Father Jager recalled serving as an altar boy during communism in present-day Slovakia, then Czechoslovakia. READ MORE.

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — Two parishes, at either end of the eparchy, hosted special events to promote the message of Our Lady of Fatima from an Eastern Catholic perspective. St. Joseph Parish in Brecksville, Ohio, hosted the pilgrim icon of Our Lady of Fatima Sept. 7. A pilgrim statue has been traveling throughout the world since the early years of the Blue Army, now called the World Apostolate of Fatima. The apostolate, founded to promote the message of peace, repentance and conversion that the Mother of God shared at Fatima, is recognized by the Vatican as a Public Association of the Faithful. READ MORE.

MEDINA, Ohio — What started off as a gloomy morning ended as a gorgeous, sunny day, as 40 golfers enjoyed a fall golf tournament, delicious barbecue, fellowship and fun at the 13th Annual Father John Keblesh Memorial Golf Outing at the Bunker Hill Golf Club Sept. 7, organized by St. Emilian Parish in Brunswick, Ohio, where Father Keblesh had served. READ MORE.

ST. NAZIANZ, Wis. — Father Anthony Romens was tonsured a stavrophore monk for Holy Resurrection Monastery in St. Nazianz Sept. 8. Father Anthony was born in Milwaukee. He was baptized and raised Roman Catholic, but his spiritual search led him to the Romanian Catholic monastery, located about 85 miles north of Milwaukee. “The monastic tonsure (or solemn vows) is essentially a definitive marriage between a monastic’s soul and God,” said Father Anthony. READ MORE.

NEW YORK — The first national Byzantine Catholic Young Adult Convocation was held Aug. 1-4 at St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church in New York. About 50 young adults and 20 clergy attended the event, organized by the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic and its young adult ministry, Theosis in Action. Some traveled from as far away as Michigan and Indiana. Bishop Kurt Burnette of Passaic opened the weekend with Vespers and set the theme: “Together we are called to discipleship, transfigured through a new life in Christ, sent to proclaim the Gospel to the world.” READ MORE.

Everybody knows what it means to be a slave. Everyone has some form of slavery in their lives. It could be smoking, watching too much football, eating too much candy. The Gospel proposes a wonderful solution for our Christian life: how to live, how to proceed, in the United States in our current conditions. Today, the Gospel proposes to us the young man who wants to be perfect (Luke 18:18-30). He tells Jesus that he keeps all of the commandments. READ MORE.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — St. Nicholas Parish hosted its second Saints in the Summer children’s program July 20 for youth ages 4-13. The program focused on St. George, who was a soldier of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and martyred for refusing to reject his Christian faith. After a light lunch, organized by Subdeacon Phil Dinsmore and his wife, Cindy, the children engaged in a series of activities coordinated by parishioner Anne Nagrant, including a short talk by Subdeacon Dinsmore. READ MORE.

PARMA, Ohio — About 20 children attended Vacation Bible School, held at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist for Cleveland-area parishes, July 15-19. Children came from the cathedral, St. Mary, Holy Spirit and St. Joseph parishes. The theme was “Week of Celebration,” and the students learned about the daily liturgical cycle of the Byzantine Catholic Church. Each day began with the General Moleben except for Friday, when Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma celebrated Divine Liturgy with the children. READ MORE.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis announced he will create 13 new cardinals Oct. 5, choosing prelates from 13 different nations as a sign of “the missionary vocation of the church that continues to proclaim the merciful love of God to all men and women of the earth.” After the consistory to create the new cardinals in October, Pope Francis will have chosen more than half of the men who will enter the Sistine Chapel to elect his successor. READ MORE.

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — Family, tradition and friendship were strong themes among the hundreds of pilgrims at the 85th annual pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mount St. Macrina Aug. 31-Sept. 1. Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, New York, was the guest preacher at the closing Divine Liturgy of the pilgrimage, organized by the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. “There is a big difference between a pilgrim and tourist,” Bishop Mansour told the pilgrims. “People are going on a tour to get their money’s worth, that things go right for them. A pilgrim could have the most awful thing happen to them and then offer it up. They recognize that life isn’t only about them. READ MORE.

