The 75th Anniversary of the
Byzantine-Ruthenian
Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh
Sunday, October 5,1999
David L. Lawrence Convention Center Pittsburgh, PA
Hierarchical Divine Liturgy - 3:00 PM
Banquet - 6:00 PM
We have an anniversary occasioned by your family members of yesterday
and by our clergy of a bygone generation, praying and working together
to establish canonically our present Byzantine Catholic Church in the
United States. On March 8, 1924, Basil Takach was named the first bishop
of the newly established Ruthenian Exarchate of Pittsburgh. At that time,
your family members and our clergy were the Byzantine Catholics from Central
Europe.
These pioneer members of our family trees came to our Atlantic shore
with a vision of a new life of freedom and economic independence and brought
with them a trunk of clothing and their religious faith. They were received
as unskilled laborers for employment in menial tasks amidst smokestacks
above ground and tunnels of coal below ground.
We will celebrate their memory, their survival, and their legacies to
us of religious faith, patriotism for our nation, and our nationally recognized
work ethic on Sunday, October 3, 1999, at the David L. Lawrence Convention
Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Metropolitan Archbishop Judson M.
Procyk, together with the bishops and clergy of our Church will concelebrate
a Solemn Divine Liturgy of Thanksgiving at 5:00 P.M. The liturgical service
will be followed by a dinner honoring our founders and our first priests
who came as missioners to a land which had no experience with their kind
of worship.
The theme we have chosen for this Diamond Jubilee is God
Reigns, Mary Protects, and We Proclaim!
We are the heirs of steerage passengers who crossed the Atlantic and
who, in our great American tradition, remained generation after generation
not only to live in freedom and in economic independence but also went
on to make this land their own and to increase the dignity and honor of
this nation worldwide.
In memory of those before us and in thanksgiving for all who now comprise
our Church, we reflect upon these words of the psalmist, "Know that the
Lord is God, He made us. His we are; His people, the flock He tends. Enter
His gates with thanksgiving. His courts with praise; Give thanks to Him;
bless His name, for He is good." (Psalm 100: 5-4)
Reserve now on your calendars the weekend of October 3rd, 1999, to come
together with all of those who share our heritage and honor the achievements
of those before us in whose footsteps we walk and worship.
The Logo and Theme for the 75th Anniversary
The logo for the 75th Anniversary of the Metropolitan Church
of Pittsburgh depicts the Mother of God with hands outstretched protecting
the Byzantine-Ruthenian Metropolia with her mantle. Below her are the
cathedrals of the four eparchies that comprise the Metropolia: Pittsburgh,PA;
Passaic, NJ; Parma, OH; and Van Nuys, CA. The theme for this celebration
is, "God Reigns, Mary Protects, We Proclaim." We worship God and
thank him for his establishment and guidance of our church. We give thanks
to Mary, the Mother of God, for her constant protection over us. We proclaim
the Good News throughout the world singing praise for the blessings he
has bestowed upon us.
ENTHRONEMENT OF METROPOLITAN BASIL, JULY 9, 2002
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