WELCOME TO

ST. ANDREW

UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL

What Is The Orthodox Church

 The Orthodox Church is the oldest Christian Church in existence.  It traces its roots in an unbroken line to Christ’s Apostles.  When on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon them they began to speak in many languages, and they set out into the world to  fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus Christ gave them after His Resurrection: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). As the Apostles traveled and spread the Teachings of Christ they left the care of believers in the hands of Elders, later to be called Bishops.  The faith has been passed down in an unbroken line to our times through the laying on of hands by the Bishops from generation to generation.

Orthodox Christians number 300 million faithful worldwide, with almost seven million in North America.

 What Do Orthodox Christians Believe

Orthodox Christians believe in the teaching of Jesus Christ, as passed on in Holy Tradition by His Apostles, “whether by word, or our letters” (II Thessalonians, 2:15).  To the Orthodox the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God.

 The Orthodox Church abides by the Doctrinal Statements of the first seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Christian Church (325-787 A.D.) which also  systematized the principal articles of the True Faith in what is known as the “Nicene Creed,” which has remained unchanged and is prayed at every Liturgy.

 Scripture calls the Church both Christ’s Body and His Bride. The Divine Liturgy, the primary Sunday morning Worship Service in an Orthodox Church, proceeds in a specific pattern of hymns and prayers, the reading and proclamation of the Gospel, and culminates with the Eucharist (meaning “thanksgiving”) or Holy Communion – the  rite instituted by Christ Himself at the Last Supper. He said of the bread and wine: “ ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Matthew 26-28).  “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:53-54).  Orthodox theology teaches that in the Eucharist we partake of the deified and glorified Body and Blood of Christ and thus become one with Him.  This is a profound mystery of faith and grace which the Orthodox believe.  The Orthodox believe in the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the communion. Furthermore, the Orthodox believe that communion is essential for the membership of the Church.  “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him” (John 6:56). However, in the Orthodox Church the Sacrament of Communion is only for Orthodox Christians, those who are in good standing in the Church, and usually it is preceded by Confession.

 According to Orthodox teaching, we as Christians are to strive toward “theosis,” the Greek for “becoming God-like.”  That is, we are to strive for perfection, by living in union with Christ and following God’s commandments.  Christ, through His death and Resurrection opened the way to be reconciled with God the Father.  By living the righteous life, and by God’s grace, we will be saved.  After the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the age, and after the Last Judgment, we will continue to live in eternity with God.

 Why Is The Name Of An Orthodox Church Prefaced With A Nationality, Such As The Ukrainian Orthodox Church

 The national designation is used to inform what  language and  customs are practiced in a particular Church.  Orthodox immigrants to North America first arrived in the late 18^th century;  Ukrainian Orthodox immigrants began to arrive in the early 20^th century.  The social and religious environment of  earlier, non-Orthodox settlers was very different from that brought by the new, Orthodox, immigrants who were often ignored as a “foreign” minority.  Before they could learn English, the new immigrants spoke in their mother tongue and kept their unique customs and celebrations.  It was natural, therefore, that they would strongly identify with the Church of their mother country and that they would keep their ethnic identity.

 It should be noted, however, that in spite of cultural differences within the various national Orthodox Churches, the essence of the faith remains the same.  In North America today many Orthodox Churches have Services in two languages, in both English and in their mother tongue.  The important thing is for the faithful to understand the Word of God.

 What Is The Background Of The Ukrainian Orthodox Church

 “The First Called” Apostle Andrew evangelized many peoples, among them the Greeks and the Scythians in present-day Ukraine.  One of the Ancient Rus’ Chroniclers, the monk Nestor, in The Chronicle of Bygone Years records that the Apostle Andrew stood on the hills of what is today the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, and prophesized that a great city with many churches would be built on those hills.  That prophesy materialized during the reign of Volodymyr the Great, ruler of the medieval Ukrainian state known as Kyivan Rus’.  He baptized his entire kingdom into the Christian faith in the year 988 and was later canonized a saint.  The Mother-Church of the Ukrainian Church was the Greek Church of Byzantium, just as later the Ukrainian Church became the Mother-Church of the Russians and the Belarussians.  Apostolic succession is crucial to the preservation of the Faith, as an authoritative Apostolic deposit passed down from generation to generation, documenting each ordination, in an unbroken line to the Apostles, who were chosen by Christ Himself.

 The Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA is self-governing Church of more than 100 parishes, with its administrative center in South Bound Brook, New Jersey.  Our Primate is His Beatitude Metropolitan Constantine, Eparchal Bishop of the Central Eparchy.  The Church is served by two Archbishops, His Eminence Archbishop Antony of the Eastern Eparchy and His Eminence Archbishop Vsevolod of the Western Eparchy. In 1995 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA came under the Omophorion of His All-Holiness Bartholomew I Ecumenical Patriarch.

 When Was The St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Parish Founded

 The St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox parish was founded in 1949, shortly after World War II, when immigrants who fled  Communist Ukraine began arriving in the United States.  Services for the 65 families were held in various rented premises in Washington, DC, until a building was purchased on 16^th Street and converted into a church.  In 1986 several acres of land were purchased in Silver Spring, Maryland, and construction of a church in the classical Kozak Baroque style began, designed by architect M. Nimtsev.  That same year news of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster reached the world, and the parish was moved to dedicate their church building to the memory of all those who perished in that disaster.  The victims of Chernobyl are unfailingly commemorated at every Divine Liturgy.

 The church building was completed in 1987 and was consecrated on April 24, 1988 – a thousand years after Rus’-Ukraine became a Christian State.  The patron saint of the church is St. Andrew The First-Called, and a mosaic commemorating his prophesy on the hills of Kyiv was installed on the frontal exterior wall of the church building, funded by the family of Orest Petrenko in his memory.

