Parma turns 50, looks to future with hope

PARMA, Ohio — It was a double golden jubilee weekend for the Byzantine Ruthenian Church in the United States, June 21-23.

Both the Metropolia of Pittsburgh and the Eparchy of Parma turned 50 this year, and a series of events were organized to mark the milestone.

In Parma, the community gathered for a two-day program at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, June 21-22. More than 300 people participated at the various events throughout the weekend. The next day, a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the cathedral in Pittsburgh, followed by a reception.

The presence and participation of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches, as well as more than a dozen other bishops from Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, Canada and the United States, as well as priests from across the metropolia, added to the spirit of celebration that weekend.

The founding of the sui iuris Byzantine Ruthenian Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh 50 years ago, and concurrently of the Eparchy of Parma, was a sign of hope for Greek Catholics in Europe and both must continue to inspire hope through their witness in the United States, said Cardinal Sandri.

Cardinal Sandri was one of 18 prelates to attend the golden jubilee celebration and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy of thanksgiving for the Eparchy of Parma at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist June 22.

Cardinal Sandri preached the homily and Metropolitan William C. Skurla of Pittsburgh was the main celebrant. The cathedral was filled to capacity and a choir, directed by Deacon Timothy Woods, led the congregation in prayer.



Cardinal Sandri spoke in his homily about the freedom the Byzantine Ruthenian Church enjoyed in the United States.

“I invite you in particular to give thanks for the gift of freedom that you have been able to experience in this country because, for many years, atheist and inhuman regimes oppressed different parts of Europe, while you have had the opportunity to develop and grow without that kind of obstacle. This freedom, as St. Paul says, must not become a pretext to lose your roots,” he said.

“In this jubilee, it is beautiful to think of the signs of light and hope that the Eparchy of Parma has been able to sow in these 50 years of life,” he said.

In an interview with Horizons, Archbishop Skurla, who was living in Minnesota when the metropolia and the Eparchy of Parma were founded in 1969, recalled the excitement in their early years.

“There was a real energetic period of a time of growth within the Byzantine and Ukrainian churches in the United States, creating new structures and reaching out and establishing parishes throughout the Midwest and the West,” he said. With the new structures came the opportunity to more ably serve the needs of the people outside of the usual Pittsburgh and Parma centers, he added.

In addressing the congregation after the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma recalled the effect the establishment of the Metropolia of Pittsburgh had on the Greek Catholic Church in Europe, which was being oppressed and persecuted by the communists at the time. Bishop Lach, who grew up in Czechoslovakia, compared the founding of the first Ruthenian metropolia in the world with a voice of hope in dark times.

“It came through Vatican Radio, for example, the Voice of America, and other sources to encourage believers in Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and Hungary, that we have hope, that we have hope in Jesus Christ,” he said.

Pope Paul VI created the metropolia in 1969, “as a father...to protect and take care of believers in the United States,” he continued. “It was something wonderful, because it was the oldest metropolitan church of Ruthenians in the world.”

Bishop Lach thanked the eparchy’s clergy, the faithful, some of whom drove long distances to join the celebration, and the 17 prelates who attended. In addition to Cardinal Sandri and Archbishop Skurla, the prelates included Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia; Archbishop Fulop Kocsis of Hajdudorog, Hungary; Archbishop Jan Orosch of Trnava, Slovakia; Bishop Milan Sasik of Mukachevo, Ukraine; Bishop Marian Andrej Pacak, CSsR, of the Slovak Catholic Eparchy of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Canada; Bishop John Michael Botean of the Romanian Catholic Eparchy of St. George’s in Canton, Ohio; Bishop Jacob Angadiath of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago; Bishop Bohdan Danylo of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat of Parma; Bishop Kurt Burnette of Passaic; Bishop John Pazak, CSsR, of Phoenix; retired Bishop John Kudrick of Parma; and retired Bishop Gerald Dino of Phoenix. Roman Catholic bishops from Ohio attended, namely Bishops Robert Brennan of Columbus, Nelson Perez of Cleveland, and Daniel Thomas of Toledo. Monsignor Walter Erbi, who represented the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, was present.



