December 1, 2006

Byzantine archbishop welcomed in Nashville

Andy Telli, Tennessee Register

The leader of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is hopeful a Byzantine Catholic mission might be established in Nashville one day.

Byzantine Metropolitan Archbishop Basil Schott visited Nashville to celebrate the Byzantine rite of the Divine Liturgy – or the Holy Eucharist – on Nov. 18 at Assumption Church and to meet with Byzantine rite Catholics living in the area.

“We appreciate very much the hospitality of Bishop David (Choby) and the Nashville Diocese,” Archbishop Basil said during a reception that followed the Divine Liturgy. Bishop Choby attended the Divine Liturgy and at the end told those gathered that the diocese would support Archbishop Basil’s efforts to establish a Byzantine mission in the Diocese of Nashville and hoped they were successful.

The archbishop said he was “very happy with the turnout” for the Divine Liturgy, which nearly filled Assumption Church.

It was the first time the archbishop had been to Nashville to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, although a priest from the Diocese of Knoxville celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Nashville two years ago.

“We’re trying to have an outreach to our people all over the country, including Nashville,” Archbishop Basil said.

The obstacle to establishing a mission in the Nashville area is the lack of clergy, Archbishop Basil said.

The Byzantine Catholic Church is one of the Eastern rite churches that remain in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. It traces its heritage to the Apostles who carried Christianity to the Gentiles in the Greek-speaking countries and communities of the Eastern Mediterranean. Its liturgical traditions, like those of all the Eastern rite churches, were shaped by those of the Byzantine church, centered in Constantinople, rather than the Latin-rite church based in Rome.

“Byzantine Catholics in America are the spiritual descendants of Christians in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East,” according to the Archeparchy’s website.

Latin-rite priests can be trained to celebrate the Byzantine rite and serve Catholics of both rites, Archbishop Basil said. Such priests are called bi-ritual priests, he added.

The priest from East Tennessee who celebrated the Divine Liturgy two years ago, Father Thomas O’Connell, is a bi-ritual priest.

Kim Markovchick, a parishioner at St. Matthew Church in Franklin, helped to organize Archbishop Basil’s visit to Nashville.

Photo by Andy Telli
Metropolitan Archbishop Basil Schott of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh gives his homily during the Divine Liturgy he celebrated at Assumption Church in Nashville. After the liturgy, Archbishop Basil said he hopes to one day establish a mission for Byzantine rite Catholics in the Nashville area.