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"We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in our prayers for you because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you bear to all - moved as you are by the hope held in store for you in heaven!"
Paul's Epistle to the Colossians (1:3-4)
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A Short Church History
Originally a part of St. George Byzantine Catholic Church which was founded in 1896 and served both Ruthenian and Ukranian Catholics... [More]
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| February 08, 2012 | Welcome to SS. Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic Church |
 100th Anniversary Celebration:
Check back frequently for updates. Also leave your contact information so SS. Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic Church can contact you for invitations. More DetailsHillcrest Catering:
If you need great home cooked meals and a first class hall you have come to the right place! Hillcrest has been providing quality service for over 50 years. More Details |
Who are Byzantine Catholics?
After the day of Pentecost, the apostles spread out over the world to take the good news (Gospel) of Christ to the world. They went to the major cities of the Roman empire and Christianized the various cultures and traditions of the people they found there and developed liturgies. Among these apostles were, of course, our co-patrons, Saints Peter and Paul, the Prime Apostles and Pillars of the Church. Saint Peter’s bother, St. Andrew, is also known as the Apostle to the East. One of these metropolitan cities was Constantinople (at that time known as Byzantium) where two Greek missionaries, SS. Cyril and Methodius, brought the Byzantine way of worship to Central and Eastern Europe. From these ethnic groupings (Slavs, Greeks, Hungarians, Croatians, Russians, Ukrainians) many people emigrated to the United States at the end of the 19th century bringing with them the Byzantine Rite and traditions. Many settled in the Eastern part of Pennsylvania, known as the “Coal Region,” for work in the mines. Many members of SS. Peter & Paul Church are descendents of these immigrants. A Brief History of the Byzantine Rite
Yes, we are Catholics in communion with the Holy Father, the Pope of Rome whom we recognize as the visible Head of the Catholic Church. We are recognized as being "Catholic" by the local Roman Catholic Bishops and the Bishops of the United States and the whole world. Any Catholic may attend our churches, receive the Sacraments (Holy Mysteries), and fulfill one’s Sunday and Holyday obligation. While we are "Catholics", we are not considered Roman Catholics, but Catholics who are identified as being Eastern of Byzantine Catholics. In both the East and West Catholics share the same faith and have the same seven Sacraments. We Eastern Catholics express this faith in the unique rituals, traditions, and customs of our Byzantine Rite. As the late, great Pope John Paul II once said, "The Church as a Body must learn to breath once again with both its lungs – its Eastern and Western lungs." |
SS Peter & Paul Church
Over the last several decades, the parish has undergone major renovations. In the early 1990's, under Fr. Donald Kranak, Hillcrest was modernized, the church interior was repainted, and a breezeway was installed, connecting church and rectory. Fr. Michael Mondik continued the renovations in the late 1990's with new icons for the church and screen, new domes, a new church canopy and entrance... [Continue]
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