Glory

to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever!

to assist them in making the people more aware and receptive. Jesus Christ established the essential elements of the Sacraments and these cannot change. But the Church surrounded these essentials with ceremonies and prayers, and the various Rites developed their own settings for these precious gems. This brought diversity to the Catholic Church. All Catholic may attend any of the Catholic Rites and fulfill their obligation. The Eucharist may also be received in any of the churches. Today, there is no language barrier in any of the Rites. Although certain liturgies may be set aside and offered in the mother tongue, most parishes now use English. Full participation from the people has always been an integral part of worship in the Byzantine Rite. This enables the faithful to have a more complete understanding of the Liturgy.

name bar above Jesus' head and a footrest at the bottom). It is the interior of the church, however, that sets it aside from most other houses of worship. Between the altar and the pews for the congregation is an icon screen (iconostasis). This screen, usually made of wood or metal, is decorated with beautifully ornate and religious paintings called icons. Walls are often highly decorated as well, but statues are not a part of Byzantine tradition. Byzantine Catholics believe that when they step into the church they are leaving their earthly cares to walk into "heaven on earth." Byzantine art serves to enhance these feelings.

One Faith Many Rites

St. Luke Byzantine Catholic Church Eparchy of Parma

THE LOVER OF MANKIND

The Byzantine Rite has a deep sense of the holiness of God, a sincere reverence for the sacred, a humble dependence of the power and mercy of God and faith in the intercessory power of the Mother of God and all the Saints. Of all the beloved titles which the Byzantine Catholic Church assigns to our Lord, the most popular in Jesus, the Lover of Mankind.

THE BYZANTINE RITE CHURCH

A Byzantine Church is generally recognizable from the exterior. They have many rounded or onion-shaped domes that are topped with the three bar cross, (the cross with a short

St. Luke Byzantine Catholic Church

11413 Chicago St. Sugar Creek, MO (816) 231-7100 http://www.byzantinekc.org

Liturgy Schedule
Vespers:

Saturday at 4:30pm Third Hour: Sunday at 9:15am Divine Liturgy: Sunday at 9:30am Holy Days: 7:00pm Vespers or 7:00pm Divine Liturgy
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The Many Catholic Rites

The Church must breathe with her two lungs! Bd. Pope John Paul II (Ut unum sint)

The word Catholic means universal, and the Catholic faith with its many Rites is truly an universal Church. A Rite is a complete tradition, unique to that community. Although there are basically six main Rites in the Church, language and national customs have made subdivisions of each of them. Now, there are over 20 Catholic Rites. Roman, Syrian, Antiochian, and Byzantine are just some examples of Rites within the Church. Expressing the faith in the mother language and customs and traditions which developed because of previous geographical locations and limitations formed subdivisions within the Rites. The Byzantine Rite has twelve of these subdivisions, each taking its name from the mother language or original geographic location. They are: Bulgarian, Byelorussian, Croatian, Greek, Hungarian, Italo-Greek, Melkite,

Romanian, Russian, Ruthenian, Slovak, and Ukrainian. All are unique expressions of the Catholic faith. The Mother Church in Rome encourages these variations and sees them as a means for unity through diversity.

CUSTOMS DEVELOP
All the Rites believe in the same doctrines, are sanctified by the same seven Sacraments, offer the one unbloody sacrifice of Jesus (Eucharist), and submit to the same Vicar of Christ, the Pope in Rome. The differences are in the system of prayer and ceremony used in the worship of God. Each Rite has developed in its own fashion, following the leader the leadership of the ancient Fathers who Christianized the many regions. As time progressed and Christianity flourished, the missionaries brought with them their particular religious customs using the language of the people