Eastern Catholic Saints

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handmaidenByzC

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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I was byzantine catholic as a young child…but because of divorce of parents had to wait until adult to practice again. Also, I have lived many places where there were no byzantine churches. I learned about the "modern saints from the latin church. I would like to learn our traditions. I look at our calendar and know no one except St Elias, the Theotokus, etc. Can you help me find out where I learn about our saints on our calender? I have bought orthodox books in the past and have not enjoyed them…because they were argumentative (like message boards)…what is TRUE orthodoxy becomes an angry debate sometimes. I just want to understand and love my church without a bad attitude. Any suggestions to start??
thank you so much,
Handmaiden
 
Probably the best way to learn about the saints on the Byzantine calendar would be to purchase the voluminous “Synaxarion” available from St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary Press. With certain local variations, the Byzantine Catholic liturgical calendar is identical to the Orthodox liturgical calendar.
 
  1. thank you so much…I see authorship by a hieromonk volumes 2, 3, 4…no volume 1…is this it??
  2. also, do we speak of “doctors of the church”
  3. and how long since canonization is required before the saint will appear on our calender?
thank you ever so much,
handmaiden
 
Master Beadsman Phillip was referring to a synaxarion that contains the names of many Orthodox saints canonized by the Orthodox Church alone, as well as saints that both East and West honour.

We do speak of “doctors” or “Teachers” of the Church (“Doctor” = “Teacher”) like the Cappadocian and Alexandrian Doctors/Teachers.

For the Eastern Catholic Churches, they have not yet taken back control of the canonization of their own saints, so they follow the canonization rules of Rome - whatever the Congregation for Saints says about this or that Servant of God of the Catholic East is what the law is . . . for now 😉

Alex
 
so I guess there is no book to go along with our calender? we are sort of caught between both worlds. my priest laments that we do not know the saints…but we have not gone to seminary…to where should we lay people go??

thank you,
handmaiden
 
handmaidenByzC said:
  1. thank you so much…I see authorship by a hieromonk volumes 2, 3, 4…no volume 1…is this it??
  2. also, do we speak of “doctors of the church”
  3. and how long since canonization is required before the saint will appear on our calender?
thank you ever so much,
handmaiden
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There are probably a number of versions of the Synaxarion according to the saints particular to each sui iuris/autocephelous Church. In other words, although the Melkite/Antiochian, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, etc. Churches (both Eastern Catholic and Orthodox) are all part of the Byzantine tradition, they will honor “local” saints that are unique to their particular Church. For example, the Ruthenians may honor Blessed Theodore Romzha in their liturgical calendar, whereas the Melkites and Romanians wouldn’t. Similarly the Ukrainians may honor Met. Andrew Sheptytsky (perhaps not yet, but one day God willing), but he is a saint unique to them and would therefore not be found on the Melkite or Italo-Byzantine calendar.

Sadly, I’ve never seen any form of Eastern Catholic Synaxarion. The best we can do is look at the various Orthodox Synaxaria. We mostly honor the same saints anyhow.

Also, have a look at the monthly Menaion for your particular Church (I’m presuming you’re Ruthenian/Byzantine). The Metropolitan Cantor Institute may be able to help you out with that. The Menaion is the liturgical book(s) containing the cycle of feasts of saints as well as the Great Feasts.

As Alex pointed out, the East does indeed recognize “doctors” or “teachers” of the Church. More customarily we refer to them as the Church “Fathers.” Whereas in the Latin West this term has come to be applied primarily to the Patristic Fathers of the Early Church, the East has used the term in a much more general sense to denote great teachers whose writings are considered safe guideposts for orthodox teaching and understanding. “Fathers” in this sense could apply equally to someone from the first few Centuries of Christianity, right down to modern day saints and teachers. I personally consider Archbishops Joseph Raya, Joseph Tawil, and Elias Zoghby to be great “Fathers” of the Melkite Church. Likewise I consider Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky to be a great “Father” of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. But that is just my own personal devotion to them. 😃
 
I get daily readings on my email from the Melkite daily readings. There is a reading from the Synaxarion at the end of that “readings” email. I always like reading the day’s entry. Maybe there is a Slavic version of the daily readings automatically sent to email that I don’t know about. The OCA has daily lives of saints on their site.
 
we have a news paper called eastern catholic life…it has daily readings…but there are no stories about the saints…just names I cannot pronounce. sounds like there is nothing i can do…there just is not a book…so the priest should not be dismayed when we follow the modern saints of the latin church. They live very good examples…and I guess that is more the point…than “is it an eastern saint or western.” Tradition is nice…but in this case, it may just cease with the generations.

thanks anyway,
handmaiden
 
Phillip_Rolfes said:
There are probably a number of versions of the Synaxarion according to the saints particular to each sui iuris/autocephelous Church. In other words, although the Melkite/Antiochian, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, etc. Churches (both Eastern Catholic and Orthodox) are all part of the Byzantine tradition, they will honor “local” saints that are unique to their particular Church. For example, the Ruthenians may honor Blessed Theodore Romzha in their liturgical calendar, whereas the Melkites and Romanians wouldn’t. Similarly the Ukrainians may honor Met. Andrew Sheptytsky (perhaps not yet, but one day God willing), but he is a saint unique to them and would therefore not be found on the Melkite or Italo-Byzantine calendar.

