Name of Church St. Nicholas Byzantine Church
Address 9112 Oleander Avenue, Fontana, CA 92335
Phone number (909) 822-9917
Website eparchyofphoenix.org
Worship Schedule Sunday Divine Liturgy, 10 a.m. Weekdays, 9 a.m.
Confessions 30 minutes before liturgies.
Names of priests Fr. Stephen Casmus, administrator. Fr. Casmus had an engineering career (as a deacon) before being ordained a priest. He is from Las Vegas, and came to the congregation in 2016. He brings a lot of life experience to his role as administrator, and is popular with his community.
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. Visiting Roman Catholics, properly disposed, may receive Communion.
Fellow parishioners Mostly those interested in the Byzantine liturgy, or those formerly in the Latin rite seeking a more ancient form of the liturgy.
Parking No problem
Additional observations St. Nicholas 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. St. Nicholas is a small congregation in an old church which is part of the Byzantine Eparchy (diocese) of Phoenix.
The beauty of the Eastern Catholic tradition is the reverence and lack of corruption in the liturgy itself. As a personal preference and after experiencing the Syro Malbar and Chaldean liturgical traditions first-hand, other Catholics of the Latin (Western) rite who are sometimes disillusioned with the Roman liturgy can find a truly spiritual experience in the Eastern Catholic liturgies.
Remember, there are 22 other flavors of Catholicism within the Eastern Catholic traditions. Catholic is Catholic and the Latin (Roman) right does not have an exclusive monopoly on the liturgy or in dispensing the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist.