Apostolic Christianity. Right here in Harrisburg.

What is the Catholic Church?

“The sole Church of Christ is that which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it. . . . This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him.” - Catechism of the Catholic Church, p.816

The Catholic Church is a communion of 24 Churches. The largest is the Roman (Latin) Church. Each Church celebrates the Eucharist using one of 7 liturgical rites, or ways to worship. St. Ann’s is a Ruthenian Catholic Church that uses the Byzantine Rite in our Eucharistic celebration. The Western and Eastern Churches form what St. John Paul II called the “two lungs” of the Catholic Communion.

St. Ann’s is in communion with the Pope of Rome and all Catholics are welcome to receive the Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments) here.

Interested in becoming Catholic? Please contact our pastor.

What is the Byzantine-Ruthenian Church?

In the mountainous region of Carpatho-Rus, known also as Carpatho-Ruthenia, situated between present day Slovakia and Ukraine, there is a group of Eastern Christians. Evangelized in the ninth century by those equals-to-the-apostles, Saints Cyril and Methodius, this group received the Holy Gospel and Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments) from the Byzantine Church of Constantinople. Although Cyril and his brother, Methodius, were Greek (from Thessalonika), they promoted the use of the ancient Slavonic language in worship. This language, later known as Old Church Slavonic, would become the liturgical language of the Carpatho-Rusyns and all Slavonic Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic. In time, Cyril and Methodius brought their liturgical books to Rome to receive the blessings of Pope Hadrian, and he in turn blessed their mission of establishing the Greek (Byzantine) Catholic religion in the Carpathian mountains of Central Europe.

Some things that set us apart:

  • Icon of St. Ann

    Iconography

    Icons are beautiful – but they’re more than art. Icons are integral to Eastern Tradition and offer a “window into heaven,” by making present to us, in a special way, those they depict. We venerate and kiss icons to be close to the people in them – which brings us close to God.

  • Eastern Catholic church with golden onion domes against a cloudy sky.

    Architecture

    Instead of soaring heights, Churches in the East have a “rounded” feel, accentuated by the large dome in the center. The symbolism is of Heaven meeting Earth – God inviting us into His home and dwelling among us.

  • Close-up of open music sheet with notes and lyrics in a book.

    Chant

    You will immediately notice that our liturgies are nearly entirely sung. Our prayer engages our whole bodies, indeed all our senses as we stand, bow, sing, move, listen, smell the incense rising in prayer, taste our Heavenly King in the Eucharist, see the beauty and power of our faith all around us, and reach our arms to God in prayer together as a community.