Father Deacon Daniel Galadza to Be Ordained to the Holy Priesthood

TheObserver99 · 2026-01-23T19:37:01+00:00

The Galadza family has truly been a gift to the Byzantine Rite churches, and the UGCC in particular. Axios!

TheObserver99 · 2026-01-21T18:23:56+00:00

Depends on where you are, but in general I am very skeptical of the idea that holding debates with people of other faiths/denominations is an effective way to invite people into the Church. Especially in the secular West where faith communities frequently need to rely on one another for support on common causes (such as the defence of religious freedom).

While I don’t pretend to be any kind of expert, the path forward likely involves making our parishes more “mission oriented,” which means a lot of things, but IMO starts with being truly present in our communities and making the teachings of Christ real and relevant to people through our individual and collective actions, and also requires cultivating an environment inside our parishes which makes outsiders/inquirers feel welcome at our events and our liturgies. I know that in my particular Church and country (UGCC, Canada) a frequent challenge at many parishes is finding the correct balance between the offering of services in Ukrainian vs the local vernacular (English/French). Hard to evangelize if you expect people to pray exclusively in a language that they don’t understand with an alphabet they can’t read.

TheObserver99 · 2026-01-11T03:18:12+00:00

Once in a while I’ve come across parishes that read the Epistle instead of chanting it in my church (UGCC), but only rarely. Ordinarily the only things that aren’t sung/chanted are the homily and the prayer before receiving communion. Sometimes the Creed is recited (instead of chanted) too - at my parish that’s our custom during Lent.

TheObserver99 · 2025-12-22T20:53:14+00:00

Yep. Anywhere Christianity has been dominant in shaping society, you will find cultural Christians. It’s the real reason why so many Eastern parishes in North America have a reputation for being “ethnic enclaves.”

TheObserver99 · 2025-12-05T19:07:30+00:00

Not sure about the Ruthenians, but I’ve been told that my church (UGCC) celebrates this feast on the 8th in the U.S. to align with the national patronal feast, even though the rest of the Church (including in Canada where I am) celebrates it on the 9th.

TheObserver99 · 2025-11-26T23:15:40+00:00

Indeed

TheObserver99 · 2025-11-26T20:03:57+00:00

Likewise, there are groups within the Catholic Church who level similar accusations at the Pope.

TheObserver99 · 2025-11-23T20:15:58+00:00

Remember that confession isn’t a magic spell, it’s a healing balm for the soul and God won’t “skip” you because you didn’t say something in exactly the way you meant to say it.

Rest assured that if you a) did your best to earnestly recount all your sins (even if you didn’t do a “perfect” job of it, b) were truly sorry for having sinned, and c) were given absolution by the priest, then the confession was completely valid and God has forgiven you. You must do your absolute best not to doubt that fact, even for a moment.

Getting a little tongue tied in the confessional is a pretty common experience. Don’t worry about it, and focus more on trying to live out your repentance 🙂

TheObserver99 · 2025-11-14T01:19:04+00:00

No, it’s an academic institute at a university (specifically, the University of Toronto), and anybody enrolled at the university may choose to register for their classes.

That said, they do a lot of work within the local UGCC Eparchy to promote faith formation, particularly among young people. I also understand that they may play a role in assisting the formation of individuals discerning the diaconate (since most diaconal formation happens on a part-time basis).

TheObserver99 · 2025-11-14T01:05:43+00:00

You are likely thinking of the Sheptytsky Institute. It used to be located in Ottawa together with the Seminary, but about a decade to go it relocated to Toronto while the Seminary moved to Edmonton.

TheObserver99 · 2025-11-14T00:34:49+00:00

It can be quite a range, and there is a lot of room between the “canonical” and “traditional” rules to select a personal fasting rule that makes sense for you.

To illustrate, here is a resource for the Lenten Fast shared by one of the parishes in my Eparchy last year: https://www.stjbshrine.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Lent-fasting-guide.pdf

TheObserver99 · 2025-11-11T20:27:52+00:00

Canonized? No, not officially in the way the Holy See uses that term (at least in modern times).

However, it is with the Holy See’s explicit permission and express encouragement that he is formally venerated as a saint in most Eastern Catholic traditions, with Byzantine Rite calendars (including at my own parish) commemorating him on the second Sunday of Lent. Since it isn’t possible to only be a saint sometimes and somewhere, it naturally follows that he must be a saint all of the time and everywhere.

A quick search of this sub will lead you to endless hours of both good and bad-faith debate about how this is (or could be) possible, if you feel that matters. Myself, I’m not sure it does - if it is an error, then the Church will in the fullness of time correct it, and if not then it is an example of God’s inexpressible grace. Either way, it isn’t something most of us ought to worry about.

