Seminarians Visit from St. Josaphat's, Washington, D.C.
On September 8-9, SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary hosted a special group of ‘international’ guests: five seminarians studying for the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Parma at St. Josaphat’s Seminary in Washington D.C. The seminarians come from such distant places as Ukraine, Brazil, and England and as close as Ohio! Despite the diversity of national origin and experience, we all harmoniously joined our voices in the celebration of Vespers in our seminary chapel. Fr. Valerian Michlik, pastor of St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church on the North Side of Pittsburgh, led us in prayer.
After Vespers, we had a chance to get to know each other. Thanks to the League of Ukrainian Catholics, we enjoyed a “pizza party” and good conversation. It was a pleasure to share our experiences with other seminarians of the same Byzantine tradition. A challenge present in a small seminary is not to become isolated. Events such as these help to reestablish connections with others who are having the same experiences, struggles, joys and hopes as our seminary family. Several of us stayed up rather late talking about the future of our respective churches and our hopes for a real revival of Eastern Church life.
On Sunday morning, we gathered again in the chapel for Matins. Again, it was a powerful experience to have so many gathered for prayer. Unfortunately, none of us got to say proper goodbyes. The Ukrainian seminarians had to leave, one by one, in order to get to their parish assignments on time. (They were in Pittsburgh to visit various Ukrainian parishes and talk about their seminary experience.) It seemed fitting, however, that we did not really say goodbye to anyone – but rather saw them all off with prayer. Our two Churches are united in a special way by our common liturgical life – and indeed we have established bonds of communion between us which run much deeper than the friendships developed over pizza and conversation!