BURTON, Ohio — About 300 people attended the annual eparchial pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch, Aug. 17-18. The theme for this year’s pilgrimage was, “Rejoice, hope of all.” The pilgrimage began on Saturday afternoon with the lesser blessing of water, followed by Great Vespers with litija and blessing of pilgrims. At the blessing of water, Father Marek Visnovsky, the protosyncellus of the eparchy, said “quenching the spiritual thirst” is what’s important. He encouraged the pilgrims to drink the water and to bless themselves with it. Containers were available for people to take the water home. Vespers were celebrated by Father Visnovsky, with Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma presiding, retired Bishop John Kudrick of Parma in attendance, and Deacon Joseph Hnat serving. Subdeacon Miron Kerul-Kmec Jr., and seminarian Michael Kunitz assisted. READ MORE.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,   The celebration of the golden anniversary of the founding of our Eparchy of Parma is slowly winding down. Throughout this anniversary year, with our spiritual programs and festivities, we have expressed gratitude to God for His many blessings and graces in the past fifty years. At the same time, our great anniversary also motivates us to ponder our future — how do we want to move forward? Growing and advancing is not about starting from scratch, but about taking our cues from who we are and what we have at our disposal, and having the courage to see the future with hope. With this letter, I wish to present to you my vision for our future. READ MORE

PARMA, Ohio — Soon after the start of the new pastoral year Sept. 1, the Catholic Church in the United States will observe Catechetical Sunday Sept. 15. The national council of Eastern Catholic Eparchial Directors of Religious Education (ECED) has issued resource materials to Eastern Catholic parishes across the country in preparation for the launch of their respective Eastern Christian Formation programs this fall. The catechetical theme for all Eastern Catholic Churches in the United States this year is “The Journey to Emmaus,” from the Gospel of Luke (24:13-35). READ MORE.

CLEVELAND — The property of Holy Ghost Parish in Cleveland was sold by the eparchy this summer. Holy Ghost was one of the first Ruthenian parishes to be founded in Cleveland in 1909. It was suppressed in 2009, due to low membership. That same year, Bishop John Kudrick of Parma, now retired, founded the Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center, originally housed in the cathedral complex. He then moved the Cultural Center to Holy Ghost Church and rectory, located in the increasingly trendy Tremont neighborhood, in 2012. However, the church was found to have structural problems and the Cultural Center was re-situated in the cathedral complex and chancery offices in 2015. READ MORE.

DAVISBURG, Mich. — Sacred Heart parishioner Marissa Gross won first place in the Special Needs Class Equestrian Competition at the Oakland County Fair, held in Davisburg, Michigan, July 13. Gross, 26, who has Down Syndrome, began horseback riding eight years ago. READ MORE.

SOLON, Ohio — St. John the Baptist Parish has turned to two martyred bishops for their intercession in reviving the small faith community. About 30 people attended an evening celebration at the church for the reception of the relics of Blesseds Paul Gojdich and Basil Hopko July 23. Father Frank Firko, former postulator for the bishops’ cause of canonization and pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, was the keynote speaker. He brought literature about all three martyred bishops, including Blessed Theodore Romzha of the Eparchy of Mukachevo, Ukraine, as well as large icons depicting the lives of the bishops. READ MORE.

BARBERTON, Ohio — Miron Kerul-Kmec Jr. took one step closer to the priesthood this summer. Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma ordained the 26-year-old to minor orders of lector, reader, acolyte and subdeacon at his home parish of St. Nicholas July 28. At the same liturgy, Bishop Lach blessed the church’s completed icon screen, which was updated over a nearly four-year period with new icons by the subdeacon, who is also an iconographer. READ MORE.

Summer 2019: What do we need? Fewer rainy days and damaging storms? Less bickering and competition among our civic leaders, so they could work together for good and effective government? More people to come to church? Crime and violence to be gone? Peace throughout the world? Healing and health for those who are suffering? Healing the pain of broken relationships? The list could go on and on, and these are but a few of the ills with which we struggle in this time in which we live. However imperfect we think our lives may be with questions such as these, this is the gift of time that God has given to each of us in which to live every day as best we can. READ MORE.

MUNSTER, Ind. — Growing up in Long Island, New York, Father Steven Koplinka never understood why his family, who worshipped in the Roman Catholic Church on Sundays, chose to have funeral liturgies at the local Orthodox parish. It was only in his mid-life, after he was ordained a priest, that his aunt explained that both his maternal and paternal grandfathers were Byzantine Catholics who had immigrated to Long Island from Belarus. “There were no Byzantine Catholic parishes on Long Island in those days, so they went to the Roman parish on Sundays,” he told Horizons. READ MORE.

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — The Sisters of St. Basil the Great gathered July 30, in a spirit of joy and gratitude, to celebrate this year’s six diamond jubilarians and their years of dedicated service to God and the church. Over the years, each jubilarian in her own way expressed her commitment to be a praying, healing and life-giving presence in the Byzantine Catholic Church in the United States. READ MORE.