Name of Church St. Anne Byzantine
Address 222 E. Foothill Blvd., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
Phone number (805) 543-8883
Website https://stanneslo.org/
Worship Schedule Divine Liturgy Sundays at 10 a.m. Great Vespers Saturday, 5 p.m. Also Divine Liturgy is celebrated Tuesday through Saturday, times vary, check the website.
Confessions Sundays, 8:45 – 9:30 a.m. and before Divine Liturgy during the week, check the parish website.
Names of priests Fr. Michael Bezruchka, pastor. He has served the parish since 2018.
Special parish activities Youth catechesis, educational classes on Byzantine traditions.
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 Annunciation Byzantine initially began at the request of former parishioners of Annunciation Byzantine parish in Anaheim and its San Luis Obispo site was selected as a halfway point between Los Angeles and San Francisco. While it began for the parish for Ruthenian Byzantine Catholics, Roman rite Catholics are welcome to attend. If you register and wish to become a regular parishioner, you can inquire about their unique traditions, fast days and feast days so that you can better embrace their Eastern Catholic spirituality.
Parking There is ample parking alongside the church.
Additional observations St. Anne Byzantine is a Ruthenian Byzantine parish of the Eparchy of Phoenix 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. Anne Byzantine began with 25 parishioners in 1986 as a parish mission and became a parish in 1989. The church is a former Disciples of Christ Church purchased in 1990 and modified for Byzantine worship.
If I’m not mistaken, if a Latin rite Catholic wishes to formally join a different rite there is a specific canonical process for that. I do wonder what the understanding is for such a person to regularly attend a different rite when Masses in their own rite are regularly available.
A lot depends on motivation, I think.
If you just love and want to go to a different rite, I think it is OK.
If you hate your own rite, not OK.
Prayer and discernment is needed.
Seek God’s Will.
What is God’s Will for me?
I would start with the assumption that God has put you where he wants you. Unless there is a specific event that you feel God is calling you, stay put.
In general, the old rule was to do what you yourself would like least. The Lord will make his will known to you. You will be blessed for putting God ahead of yourself.
If you are a wife, obey your husband. Same with children-honor your parents.
You are correct, if one desires to change the particular Catholic Church to which he or she belongs. That said, there is only one Catholic Church and Catholics may attend any Catholic Church (and receive the sacraments) regardless of which particular/ritual Catholic Church it is. Many Latin Catholics attend our parishes and many Eastern Catholics attend Latin Church parishes regularly. To change Churches, one needs to be released by their bishop and received by the bishop of the other particular Catholic Church. (I know the process, as I did that.) And, you make a point, if one attends a particular Church for a number of years, when his or her own Church is readily available, one should seriously consider transferring Churches. Of course, this includes following some different Holy Days, norms for fasting, etc. If some of you believe you are so called, you are always welcome; we’re all part of the same family. The pastor and deacon at this parish are good and knowledgeable men, who would be happy to answer any questions you may have. I hope that helps explain it.
So the catholic church is like the federation of planets?
No, it’s the one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church of the Creeds.
“Ad astra audacter in alis fidelis.”
I attend a Byzantine rite , I was raised in the Latin Rite I was never asked or heard of making an official transition to the Eastern rite. I just started attending and became part of the community.
They have a lot different liturgical schedule.
We were “Roamin’ Catholics” in 2000, and when we discovered St. Anne’s, it became our spiritual home, and remained so for 10 years.
Fr. Idrany ♱, the founding pastor, was a great spiritual guide to me and my family, educating us in the Faith, and bringing us closer to Christ. He devoted his life to that parish.
Three of our babies received Baptism, Holy Eucharist and Chrismation there.
It was a wonderful community, feasting after Divine Liturgy in the downstairs hall, sharing our lives, laughing, loving, singing, and crying together.
We fell in love with their traditions … and the chant, incense (even on weekdays!), annointings, blessings. We learned about the great Eastern Fathers and Saints.
Their Great Fast is a serious exercise in self-discipline. No meat, dairy, or eggs on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Liturgy of the Presanctified includes full prostrations. By the time Easter arrives, you will be a “new man” in Christ.
I liked the logic of their Liturgical Calendar starting on Sept 8 with the Nativity of the Theotokos.
I loved their penitential prayer immediately before Communion.
We dearly miss St. Anne’s, but since moving away from there, God blessed us with a wonderful FSSP parish to fill the void.
What’s wrong with the SLO mission church?