THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE ARCHEPARCHY OF PITTSBURGH
“angels build bridges”
Inside
Scenes from the 15th annual Women’s Day of Reflection Page 3
VOL. 63 NO. 7
happy valley sunday
Archbishop WIlliam celebrates the Divine Liturgy at Penn State University Page 8
JUNE 2018
blessing on the mount
Mt. Macrina Manor in Uniontown, Pa. is re-dedicated Page 15
A six-year “blessing”
A blessed moment
a journey ends at the seminary
by Kathe Kress Serra Club communications liaison
The idea of transformation, of becoming divine, is clearly central to Aphrahat. While the language of the Greek Fathers’ theosis is absent, he phrases it in an idiom much more akin to that of Second Temple apocalypses, and of the later Jewish Ezekial chariot-throne mystics of whom he was a likely contemporary. The annual lecture series is sponsored by the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius, a community of mentors, teachers, and students forming leaders for the Church in an environment of Christian unity, integrity, and missionary spirit, with a commitment to ecumenism. This year’s lecture was followed by a
In an amazing narrative of an accomplished wife, mother and career nurse, Helenanne Hochendoner told the Byzantine Catholic Serra Club about the most recent chapter or her life at their April 18 meeting. She invited Serrans to journey with her as she worked to attain a Master of Arts in Theology at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Helenanne began by speaking of her love of the Seminary from Day One: “It has its own special ambiance — the incense, the quiet, the surroundings, and most especially the chapel. It is a place of peace, a sacred place where the presence of God can be felt.” Helenanne described her six years at the Seminary as a “blessing” that “has not stayed only with me, but has flowed to my family and others.” The Seminary experience, while the “most profound” in her life, was also most unusual in that she was surrounded, for the most part, by the students and faculty who were mostly male. Helenanne hopes “that changes and is changing,” especially since the Seminary’s online education program is up and running. Her experience is unique in that it was gained “in a man’s world.” Helenanne felt a need to tell a little about herself and what brought her to the Seminary. Married at an early age to John, they have four daughters. She has a BSN with experience in a pediatric trauma program, ICU and burn units. With the encouragement of her husband,
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Story continued on page 12
Father Vasyl Banyk, pastor of Holy Trinity in Sykesville, Pa., blesses dairy cattle at Kennis Dairy Farms on April 23, the Feast of St. George. He also blessed Kenterra Golf Course and fields. The Kennis families are parishioners at Holy Trinity.
“The Place of the Presence of God”
archbishop alexander golitzin speaks at seminary lecture Press release
His Eminence Alexander [Golitzin], Archbishop of Dallas, the South, and the Bulgarian Diocese and a popular speaker and gifted teacher, was the keynote speaker at the 18th annual SS. Cyril and Methodius Lecture of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary May 16 at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Munhall, Pa. Archbishop Alexander spoke on “The Place of the Presence of God: Aphrahat of Persia’s Portrait of the Christian Holy Man.” The entire lecture can be viewed at the Seminary website: www.bcs.edu, under “Latest News.” This year’s lecture was attended by almost 90 people, including Archbishop William Skurla, faculty, staff, seminari-
ans, graduates and members of the Board of Directors of the Seminary. Aphrahat the Persian sage is the earliest writer in Christian Syriac of whom we have proof. Writing in the 330s and 340s in the vicinity of modern Iraqi Kurdistan, his works are notable for their relative freedom from the lexicon and thought world of Greek philosophy; neither does he appear to know any prominent, pre-Nicene Church Fathers. Although unacquainted with Greek and Latin patristic literature, Aphrahat clearly possessed considerable authority in the Church of the Persian Empire. Archbishop Alexander examined the portrait Aphrahat painted of the holy man in his fourteenth Demonstration.