The texts, music and commentary on this website were prepared by the Metropolitan Cantor Institute of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. They are approved for provisional use in the Archeparchy, but are otherwise unofficial and should be considered superseded by any materials promulgated by the Council of Hierarchs.

Upcoming Events

February 18, 2012 - Fourth session of the 2011-2012 Metropolitan Cantor Institute, Byzantine Catholic Seminary, Pittsburgh.

complete upcoming events

Liturgical Calendar

January 22 is the 32nd Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday of Zacchaeus.
Vespers (samohlasen) - Divine Liturgy

January 29 is the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee.
Vespers - Matins - Divine Liturgy

January 30 is the feast of the three holy hierarchs, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom.
Vespers (samohlasen) - Divine Liturgy

February 2 is the feast of the Meeting of our Lord with Simeon and Anna.
Vespers - Matins - Divine Liturgy

February 5 is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, and a post-festive day of the Meeting.
Vespers (samohlasen) - Divine Liturgy

February 11 is the first All Souls Saturday.
Divine Liturgy

February 12 is the Sunday of Meatfare.
Vespers (samohlasen) - Matins - Divine Liturgy

February 18 is Cheesefare Saturday, on which we commemorate all holy ascetics.
Divine Liturgy

February 19 is the Sunday of Cheesefare.
Vespers (samohlasen) - Matins - Divine Liturgy - Sunday evening Vespers (saints only)

February 20 is the first day of the Great Fast, which continues until March 30Sunday of Cheesefare.
Daily Matins - Third and Sixth Hour

February 25 is the first Saturday in the Great Fast, on which we ccommemorate the miracle of Saint Theodore.
Divine Liturgy

February 26 is the first Sunday of the Great Fast, the Sunday of Orthodoxy.
Vespers (samohlasen) - Divine Liturgy

complete liturgical calendar

upcoming music for review

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Seminary offers online prostopinije course

This Spring, the Byzantine Online program of Saints Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh will be presenting a distance learning course on prostopinije.  This course will be taught entirely online, and include audio lectures, reading, and listening examples. The course lasts for eight weeks, and begins on February 6

For more information, write to Plainchanter@gmail.com

The Feast of the Meeting

The feast of the Meeting of the our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, which commemorates the presentation of our Lord by his parents in the Temple iin Jerusalem on the fortieth day from His birth, concludes the cycle of winter feasts that are sometimes called the "Feasts of Light". These feasts -- the Nativity, Theophany, and Meeting - have a common focus: the coming of the Messiah into the world, and the beginning of His work of redemption. (more)

The Great Fast

The Great Fast (Slavonic Velikij Post', or Svjata Chetyredesjatnica, "holy forty days") is our annual preparation for the feast of Pascha. (more)

Byzantine Catholic Hymnal

The MCI has prepared a 55-page hymnal containing the hymns from the old Levkulic Divine Liturgies book, in English and Slavonic, along with the English and Slavonic texts of the major hymns of the Divine Liturgy. (We received several requests for Lenten hymns, and making this 2007 draft book available now seemed the simplest way to satisfy those requests.) We hope this helps parishes to add to their repertoire of spiritual songs (duchovňi pisňi ) sung before and after our liturgical services.

Looking for Local Recordings of Prostopinije!

We would like to expand our archival collection of recorded prostopinije, old and new, in order to provide a record of prostopinije use in Europe and in the New World, to prevent any further loss of melodies, and to support the process of setting texts in English to the Church's plainchant.  

Parishes or individuals with recorded prostopinije who are willing to grant non-exclusive webcast rights to the Metropolitan Cantor Institute are asked to contact the webmaster, Jeff Mierzejewski, at Plainchanter@gmail.com.  Along with the recordings themselves, please provide a description of where and when they were recorded, and the names of the cantor(s) if known.