Name of Church Annunciation Byzantine
Address 995 North West Street, Anaheim, CA 92801-4305
Phone number (714) 533-6292
Website www.annunciationbyzantine.org
Worship Schedule Weekday liturgy, varies, check the website for the weekly schedule. Holy Days, 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, 10 a.m.
Confessions 20 to 30 minutes before services or by appointment
Names of priests Fr. Stephen Washko, pastor. Fr. Washko was originally from Detroit, served in Phoenix and then transferred to his current assignment.
Special parish activities The parish offers a variety of activities, such as prayer groups, bible studies and a lecture series. Visit the parish website or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/annunciation.byzantine/) to see what’s coming up as well as videos from services.
Liturgy Liturgies are reverent, mostly in English and entirely sung. There is no kneeling, parishioners usually stand or sit. All ages receive Holy Communion; the host is dipped into the chalice with a spoon and administered to the faithful.
Fellow parishioners Initially the parish drew Byzantine Catholics, but has since drawn a diverse group of people attracted to the Eastern rite. Most are locals, but some drive in from a long way off.
Parking No problem
Cry room Yes
Additional observations Annunciation Byzantine in union with the Bishop of Rome, but is an Eastern Catholic rather than Roman Catholic church. They have the same faith and seven sacraments, but different customs and ways of celebrating liturgy. It traces its roots back to Constantinople (once called Byzantium). Two Greek missionaries, Cyril and Methodius, brought the Byzantine way of worship to Central and Eastern Europe. Some of these Catholics emigrated to the United States, and brought with them the Byzantine rite and traditions. Annunciation Byzantine parish was founded in 1969. Liturgy was first celebrated at St. Catherine’s Military School Chapel in Anaheim; the current 2.5 acre site was purchased in 1988. Notable pastors include Father George Kuzma, who became pastor in 1972, who later became Bishop of the Diocese of Van Nuys. Long-time pastor Monsignor George Vida came to the parish in 1987 and retired in 2015. He still visits the parish to participate in the liturgy. Although the interior has yet to be completed, it has many beautiful features, most notably the many icons. Future plans include the installation of an altar screen. On the central dome overhead, there is a large icon of Christ surrounded by angels and saints. And, there is a gift shop inside the church; visit it after the liturgies. Stroll the grounds outside afterward; look for the newly installed shrine featuring holy icon images of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Our Lady of Guadalupe surrounded by desert plants and flowers.
It’s a beautiful church with a beautiful Mass. the entire Mass is SUNG!
I thought Byzantine churches had an iconostasis. Am I incorrect, or is this part of the liturgical renewal?
Catholic is Catholic, and is always Catholic. The Byzantine Rite is one of the other 22 flavors of the Universal Catholic Church. The Roman Rite is only one of them. The Byzantine Rite is part of the Eastern Catholic Tradition. The Eastern Catholic Churches (Byzantine, Maronite, Chaldean, Syro-Malabar, etc.) are, according to St. John Paul II, the Great), the “Lumen Orientalis” (“Light of the East”). The Sacraments from any and all of the Eastern Catholic Churches are just as valid as those from the Roman (Latin) Rite. They are co-equal, and the sanctifying grace is the same. Vadis in pacem.
Thanks, I knew all that, but you didn’t answer my question.
They normally do , this parish is still currently raising funds to build theirs. It doesn’t make the Divine Liturgy invalid in case of any worries of that .
Since I didn’t see any of my fellow Byzantines, especially from Annunciation, “jump in” here, I’ll try to answer the question above. As noted in the story, adding the iconostasis is likely to happen in the future. Of course, lack of such does not affect the Divine Liturgy (Mass) celebrated there. Check it out, if you’re in the area. And, what “anonymous” “said” is certainly true, “Catholic is Catholic.” :)
Thanks, our catholic community in college hosted a Byzantine divine liturgy, and it was wonderful! Our Campus Pastor and his team were very conscious in exposing students to the Eastern Rites. As I recall it was at a free standing altar and no iconostasis, though it was not a permanent church site. May I ask, is it common practice for the liturgy to be celebrated at a free standing altar? And ad orientum or versus populum? Thanks in advance for your reply. Wisdom, attend!
For at least most Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgies (I can’t claim knowledge of all), the practice is a free standing altar (which we call a “holy table”) behind an iconostasis or curtain, which is open during parts of the Divine Liturgy. And, our liturgies are celebrated ad orientum. I hope that helps.
And, thanks for paying “attention,” as us deacons frequently chant!
And, thank you for being aware of us “other Catholics!”
Born and raised on the Roman Catholic Liturgy, I find trouble with: “all ages receiving Holy Communion”, since according with the Roman Catholic Church and the Scriptures; you have to be in good standings with our Lord, in communion with God under confession, and having all your sacraments. Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 11, Versus 29 says: because a person who eats and drinks without recognising the body is eating and drinking his own condemnation.
It is obvious to me that in your Church, do not follow the Roman Rite Calendar, and even as you are in communion with the Roman Pope, you are a Church apart from the Roman Catholic Church.