Growing up in Los Ángeles County, where there is a church for every Eastern Catholic Rite under the sun, I developed a great appreciation for the "other lung" of Holy Mother Church. Recently, I've been brushing up on the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and yesterday I even went to the awesome liturgical supply/bookstore at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception here in Philadelphia to buy a few books. Which got me thinking... I have yet to come across any blogs in English dedicated to the Catholic Eastern Rites of the Church. So, I've been contemplating starting one up with weekly or bi-weekly postings. If there is some phenomenal blog on the Eastern Rites out there, someone please point me to it. Otherwise, I may just start branching out by month's end.-MJE
6 comments:
I like that cathedral on the outside - it's obviously modelled on Hagia Sophia. It's what the Greek Orthodox one in Eighth Street, St George's, should look like outside! (It's ex-St Andrew's Episcopal and looks like the Parthenon as was the style in the early 1800s - such Hellenism, pagan Greekness, is not right for a Christian church; Greek Christians are Romaioi, Romans.) Inside I like St George's better, a dark, comfortable early-1900s church interior were the iconostasis doesn't look like an afterthought. Byzantine Catholic churches make a good alternative to the Novus Ordo and as such are a sturdy refuge for Catholics but this Ukrainian Catholic place inside feels like how Paul has described Byzantine Catholicism - adequate liturgy and better trappings than the Novus Ordo but the underlying mentality is dead the same as the Irish at St Novus in the ’burbs. (And if you know Orthodoxy it's even more obvious. They've departed from that tradition.)
I know that shop well - a good resource especially if you're starting out with this rite. I remember as recently as 10 years ago when it was crammed in a rowhouse across Franklin Street from the cathedral and the now-deceased shopkeeper, Taissa, whom I found very friendly and helpful. Got the neckchain for my crucifix from her.
If you want your Byzantine Rite stuff more authentic/unlatinised and in the Russian recension there's now the Orthodox shop Svetoch at 9327 Krewstown Road in Northeast Philly (where many Russians live), 215-673-3431.
As for Byzantine Catholic blogs there's Word Incarnate, a nice one from a Ukrainian Catholic abbot (igumen, 'ih-GOO-men') in California, and Byzantine Ramblings, from a priest.
You also might want to do a Mystery Worshipper-style review in this blog of St Maron's in Tenth Street in South Philly. The Maronites from the Lebanon use a different rite from the Byzantine. They began essentially as vagantes from the Syrian Church before 1000. They're all under Rome and are the most modernised, most Novus Ordo-like, of all the Eastern Catholic churches.
I didn't realize that there was a custom of no-ikonostasis. However, Tim pointed me to the photo on the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral website of the old cathedral built by Bishop Ortynsky and there is only a rood screen! Yikes...
I will take a look at the blogs and the shop. Many thanks for the sugestions.
Great site. I'm moving to Philadelphia and looking for a good Catholic bookstore. I couldn't find your email address. I look forward to seeing your posts on diocesan parishes. Thanks.
Unfortunately, there is no really great bookstore for Roman Rite Catholics in this archdiocese. The bookstore at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral is the best in the area. The St. Jude Shops are mostly mediocre, the location in South Philly being the best of their stores.
If you are looking for a good parish, I'm going to recommend Our Lady of Lourdes in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia, which I have posted on a few times before. It offers a very conservative liturgy including the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo in Latin. Photos of the parish liturgy can be seen at: http://jdtreat.com
Other parishes offering the Traditional Latin Mass are: Our Lady of Consolation in the Tacony section of Philadelphia; and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Plymouth Meeting (Montgomery County). If you prefer a Novus Ordo parish just let me know what area of the city you will be moving to and I may be able to recommend a few. MiguelJoseErnst@verizon.net
Mine is there, too:
http://byztex.blogspot.com/
Also:
http://3acres.blogspot.com/
http://mizbyz74.squarespace.com/
http://squarezero.org/
http://hrm.ductape.net/blog/
All Eastern Catholics.
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