#eastern catholic

[magdalenism]

[religious-extremist]

Thalerhof was the first concentration camp in Europe, active from 1914 to 1917 and its primary victims were Eastern Christians. This camp preceded even Dachau which is considered to be the prototype of concentration camps built by Nazi Germany.

It is the place where Austrians interned 30,000 “Russo-philes” which meant that those who identified as Rusyns (or Ruthenian), including Orthodox and Greek Catholics, were interned in either Thalerhof or Terezin.

Rusyns are a little known population who originated in the northern Carpathian mountains, along the modern borders of Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. To this day, their identities as Rusyns are not acknowledged and they’re often underrepresented in censuses, especially in Ukraine, where they are merely listed as Ukrainian highlanders.

There are countless efforts to erase this part of Eastern European history and today, Thalerhof has been razed to the ground and an airport is built where it once stood. Carpatho-Rusyns, in their attempt to escape genocide, are responsible for bringing Orthodox Christianity to America.

[jassmine-the-human]

- Žitomisliči Monastery, Bosnia and Herzegovina

[sonyaheaneyauthor]

The newest nomination to the rank of Catholic cardinal, Australia-based Mykola Bychok, says he was shocked to learn of his appointment but believes it may be a message of support for Ukraine from the Vatican.

Bychok, who holds the title “head of the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne for the Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania”, said he would never forget the moment he heard the news of his nomination as a cardinal – the highest-ranking appointment in the Catholic Church below the Pope.

The new appointees range in age from 99 to the 44-year-old Bychok, making him the world’s youngest cardinal when confirmed in December.

He said it was normal for the Pope to choose a cardinal from a region where there were fewer appointees, such as Oceania, where there were only three – Tonga, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

But he said his Ukrainian identity might have also been a factor.

“It will be some special sign for Russia as well,” Bychok said as he stood beside a Ukrainian flag that was carried into battle in 2014 during the Russian invasion of Crimea and Donetsk.

“This flag is a relic of bravery and bears the blood and marks of my fellow Ukrainians tortured in defending their homeland.

“It is a symbol of hope for all who suffer persecution, loss, displacement and the pains of war. It is also a stark reminder that the marginalised can never be forgotten.”

He referenced comments from the Pope made on Sunday in a plea for peace in the region.

“He said, please stop killing innocent people because winter is approaching. I support this message because it will be a difficult winter for all the Ukrainians, especially during this third year of the war,” Bychok said.

[heresylog]

thought for the longest time that the church i was raised in was outside the protestant/catholic divide. i thought protestant was just another branch, like lutheran or episcopalian or baptist or methodist. took me way too long to realize protestant is an umbrella word for the majority of non-catholic christianities and my childhood church very much fell under it. idk if thats a common protestant experience or if im particularly oblivious.

It is a common experience even for Catholics! We forget that Catholic is a similarly used umbrella term even though most of us really mean Roman Catholic. But shout out to the Assyrian, Tamil, and Eastern Catholics. Love y’all.

[divinum-pacis]

March 2023: Nuns inspect damaged parts of Deir Mar Mikhael.

"The area where the monastery sits was known to the Mosulites as 'Hawi al-Kanisa' in reference to it [having been] a church, hundreds of years ago," Archbishop Najib Mikhael Moussa said.

Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the residents of Mosul have lived in insecurity. In June 2014, the city was taken by the ISIL armed group till July 2017. But even after, Mosulites suffered scattered attacks that added to the feeling of being unsafe. [Ismael Adnan/Al Jazeera]

[modestcatholiclife]

Today is the day I've been working towards for the past year, the day of my initiation into Christ's church! Today I have been Baptised, Chrismated, and partook of my first Communion. It feels impossible to describe how I feel in this moment, knowing that I've been joined to the Body of Christ, having had my sins washed away and having been filled with the Holy Spirit. I feel so blessed for the perfect day I had today, thanks be to God!

"Participation in the life of the Most Holy Trinity becomes a reality for us through the Holy Mysteries of Baptism, Anointing with Holy Myrrh (Chrism), and Eucharist. In other words, we partake of God's life by being united to Christ, receiving the seal of the Holy Spirit, and sharing the Body and Blood of Christ in the community called Church. As a person after birth begins to breathe and then receives nourishment in order to live, so the newly baptised, born to new life in the baptismal font, begins to breathe by the Holy Spirit and receives the nourishment of Holy Communion in order to grow in Christ. Through the prayers and sacred actions of the liturgical rite of each of these Mysteries, the Church leads the faithful (the Greek Fathers speak of mystagogy - leading into the mystery) into an understanding of the Mystery and perceiving it as a single, unified action of God's grace. This why in the tradition of the Eastern Church, these three Holy Mysteries are celebrated together."

Source: 'Christ - Our Pascha', the catechism of the Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Church

[graysoniconography]

Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn Gate (Version 2)

This is a revision on my original take of this icon which I posted. I thought it needed more color so I decided to re-do all the color from scratch, and I much prefer this version. It is a gorgeous icon housed in a church in Lithuania. May the Theotokos intercede for us all!

[giirlwonder]

maronite catholics of tumblr please talk to me

[swinging-from-my-cable]

You know your 18 month old kid is being raised Eastern Catholic when every icon must be repeatedly reverenced, but a rosary is a thing to explore, even after showing her the prayers. (It's a knotted one that I picked up who knows where and keep on my nightstand.)

[magdalenism]

[warismenstrualenvy]

Descent of the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church and Cemetery

[jassmine-the-human]

[four-rabbits-in-a-trenchcoat]

Hey guys, could you pray for the cantor from my parish? She's been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

[gertrudis-llyth]

Gotta light?