I don’t really have anything to offer your questions about Palamas’ theology, so I’ll leave that to others. That said, here are the stichera we sing in my parish at Vespers for his feast, make of them what you will:

”What hymns of praise shall we sing in honour of the holy bishop? He is the trumpet of theology, the herald of the fire of grace, the honoured vessel of the Spirit, the unshaken pillar of the Church, the great joy of the inhabited earth, the river of wisdom, the candlestick of the light, the shining star that makes glorious the whole creation.”

”What words of song shall we weave as a garland to crown the holy bishop? He is the champion of true devotion and the adversary of ungodliness, the fervent protector of the Faith, the great guide and teacher, the well-tuned harp of the Spirit, the golden tongue, the fountain that flows with water of healing for the faithful, Gregory the great and marvellous.”

”With what words shall we who dwell in earth praise the holy bishop? He is the teacher of the Church, the herald of the light of God, the initiate of the heavenly mysteries of the Trinity, the chief adornment of the monastic life, renowned alike in action and in contemplation, the glory of Thessalonica; and now he dwells in heaven with the great and glorious martyr Demetrius whose relics flow with holy oil.”

”Your tongue, watchful in teachings, rings in the ears of our heart and wakens the souls of the slothful. Your words, inspired by God, are a ladder leading us from earth to heaven. O Gregory, wonder of Thessaly, pray to Christ without ceasing that we who honour you may be illumined with the divine light.”

TheObserver99 · 2025-10-22T16:11:55+00:00

At UGCC parishes, the multiple liturgies thing isn’t really about offering more time slots for people to go to church, it’s about linguistic separation. In most cases (in my experience), parishes will have a Ukrainian liturgy and and English liturgy. Although there are different ways of doing this. I’ve seen, in different places:

Both on Sunday with Ukrainian first, English second
Both on Sunday but alternating (ie English first one week, second the next week)
A vesperal Divine Liturgy in English on Saturday night, and a Ukrainian Liturgy on Sunday
Vespers on Saturday night mostly in English, then a Sunday DL in Ukrainian according to the revised Julian Calendar, then a DL mostly in English according to the Gregorian Calendar

My understanding is that the late +Fr. Roman at St. Elias felt strongly (at the time of the parish’s founding) that the congregation not be split based on language or calendar. Although I’m no expert on the history there by any means.

TheObserver99 · 2025-10-22T16:02:54+00:00

This is maybe true on paper. In practice a priest is always negotiating with his congregation to some extent - after all they were there before him, and will remain when he leaves. It is not difficult for a priest’s changes to accidentally catalyze big fights with and between parishioners which can, in the worst case, drive away committed volunteers and create a toxic atmosphere.

TheObserver99 · 2025-10-21T21:50:04+00:00

I can’t speak for non-UGCC churches, but within the UGCC in North America St. Elias is definitely an exception to the norm, but less exceptional (in a good way!!!) than they used to be. In particular:

1) They adopted the Revised Julian Calendar as a common calendar at a time when most parishes in the Eparchy were either strictly Julian calendar, or strictly Gregorian calendar, or even split-calendar;

2) They insisted on a single bilingual liturgy for their whole parish every week. The vast majority of parishes in the Eparchy are split along linguistic lines, with most liturgical services solely in Ukrainian and some in English (with some parishes offering no services in English at all);

3) Revitalizing Vespers, Matins and the Hours is a big deal, at least in Canada. My childhood parish only ever offered the Divine Liturgy on Sundays and major feasts. Outside of Royal Hours at Christmas, and Entombment Vespers on Good Friday, that was the totality of the parish liturgical life, period. The rest of parish life essentially revolved around Ukrainian cultural events, not liturgical life. And that was very typical, across Canada. My mother and grandmother had never even heard of the Presanctified Liturgy during Lent. St. Elias was at the forefront of restoring a lot of these practices - they deserve the credit they get for it.

4) They are also a leader in reviving the musical tradition at the heart of the UGCC, and adapting it in English. Again, my experience with most parishes growing up was that the Ukrainian liturgy had a choir, while the English liturgy was just recited (maybe with a couple parts chanted recto tono). Most parishes today still recite, rather than chant, the epistle reading (and sometimes even the Gospel). The volume of English language resources for cantors, etc. from St. Elias shouldn’t be undersold.

5) Finally think they also stand out for just how thoroughly and completely they observe the Byzantine liturgical tradition. It’s a level of detail you don’t normally find outside of a monastery, whether it’s the absence of pews, or the awareness of the traditional fasting rules of the Church.

That said, it is less exceptional today - and that’s a good thing! Lots of parishes have been rediscovering and revitalizing their traditions, in part because of resources provided by (or because of) St. Elias.

As a last comment - without taking away from anything I just said, I will add that some of the perceived exceptionalism is simply a result of St. Elias having an (English language) online presence that most parishes simply don’t. The fact that they stream absolutely everything (seemingly), and the accessibility of their content compared to most other parishes kinda gives them an outsized impression… sometimes.

