Byzantine Romanian Catholic Mission

We are Catholics in communion with the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, whom we recognize as the visible Head of the Catholic Church. Our Mission was established in 2001 under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto. In June 2010, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI transferred the existing Romanian Catholic Missions under the jurisdiction of Most Rev. John Michael Botean, Bishop of the Romanian Catholic Diocese of Canton in USA (www.romaniancatholic.org/2013/04/364/"). Bishop John Michael Botean is now the Bishop of all Romanian Catholics of Byzantine Rite in USA and Canada. As part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we are identified as Eastern Catholics and share the same faith and we have the same seven Sacraments. Read More

The Divine Liturgy, the offering (sacrifice) of the Body and Blood of Christ, is the central act of worship. The Byzantine Liturgy is one of the most widely celebrated in Canadian Eastern Catholic Churches. It has several different forms, but the principal one used daily by most Eastern Catholics is the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. St. John Chrysostom (349-407) was Archbishop of Constantinople and a renowned preacher and biblical scholar. The liturgy was adapted from the Liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem. Read More

As Eastern Catholics, we celebrate the Divine Liturgy according to the Romanian tradition of the Byzantine Rite. This Liturgy will have familiar parts - Scripture readings, Eucharistic Prayer, and Holy Communion - Read More

Blessing oneself with two fingers brought to the thumb represents the Trinity. The last two fingers held to the palm represent the two natures of Jesus - God and man. For the first 1,200 years of the Church, in making the Sign of the Cross, Read More

Icons are revelation in pigment and paint. In front of the altar, usually on an iconostasis, which is the screen partition that unites the mystical heavenly (sanctuary or Holy of Holies) to the earthly (nave), you see two icons flanking the altar. The icon of Mary with the Child Jesus in her arms reminds us of the first coming of Jesus, the God-man. The icon of Jesus by Himself represents His Second Coming at the end of time. The altar beckons us to enter into Gods presence and to put aside all earthly distractions. Icons make us remember: not a passive recollection of a past person or event, but a remembrance that transforms. This is one of the foundation stones of Christian liturgy - that the remembrance makes present the reality.

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We use incense as a sign of reverence for the sacred place and the sacredness of the people who are made in God's image and as a sign of preparing for something important about to happen in the Liturgy. It is our prayer ascending like the smoke of incense before the throne of God.

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We bow and make the Sign of the Cross many times during the Liturgy, as a sign of our faith, and the receiving and accepting of Gods blessings. Following the making of the Sign of the Cross, reverence to God is further expressed by bowing the head. We bless ourselves every time we mention the Persons of the Trinity by name, or whenever the priest blesses the congregation. We also bow and sign ourselves whenever we enter or leave the church.

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Our altar bread is made with yeast (leavened) to symbolize that Christ is risen! At the beginning of the Liturgy, the priest will cut a loaf of specially baked prosphora and prepare cubed particles that will be used for distribution of Holy Communion.

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