Sadly, I’ve never seen any form of Eastern Catholic Synaxarion. The best we can do is look at the various Orthodox Synaxaria. We mostly honor the same saints anyhow.

Also, have a look at the monthly Menaion for your particular Church (I’m presuming you’re Ruthenian/Byzantine). The Metropolitan Cantor Institute may be able to help you out with that. The Menaion is the liturgical book(s) containing the cycle of feasts of saints as well as the Great Feasts.

As Alex pointed out, the East does indeed recognize “doctors” or “teachers” of the Church. More customarily we refer to them as the Church “Fathers.” Whereas in the Latin West this term has come to be applied primarily to the Patristic Fathers of the Early Church, the East has used the term in a much more general sense to denote great teachers whose writings are considered safe guideposts for orthodox teaching and understanding. “Fathers” in this sense could apply equally to someone from the first few Centuries of Christianity, right down to modern day saints and teachers. I personally consider Archbishops Joseph Raya, Joseph Tawil, and Elias Zoghby to be great “Fathers” of the Melkite Church. Likewise I consider Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky to be a great “Father” of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. But that is just my own personal devotion to them. 😃
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Metropolitan Andrew was a relative . . . 🙂

Alex
 
handmaidenByzC said:
we have a news paper called eastern catholic life…it has daily readings…but there are no stories about the saints…just names I cannot pronounce. sounds like there is nothing i can do…there just is not a book…so the priest should not be dismayed when we follow the modern saints of the latin church. They live very good examples…and I guess that is more the point…than “is it an eastern saint or western.”
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I’m sure your priest isn’t dismayed that you are more comfortable with saints you grew up with growing up in the Latin Church. If you are now worshiping in an Eastern Church then it’s to be expected that he’d be “dismayed” if you weren’t interested in the saints of that tradition. But you said in your original post you are interested in their lives so I gave you two specific easy to access, free, on-line sources for daily readings on our saints. If you can’t appreciate their lives because their names are difficult for you to pronounce then I’d think there are a fair number of saints on the Latin calendar whom you’d be ignoring for that same reason.

I often end up as the one chanting the Hours in my parish so I have the saint of the day’s name to chant in the Troparia and Kontakia and sometimes I definitely do stumble over the blessed saint’s name. I regret that weakness on my part, but I love chanting whatever the message is within the Troparia and Kontakia connecting me to this/these saint/s.
Tradition is nice…but in this case, it may just cease with the generations.
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thanks anyway,
handmaiden
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:confused:
Now you really lost me.
 
wow people are critical here.
5loaves…I AM Ruthenian Catholic…by birth and young childhood. I was away from Catholicism due to divorce…baptist mother. When I was an adult…I was able to practice. You imply I left the church…and now am trying to come back…OR that I am latin and trying to practice eastern. Neither is true. That is what happens when you assume. What I tried to explain was that I lived in places where there were NO eastern churches for 700 miles. I WAS grateful to be able to worship in a Catholic church as I had not always had control as a child and hungered for my church.
My point is that the priest laments the lack of understanding by EVERYONE of the eastern saints. He talks about how you used to be able to know someone’s birthday…simply by their name. Well…I ACTUALLY would like to know about the saints. I know many western saints…but not being on our calender I cannot sponsor and icon for them. So…I was trying to get some information. Trying to find some help…not to have my head bit off. IT IS CONFUSING WHEN BOOKS ARE VOLUMES LONG and have Catholic saints, but saints which are not, but are orthodox…these things ARE important to my priest. He wants us to learn OUR tradition. I was ONLY trying to get some help… Sorry I asked.
FYI…I sing too!!! and even try to pronounce slavonic…though very poorly, just like the saint names, and people I do not know. I search the internet…try books. I find orthodox books can be argumentative…this is better than that…same thing on eastern boards…our way is better…that is not true orthodoxy…that is latin…that is Catholic…that is a compromise to be Catholic…orthodox does not support that.
Honestly…I am just sorry I tried to ask those who are more knowledgeable. I do not need to be made fun of…
will not be back to this forum.
 