 The church is a cathedral, and the Eparchial Bishop is His Excellency Antony, Archbishop of Washington.

What Is The Significance Of The Icons, Candles And Other Objects Inside The Church

 The atmosphere in an Orthodox Church is meant to be “otherworldly,” to help us “lay aside all earthly cares,” as the Cherubimic Hymn calls the faithful to do, and in prayer bring our hearts and minds to God. When we participate in the Liturgy we experience the Kingdom of God.

 The Icons

 One of the first things people notice as they walk into an Orthodox Church is the multitude of religious paintings, called icons (“images”) on all the walls and on a major screen with three doors.  Icons are not simply religious art.  They have been called Windows to Heaven, through which we send our prayers to the Almighty.  It is important to understand that icons are not worshipped.  Only God is worshipped.  Rather, icons are venerated, and are a means to help us focus on the personages depicted through whom we send our prayers: Jesus Christ, the Mother of God Mary, and various saints.  Icons represent real people and significant events in Orthodox Christianity, and they are a passage for the worshiper into the Kingdom of God.

Icons can be seen on the Ikonostas, (“icon screen”), which separates the Sanctuary (where the clergy prays) from the Nave (where the laity congregate to worship).  There are three doors in the Iconostas. The central double doors are called the “Royal Doors” through which only the clergy may enter or exit.  The doors on each side of the Royal Doors are called the “Deacon’s Doors.”  The icon of Archangel Michael is on the right, or  the Southern Deacon’s Door, and the Archangel Gabriel is on the left,  the Northern Deacon’s Door.

 The icon of Jesus Christ is always the first icon to the right of the Royal Doors, and on the opposite side is the icon of the Mother of God Mary.  The icon of the Patron Saint of the Church is farther to the right, and on the extreme left may be an icon of a saint.  At St. Andrew’s it is St. Nicholas.

 The small icons at the top of the Iconostas represent the 12 main feasts of the Church, which are the central events in the life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God Mary.  Orthodox churches may have as many as five tiers of icons on the Iconostas.

 Icons may be panel icons, frescoes and mosaics. Of the frescoes in St. Andrew’s, the one on the left front wall represents the Nativity, and the one on the right – the Resurrection.

 The icons in our cathedral were painted by several iconographers.  We say icons are “written” not painted, because they are the Gospel, except in paint, rather than in word.

 One of the most important iconographers of the 20^th century who immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine was Petro Kholodny, who wrote the central icon of our Altar wall: the Mother of God in Prayer, known as the “Oranta” icon.

The Elevated Area In Front Of The Ikonostas

The slightly elevated area in front of the Iconostas – the “Amvon” – is used by the clergy.  It is here that the priest reads from the Holy Gospel; it is here that he gives the sermon, and it is here where Holy Communion is given.  On the right is the Bishop’s Chair.

In front of the Amvon is the “Tetrapod,” a small table on which lies a cross and an icon.  An icon of St.Andrew, the patron saint of this cathedral, is normally placed there, replaced by a  festal icon when a particular festal period is celebrated that Sunday.  When people first enter the church and make the sign of the cross, they proceed to the Tetrapod and venerate the cross and the icon, or the icons on each of two stands (“Analoichyk”) on both sides, in an Orthodox church that has them, instead of the Tetrapod in the middle.

The Rectangular Structure On The Left

This is a representation of the tomb of Jesus Christ, containing a shroud called the “Plashchanytsia” (Epitaphion) which represents the Body of Christ.  On Holy Friday, just before Easter, it is placed in the front center of the Nave, and decorated with flowers, and becomes a major part of the Holy Week  Services.

 The Role Of Candles In The Orthodox Church

Candles are lit as offerings to God and when petitioning God in memory of departed loved ones or for health, healing and other needs of the living.  At the left side wall is a special table with votive candles that are lit as people pray for the departed.

The Incense

During a Divine Service in an Orthodox Church, the air is filled with the fragrance of incense, which is used in the censer by the clergy at various moments. Incense has always been used to honor the presence of the Divine, and this use is described in both the Old and the New Testament. Thus the Altar is censed, because it represents the throne of God; icons are censed, because they depict God’s Son and the saints through whom God worked; the people are censed, to pay homage and respect to the image of God in each one of us. When the worshippers are censed by the priest or the deacon, they do this praying that God may gather up the prayers of everyone assembled and send His blessings down upon the worshippers, like the fragrant incense cloud that envelops them.  When people are being censed it is proper to stand in response, with a slight bow of thankful acknowledgement.

The Choir

The Orthodox Church does not use musical instruments, nor does the congregation make rhythmic moves during Divine Services.  But most Orthodox Churches have a choir, or at least a cantor.  Ancient chants, sung by the Monastics, have come down to our days; many composers have created inspirational music to accompany the written prayers.  Ukrainian composers such as Bortniansky in the 18^th century have enriched the world’s repertoire of church music. One of the priests in this church, Fr. Petro Budnyi, now departed,  composed an entire Divine Liturgy, parts of which can often be heard in this church on Sundays.  Our choir of volunteers sings under the direction of Dr. Ihor Masnyk.  In his absence the choir is directed by Protodeacon Sviatoslav Nowytski, who otherwise assists the Pastor in Worship Services.

Every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. a bi-lingual Divine Liturgy is celebrated.We invite you to attend our Divine Service.

Addendum

The Pastor of our Cathedral Parish is Rev. Fr. Volodymyr Steliac who leads our parish since 2001. The parish is administered by a Church Council which is elected annually.  Our current president is Mr. Valentine Zabijaka.

The connected building, the Founders’ Hall, is equipped with a large kitchen and reception hall.  Parishioners gather there after the Service and for various social celebrations.

Thank you for visiting with us.