THE HOLY BYZANTINE CATHOLIC ORTHODOX  CHURCH INC A TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY

Statement of Purpose: We are a Christian Community called to realize our spirituality by studying, living and preaching Christ's teachings. We are dedicated to the practice of a Catholic, Orthodox and Reform faith, where all are welcome. We are called to encounter the forgiving and loving presence of the Holy Trinity in one another and in our celebration of the Sacraments. Together we endeavor to love, comfort and give the hope of Our Savior Jesus Christ to all through acts of kindness. Our Roots: Where do We Come From? Christianity was born in the Middle East in the land of Israel also called the Holy Land. The Church spread out from Jerusalem and took on the ways of the people that accepted the message of salvation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why today we have Eastern, and Western traditions reflecting these cultures. In this country most Christian churches are "Western" because their roots are in Western Europe. They reflect the cultures of the European immigrants who founded them. Other church was started by people from Eastern Europe or the Middle East, many still keep the religious ways of the Holy Land: Jerusalem, where Christ (Messiah) founded His church; Antioch, where the name "Christian" was first used; Damascus, where Paul was converted. The Byzantine Catholic Orthodox Church inc., reflects the traditions of Semitic, Greek, Slavic, Byzantine traditions but most important it  represents our Western culture in our Liturgical Rite via culture, language, art and music. In 1927, Saint Aftimios (an Archbishop) became the first Ruling Hierarch of the Church when Metropolitan Platon and the Synod of Bishops of the American Russian Orthodox Dioceses, meeting in South Canaan,  Pennsylvania, carried out the will of Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and helped set up the (autocephalous) American Orthodox Church. Under Saint Aftimios, the Church in America was established and incorporated on the basis of an excellent Constitution, designed to bring true unity to American Orthodoxy. Our Community: We are an active community loving each other as members of Gods holy family. We belong to Christ and one another. Because of this great love we have for God we come together and join in worship celebrating the risen Christ among us with joy and jubilation. In the Byzantine Western tradition we are expose to experience all of our senses in worship. We see icons, vestments, candles; we smell incense; we hear continual singing; we taste blessed foods and we use physical gestures such as bowing, prostrating and crossing ourselves to express our wonder at the glory of God. Our love for the risen Christ expresses itself in the community in the joy in each others company, so we find the time to share frequent meals and social times. We open ourselves to support one another in the trials of daily life. As a community we live one day at a time in the unity with the Holy Trinity and a constant approach for our spiritual nourishment the Holy Eucharist. The Western Byzantines also stress a personal spiritual life "in secret, so that the Father, who sees all in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:6). Greatest of these is personal prayer in the silence of our own hearts, where we can speak honestly with God. We call to the Most High (Bless it be His Name) in the prayer that our Lord taught us to pray 'The Our Father' which sums up our constant need of the love of God. In addition, Byzantine Christians are called to fast and search within in secret as Jesus commanded (Matthew 6:1-8). By refusing to answer immediately to all of our "earthly desires, we express our need to continue our daily conversion by subjecting our weaknesses to the Power of the Holy Spirit that will work within us in order for us to unity with the Holy One. The most difficult obstacle to our growth is the weakness and brokenness of our personalities. This is why the Byzantine Churches call on their members to engage in "Spiritual Warfare" in the arena of their hearts and minds", with the help a Spiritual director (Priest, Deacon, Deaconess or Elder) in order to provide them advice and direction.                                           @2007 by The Holy Byzantine Catholic Orthodox Church inc.                                                                                  All right reserved