ConstantineTG said:
I can see the saintly resemblance
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Amen!!! Both Met. Sheptytsky and the good Dr. Alex Roman are an inspiration to me. And I mean that in all earnestness! My wife will be the first to admit that hardly a day goes by where I haven’t mentioned something that Alex has said that has struck a deep cord in me. 👍
 
handmaidenByzC said:
wow people are critical here.
5loaves…I AM Ruthenian Catholic…by birth and young childhood. I was away from Catholicism due to divorce…baptist mother. When I was an adult…I was able to practice. ** You imply I left the church…and now am trying to come back…OR that I am latin and trying to practice eastern.…What I tried to explain was that I lived in places where there were NO eastern churches for 700 miles. I WAS grateful to be able to worship in a Catholic church **as I had not always had control as a child and hungered for my church.
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I understood from what you wrote that you were unable to worship in an Eastern Catholic Church since there were none where you lived and so you were “grateful to be able to worship in a Catholic church”. I did assume that Catholic Church was a Latin Church. I don’t know what else it would be.

It is very common for ECs to go to Mass at Latin Churches when they live where there is no EC parish near by. I have a number of friends EC and Orthodox who grew up worshiping in Latin Churches and/or going to Catholic schools and love Western saints and Western devotions. That doesn’t make them Latin. I didn’t think it made you Latin, and I didn’t say it made you Latin. I did say it makes sense you’d be comfortable with what you grew up liking from that Latin Church.
So…I was trying to get some information. Trying to find some help…not to have my head bit off.
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I honestly have no idea why you felt like I bit your head off. Everything I wrote was intended as support. 🙂 The final :confused: was because I simply didn’t know what your statement: “Tradition is nice…but in this case, it may just cease with the generations.” meant. I don’t know what it means. Please explain it. 🙂
IT IS CONFUSING WHEN BOOKS ARE VOLUMES LONG and have Catholic saints, but saints which are not, but are orthodox…these things ARE important to my priest. He wants us to learn OUR tradition.
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Are you saying that your priest does not want you to use sources that include Orthodox saints, that he considers those are not part of your tradition? Is that right?
I was ONLY trying to get some help… Sorry I asked.
…I do not need to be made fun of…
will not be back to this forum.
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I don’t see any posts that are making fun of you. I am really confused by your response.

I gave you links to the Melkite saints of the day readings and the OCA saints of the day readings. These are the two resources I use as a Russian Greek “Byzantine” Catholic.

You mentioned in this post that you are Ruthenian. In the US the Ruthenian Church is called the Byzantine Catholic Church. (Unfortunately this can be quite confusing for those of us who are Byzantine Catholics and are NOT Ruthenian. 🙂 ) Vico is our resident with knowledge of things of the “Byzantine Catholic Church” so maybe he can assist you with some easy access to readings on the saints which are considered appropriate saints in the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church.
 
5Loaves said:
I get daily readings on my email from the Melkite daily readings. There is a reading from the Synaxarion at the end of that “readings” email. I always like reading the day’s entry. …The OCA has daily lives of saints on their site.
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For anyone interested in getting the daily reading sent to your email from Melkite Readings of the Day you can do so here

I also get the Daily Reading from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America which include the Synaxarion. To get those sent to your phone subscribe here.

And just the saints of the day Synaxarion for the OCA, without the daily readings, can be found here.
 
Thank you everyone…I have found some sources to be helpful. I am grateful. I will keep them with me and read them very much.

Sorry, but I do not like my posts chopped up and taken out of context with their full meaning (5loaves)…I guess that is just the protocol here…mean no offense it is just not for me.

I was searching to learn and share the faith.

I do not want to debate or defend my comments which were only meant to increase knowledge and faith.

God bless you all, and thank you

I am unsubscribing from this thread.

Handmaiden
 
@Any chaldean catholic

Please tell me whether “Mar Hormizd” is accepted as a saint in catholic church …
 
BVT said:
Please tell me whether “Mar Hormizd” is accepted as a saint in catholic church …
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If you are speaking of His Holiness Mar Yuhannon Hormzid, first Patriarch & Catholicos of Babylon & Ur of the Chaldees of the Catholic Chaldeans, the answer is no and I doubt that is something one could expect to happen. While he brought the Chaldeans into communion and was, ultimately, accorded the patriarchal title, his era of intrigue and on-again off-again relationships with Rome in the years leading up to that make him an unlikely candidate for the honors of the altar.
 
Here is the Byzantine Ruthenian calendar. It includes the saints for every day and a short explanation about why that person is remembered. That explanation is put to music, but you can ignore the musical notes if you aren’t interested in that part. This sounds like it will meet your desires.
The Byzantine Monthly Menaion
Volume 1: September (94 pages; PDF)
Volume 2: October (86 pages; PDF)
Volume 3: November (88 pages; PDF)
Volume 4: December (91 pages; PDF)
Volume 5: January (92 pages; PDF)
Volume 6: February (67 pages; PDF)
Volume 7: March (56 pages; PDF)
Volume 8: April (72 pages; PDF)
Volume 9: May (73 pages; PDF)
Volume 10: June (82 pages; PDF)
Volume 11: July (92 pages; PDF)
Volume 12: August (92 pages; PDF)
Contains the synaxarion (names of the saints and events commorated on each day, with brief explanations), together with the troparia, kontakia, prokeimena, and communion hymns assigned to each day in the calendar.
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