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Join our warm, faith-filled Byzantine Catholic outreach connected to the Pope. Discover vibrant liturgical worship and a close-knit community embracing spiritual growth and outreach.

A Byzantine Catholic Catechism

Embracing Eastern Catholic Heritage

Our parishes honor the Byzantine Catholic tradition, blending ancient worship with a welcoming community. We invite you to explore deep spirituality through rich liturgies and fellowship.

Byzantine Catholic Prayerbook

The Domestic Church

Ultimate union with God, of deification, is a constant pilgrimage which begins at the very
inception of an individual's life. As the Church Fathers stated centuries ago, this is man's purpose for
existence, and one to which he naturally moves. In order to become deified, one must become more
than like Christ, or an imitation of Christ; one must become Christ. There are no separate ways in which
one achieves this goal; an individual's entire life must be consumed by Christ. Fidelity to the gospel,
exercising extreme humility rather than pride, partaking of the sacramental Mysteries, and constant
prayer are not separate exercises - all, taken together and without division, are the manifestation
(singular case) of metanoia, or the conscientious decision to live totally in, with and for Christ, rather an
in, with and for the world.
Although all these aspects, taken together, are absolutely necessary in making the pilgrimage to
deification, perhaps the foundation is prayer. Without prayer, there is no mystical union with God;
without prayer, there is no point in living the fruits of metanoia. In the Eastern Christian Churches,
prayer is the key to metanoia, through which we become deified. Prayer is more than just attending
liturgical celebrations and receiving the sacramental Mysteries, whether on occasion or as a constant
practice. Prayer must begin in the home - the domestic Church - and must be carried out in practice in
the outside world, including Church, the workplace, the school and every other area of life. Without
prayer in the home, every other action, even "religious", is futile. Prayer requires discipline - the choice
to pray with the same, or greater, fervor that one exercises in fulfilling other duties. It also requires true
and sincere effort, coming from the heart, and not just from rote recitation. Prayer is conversation with
God, and though this conversing, the individual comes to mystically know God, through Jesus Christ, as
his Lord.

The lcon Corner

One's home should be a place of tangible prayer. Each Christian home should have an "lcon Corner." This constitutes the Home Altar or Family Shrine. It serves as the focal point for prayer. The lcon Corner usually consists of a table, stand or shelf with a linen or other cloth covering. Over the table are the icons of Our Lord (on the right) and Our Lady (on the left), often with a crucifix in-between. Other icons of personal choice may and should flank the icon corner. A perpetual candle can be bumed if it is not a safety hazard. Otherwise, candles are lit during times of prayer. Placed on the table are normally the following items: a festal icon depicting the season; the Bible; prayer books; holy water; blessed candles; the blessed palms and willows from Flowery Sunday; flowers from the Feast of the Dormition, and rosaries. The lcon Comer is placed in a prominent room, such as the living room, the family room or the master bedroom. Traditionally, it faces east, if such an arrangement is possible.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, the only-begotten, bom of the Father before all ages. Light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father through Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became man. He was also crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And He rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures. And He ascended into heaven, and sits as the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, and of His kingdom there will be no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son + is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke through the Prophets. In one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I profess one baptism for the remission of sins. I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.