Name of Church St. Anne
Address 11211 Moorpark Street, North Hollywood CA 91602
Phone number 818-761-2034
Website www.st-anne-church.org
Worship Schedule Sundays, 8:45 a.m. Orthros. 9:15 a.m. English Liturgy, 11:40 Arabic Liturgy. Daily, 8:30 a.m. English Liturgy. The parish has a dress code. Women are asked to cover their shoulders; no shorts or flip flops for men.
Confessions Before and after liturgies, by appointment.
Names of priests Father Albert Wehby, pastor. Father will soon retire, however, and be replaced by a priest from Chicago.
School No parish school, but there are Sunday school classes for children.
Special events The parish festival is held each year at the end of September.
Special parish groups Agape, Senior Club, Women’s Circle, St. Anne Melkite League, youth and young adult groups.
Liturgy/Music The liturgy is sung, in English or Arabic (with some Greek). No instruments (with the exception of an occasional violin). The church is known for its outstanding choirs.
Fellow parishioners Originally founded to serve those of Middle Eastern descent (e.g. Syrian, Lebanese or Jordanian), today it is the spiritual home of many Anglos and Filipinos.
Parking No problem.
Acoustics Good.
Cry room Yes. There is a side chapel for children that is separated by glass from the main church.
Additional observations St. Anne Church was founded in 1909. Services were first conducted at a Latin-rite parish in Los Angeles; the current church at its North Hollywood location was built in 1965. St. Anne is part of the Melkite-Greek Catholic Eparchy (diocese) of Newton, Massachusetts, which includes the entire continental U.S. It is in union with Rome; its worship is according to the ancient Byzantine liturgy. Parishioners either sit or stand; there is usually no kneeling. Services have a lot of incense. There are many icons, which are considered windows to heaven, throughout the church. In the front of the church is an icon screen; the other side is considered heaven on earth. Parishioners receive Holy Communion on a small spoon after the host is dipped into the chalice. Also, all the baptized receive Communion, even small children.
Dress Code?
Whatta concept!
“…today it is the spiritual home of many Anglos and Filipinos.” As with many other Eastern Rite parishes, folks not traditionally associated with the particular Rite (Greeks, Russians, Ukrainians, Copts, Chaldeans, ect.) are probably refugees from Novus Ordo parishes. Which is a good thing, if they like a traditional, reverent form of Catholic worship and the Tridentine Latin Mass is not available.
Willi H, I was thinking the same thing myself. The Eastern Rite Catholics and the Orthodox do not mess with the Mass (Divine Liturgy). They keep mostly to tradition with perhaps a few minor changes over the years. The only problem I would have in changing rites or going to a Divine Liturgy all the time is that I like to kneel, but the Divine Liturgy is done with much reverence.
Anne: There are a handful of Eastern Rite Catholic parishes and missions here in San Diego county and a good number of Orthodox churches as well (Russian, Serbian, Antiochian, and Greek) that I would like to visit to check the liturgies of the East.
Love the notion of a dress code!!!
Also intrigued by the manner of distributing Holy Communion, which means under both species always (like the Upper Room), and which also means no one jamming the Host into their pocket and scurrying away…
“Also, all the baptized receive Communion, even small children.” This comment is very misleading and will play into the hands of the modernist.
The Eastern Churches as do all Churches in Union with Peter, all require that the recipient be in the State of Sanctifying Grace to recieve the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord. Why did you not make that clear?
I recently attended a Byzantine Mass in Albuquerque, and that was made quite clear to us! I went to Confession and Communion.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
The author of this article cannot say everything – it would take volumes.
He was probably pointing out something different for those of us who have separated the three Sacraments Of Initiation (Baptism, followed by Confirmation, and then Eucharist) – namely that these Melkite Greek Catholics seem to have kept the original order, thus allowing even very small children (and I wonder if he means even babies here?) are given Holy Communion, which would take a Latin Rite Catholic by surprise.
Melkite Catholics receive the 3 Sacraments for the 1st time together at the time of Baptism. If Baptised as a baby, the child receives Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation together. The baby’s God Parents/Sponsors speak for the baby denouncing Satan for the Confirmation. There is no need for “First Holy Communion” at 5-6 yrs old because the child received “First Holy Communion” at about 3 months old or so.
Unfortunately the two occasions which I attended St. Anne’s were funerals. They were Egyptian Catholics who feld Nasir and I couldn’t understand the mass although I knew it I just don’t speak or understand Arabic but it was very reverent traditionally and they do love the icons, which are beautiful. The Mosiacs throughout the church both inside and out are spectacular.
I hope to one day attend a wedding there.
Kenneth and Anonymous, I believe that some Eastern Rite Catholics and the Orthodox do give a few drops of the Sacred Wine (Sacred Blood) to infants right after they are baptized. Someone can correct me if I am wrong or look it up on line.
According to several on line sources, it does seem to be the standard practice of Eastern Catholics, along with the Orthodox, to give infants and children Holy Communion under the species of the Sacred Blood (Sacred Wine). The Eternal Word Television Network website (EWTN) has an Eastern Rite forum where you can ask any questions about this. By the way I was not saying that all Post Vatican II Masses are wrong — just the ones which are invalid or do not adherre to the rubrics of the Catholic Mass. Some of the differences are just according to culture and peoples’s temperment (preferences) and are not really wrong in themselves or seriously wrong.
Thank you, Anne, for looking up this information.
Your research rather reminds me of the ONLY reason we Roman Catholics can reserve the Precious Blood in the tabernacle: namely, for the very sick.
Sometimes the dying are able to receive (and taste) the Precious Blood, even if they are unable to consume a small piece of the Host.