Cardinal Sandri presented Bishop Lach with a silver medal of Pope Francis to commemorate the golden jubilee, and Bishop Lach presented Cardinal Sandri with an icon of the Mandylion, painted by Father Marek Visnovsky, an iconographer and the protosyncellus of Parma.

A buffet luncheon and the screening of Horizons’ first documentary, “From Mariapoch to Mariapoch,” followed the liturgy.

Several of the people present, including members of the eparchy since its inception, said they had hopes for the eparchy’s continuation and growth in its next 50 years.

Mary Ann Giamboi of St. Nicholas Parish in Lorain, Ohio, said she hopes to see the “Byzantine Catholic religion expanding to many more people who will love and live the tradition.”

George Durisin of St. Stephen Parish in Allen Park, Michigan, said he, too, hopes the church will grow. The cantor of 60 years recalled when so many people attended church, some had to sit outside.

“It’s all in God’s hands,” he said. “We need more parishioners in our churches. We lost lots of them; people just go away. It is sad.”

Nicholas J. Nagrant, of Sacred Heart Parish in Livonia, Michigan, said his hope is “that we realize that we could be an influence to not just the ‘other lung’ of the Catholic Church but to the world. We further and further recognize our religious identity, our spiritual identity and what we can bring to the world.”



“I am more hopeful,” said Deacon Lawrence Hendricks of Sacred Heart Parish. “I think there are things moving ahead. Father Tom (Loya) and I have tried for a few years to get something going in Ann Arbor, and I think now may be the time.

“Bishop Milan’s mission for his sheep is to be saints,” Deacon Hendricks continued. “God is present always with us. Bishop answered what gives him hope for the future, and with that, I have big hopes for the future because Jesus Christ is Lord, and Jesus Christ is the Lord of this church.”

Deacon Hendricks said he was also impressed with the youth from the Boys and Girls Camps who attended the anniversary celebration.

“I heard some of the youth give responses to the difference between knowing about Jesus Christ and knowing Jesus Christ. The Byzantine youth know the importance of knowing Jesus Christ,” he said.

Paula Oshinski of St. John Chrysostom Parish in Columbus, Ohio, said her hope for the eparchy’s next 50 years is that “it just keeps growing.”

“I see hope in the youth,” she said. “There’s a new spirit that I see — more than we used to have.”

Barbara Fedorchak of St. Michael Parish in Merrillville, Indiana, said she is hopeful for her parish.

“We just got a new priest; I think he will do some good at our church. People will start coming back,” she said.

Shalimar Masters of St. Joseph Parish in Brecksville, Ohio, is a newer member of the eparchy.

“I envision even more expressions of the beautiful unity we saw today between East and West,” she said. “I definitely see a continuing growth in new vocations.”

Frank Hartung, a young adult of St. Barbara’s Prayer Community in Dayton, Ohio, expressed his vision of growth in a different light.

“I hope we can really grow and help the rest of the church that doesn’t even know we exist. We have to be that bridge, to get to the place where they know about us, to lessen the animosity between our churches,” he said.
 
Caption 1: Cardinal Leonardo Sandri displays the icon of the Mandylion, which he received as a gift from Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma in commemoration of the eparchy's golden jubilee. The icon was painted by Father Marek Visnovsky.

Caption 2: Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma addresses the congregation at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Parma, Ohio, June 22, after the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, celebrated in commemoration of the eparchy's 50th anniversary. Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, on the presider's throne and, to his right, his secretary, Father Flavio Pace, look on.
 
Caption 3: Metropolitan William C. Skurla of Pittsburgh presents the blessed gifts prior to the consecration. The archbishop was the main celebrant for the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy.
 
Caption 4: Cardinal Leonardo Sandri (center) poses with Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, (back row, right), as well as Father Marek Visnovsky and Father Visnovsky's family and friends at the luncheon organized for Parma's golden jubilee June 22.
 
(Photos: Reen Nemeth)