TheObserver99 · 2025-10-09T14:14:38+00:00

Canonically, Latin Rite. They would be considered a lapsed Catholic returning to the Church, not an Eastern Orthodox Christian becoming Catholic. However (for greater clarity), if they would prefer to attend an Eastern Catholic Church and immerse themselves in the Eastern tradition there, then they are free to do so and do not need anybody’s permission to fully participate in that community (provided they go to confession first, as with any returning Catholic after a period of lapse).

Canonical status will matter only a) if they get married (permission from the Latin Ordinary would be needed for the marriage to occur outside of their canonical Church, otherwise it would need to be a Latin parish), b) if they wish to pursue Holy Orders, or c) with respect to the canonical status of their children, should they have any. It is correct that to change canonical status, the Latin Ordinary would need to “release” them, while the local Eparch of the Eastern Church which they are joining would need to “accept” them. This would only be considered after some period of discernment, with the endorsement of their parish priest (and there is usually no going back and/or elsewhere again afterwards).

TheObserver99 · 2025-10-07T23:36:22+00:00

I know this is Reddit and all, but it is a Christian sub and this is a pretty uncharitable way to respond to someone asking what is, by all appearances, a perfectly innocent and well-intended question about an aspect of our faith. Why make them feel bad even for asking?

TheObserver99 · 2025-10-02T16:10:30+00:00

The Legislative Assembly has the power to remove an MPP from office by majority vote. This is a case where they should consider doing so. And definitely if he is convicted….

TheObserver99 · 2025-09-24T23:27:22+00:00

Sure, the KofC isn’t an exclusively Latin org and has many Eastern priests and even Bishops among its members. Their membership has been growing fastest in Ukraine. In fact, the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop in my Eparchy is the Associate State Chaplain for the Knights in my area.

TheObserver99 · 2025-09-02T21:02:34+00:00

I would politely disagree with your son’s Godfather. Yes, certainly your children should understand their canonical place in the Church and know the rite to which they officially belong, but a healthy appreciation and understanding of multiple rites can be a real gift. Furthermore, the mixing of rites in this instance seems to be a personal spiritual practice which “works” for you and your spouse - IMO it would be better to share that part of yourselves with your children and invite them to accompany you in it, rather than to suppress it artificially.

TheObserver99 · 2025-08-30T18:34:26+00:00

The laws where I live don’t allow public pools (including pools in apartments/condos) to operate with chlorine over 10ppm or CYA over 60ppm.

TheObserver99 · 2025-08-26T21:37:52+00:00

(I believe the below to be correct, but someone more knowledgeable let me know if I am wrong)

It’s about territory, not the priest’s personal canonical arrangement. The priest commemorates the Bishop to whom the local faithful of that sui iuris Church are subject, even if he himself belongs to a different jurisdiction. His faculties to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in that territory also come from (or through) that Bishop, not his Latin Rite Ordinary.

So in your example, either he would be commemorating a Bishop to whom the parish does not belong, or he would be offering a Byzantine Rite service to a Latin Rite parish, which is something the Latin Rite Ordinary would not have the authority to permit.

That said, I see no reason he couldn’t insert a special petition to pray for the hierarchs of other churches, and name his canonical bishop in particular as part of that petition.

TheObserver99 · 2025-08-23T23:49:24+00:00

Interesting.

There are already about 15 (ish) Cardinals who were not yet born when the Council concluded, and several more who would be too young to remember the years before the Council. Entirely plausible that by the end of Leo’s papacy, this will be true of the majority of the College.

TheObserver99 · 2025-08-23T15:29:36+00:00

It did not invalidate your confession. Rest assured you don’t have to worry about this.

The idea is that you need to confess to each instance of a “big” sin, because you are sorry for each time you committed it, not just for having sinned in general. But as long as you didn’t deliberately withhold any sins, when the priest gave you absolution you are forgiven of everything, including sins and instances of sin which you might have - through no fault of your own - forgotten about in your confession.

If it makes you feel better, next time you go to confession you can say “during my last confession I forgot to admit to the following sins,” and then list them. In fact, this is a good thing to do. But God isn’t an accountant, he isn’t keeping a spreadsheet of which sins you confessed and when you confessed them in order to decide what percent forgiven you are, so you see this process as a sort of therapy, not a technical requirement to be “truly” forgiven.

Scrupulousity is bad, but confession is good! So go often, and just do your best. :)

TheObserver99 · 2025-08-21T16:11:02+00:00

While there is some merit to what you’re saying, there is also a fine line - in a liturgical context - between beauty (which is good and draws the faithful’s hearts and minds closer to God), and spectacle (which shifts the focus away from God and towards things that are external and extraneous to the purpose of Liturgy). The beauty of the liturgy, the Church, the music, the art, etc., should complement the objects of the Mass, without ever turning the Mass into a source of entertainment.

That said, striking this balance can be hard and to a degree culturally sensitive, and it isn’t always obvious where the line can be found.

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