In the late afternoon of Christmas Day, singing could be heard as a group of carolers walked down Via San Alessio to the Generalate House of the Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great. Neighbors peered out their windows to see a group of young men, many in embroidered shirts, caroling and playing on instruments.
«Today is born of the Virgin He, Who in His arms holds all creation.
…The Bridegroom of the Church receives the magi
and the Son of the Virgin receives from them gifts.
We bow before Your birth, O Christ!
Now manifest to us Your divine Theophany»
(Prefeast of Nativity of our Lord – Ninth Hour)
His Beatitude Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, was the main celebrant of a Divine Liturgy of Thanksgiving in the Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran commemorating 420 years since the signing of the the Brest Union. During the homily he underscored the continued relevance of the Union of the Ukrainian Eastern Catholic Church with the Holy See.
Please note!
On the days of December 5-14, 2016 an informative and moving photo exhibit may be viewed in piazza St. Silvestro in Rome, Italy. The exhibit, “Displaced. 12 stories from Ukraine” presents stories of families that have been “displaced” by the undeclared war in Ukraine.
On December 2, 2016 during the traditional Novena in preparation for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Basilica of the 12 Apostles in Rome, His Eminence Leonardo Cardinal Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, celebrated a Mass, which representatives of all Eastern Catholic Churches in Rome had been invited to participate in, especially those from Ukraine and the Near East.
Journey of Transfiguration is an 82 page booklet that endeavors to highlight the basic elements of Saint Basil’s teachings on “the life of the monastic and the life of a Basilian community”. The booklet provides quotes from Scripture and the works of St. Basil for reflection and prayer.
During the days of November 30 to December 2, 2016 the Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great in the Saints Cyril and Methodius Vice-Province in Sečovce, Slovakia held their Vice-Provincial Chapter.