Notre Dame parishioners show support, concern for Ukraine

WHIPPANY  When the doors open to the worship space of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church here on a clear day, the light of God’s love bursts forth. Sunlight streams through the many colorful stained-glass windows around the church and reflects off the golden icons of Christ, Mary, and the saints and a large golden altar screen.

No doubt a group of 30 parishioners of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel in Cedar Knolls had experienced firsthand that light of love from God — plus a warm welcome — during a visit to St. John’s on April 2. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to rage, they also prayed for the light of God’s peace with their tour guide, Father Stepan Bilyk, St. John’s pastor, who was born in the Eastern European nation. In the hour-long visit, the Notre Dame parishioners learned a lot about their Ukrainian Catholic neighbors, who practice the Byzan­tine Catholic tradition but remain in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Their traditions include not having any statues — unlike the Roman Catholics — only icons and stained-glass windows, Father Bilyk said.

“Ukrainian Catholics don’t have statues, because we were accused of worshipping idols. When you look through a stained-glass window or look at an icon, you are looking through to the divine: God,” Father Bilyk told the visitors, who worship less than four miles away at Notre Dame. Religious icons are images of Jesus, the Blessed Mother, and the saints, usually painted with gold leaf and with a golden halo around their heads.

As Father Bilyk talked about Ukrainian Catholic church design, history, theology, and religious practices, many of Notre Dame visitors voiced their fascination with the long golden screen that stretches across the sanctuary. It obscures the altar from the congregation, except through small holes in it or when part of it is opened during the liturgy. The priest said the screen — different from a Roman Catholic church — replicates the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary of a Hebrew temple, where God appeared, Father Bilyk said.

“When part of the screen is open, during the liturgy, people can see the altar and feel the closeness and presence of the divine,” Father Bilyk said. He explained the theological reason that the church has chairs, not pews. “We do not kneel, during the liturgy, only during Lent. It’s because we believe that Jesus restored our human dignity, so we stand as children of God, not as penitents on our knees,” he said.

Father Bilyk also noted that the footprint of the church is cruciform: in the shape of a cross, while its worship space is circular. Painted in a 4th century Byzantine style, an icon of Christ is displayed above the congregation on the ceiling, while an icon of the Blessed Mother with the child Jesus is situated above the altar. Four stained-glass windows high in the corners of the worship space present the four Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, said the pastor, who also showed the visitors the Cross and Ukrainian flag outside the church.

The faith traditions between the Eastern and Western Catholic Churches diverged in 1055, when the patriarch of Constantinople disagreed with a move by Rome to insert into the Creed that the Holy Spirit comes from God through his son, Jesus, to the people. The patriarch wanted the Creed to remain as it had been: that the Holy Spirit comes from God directly to the people without mention of Christ. So the Eastern Catholic Church split with the Western Catholic Church — yet the core beliefs of the two churches remain the same. Additionally, the Ukrainian Ortho­dox Church is not in communion with Rome, Father Bilyk said.

The two traditions of the Catholic Church also differ over the issue of married priests. Ukrain­­ian Catholics have married priests, unlike the Roman Catholics, who have maintained a celibate priesthood since the 9th century, said Father Bilyk, who is married with two children.

“We Eastern and Western Catholics have different ways of celebrating and have different vestments,” said Father Bilyk, who distributes small pieces of Communion bread and wine on a spoon.

Under the backdrop of the Russian invasion, Father Bilyk said Christianity came officially to Ukraine in 988. The Ukrainian Catholic Church asked for protection from Rome in 1596, when Russian and Polish forces were pushing into the country from different sides. The pope issued a decree that he accepts the Eastern Church with its traditions as a part of the Catholic Church under Rome, the pastor said.

During World War II, the Church went underground, as the Soviets took over church buildings and imprisoned or killed priests and bishops during their invasion. In the 1990s, the Church reclaimed its freedom and as many buildings as it could, as it emerged from persecution, the priest said.

“But now, history is being repeated,” said Father Bilyk, referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started in early February.

Founded in 1921, St. John’s remains active with 290 families. The growing parish moved from one location to another in Whippany: to a new church, built in 2014, and a 24,000­-

square-foot Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey, built in 2006. Liturgies are celebrated in English on Saturday and in Ukrainian on Sunday.

“Thank you, Father Stepan, for presenting the Ukrainian Catholic Church as our brothers and sisters,” said Father Alex Nevitt, Notre Dame’s parochial vicar, who accompanied the tour. It came about because of the two priests’ association with each other. Father Nevitt attended a Ukrain­ian festival and a rosary prayer service at St. John’s. The two parishes set up the tour before the war started, they said. “The Ukrain­ian Catholic Church is a rich part of our culture in the Catholic Church,” Father Nevitt said.

After the tour, Julia Rizos of Notre Dame said she brought her children, 3 to 7 years old and one on the way, because “it’s a good way for them to learn.

“I asked them to look for things that are the same [as in a Roman church] and different. We also prayed for the people of Ukraine and that President Putin has a change of heart,” Rizos said. “I had not been in this beautiful church before. I felt so welcomed,” she said.

Laura Balogh, Notre Dame’s faith formation director, who also accompanied the tour, said, “We showed support and concern for the Ukrainian people, who are suffering.

“Father Stepan’s tour helped us understand and appreciate not only our differences, but also our similarities, like what we believe. The Catholic faith is so rich anywhere you go in the world,” Balogh said.