Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

Slava Isusu Christu! Slava Na Viki!

St. George, St. Mary, and St. Nicholas Churches are members of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, part of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. We are part of one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church but maintain their own unique liturgical, theological, spiritual, and disciplinary traditions, tracing their origins back to apostolic times.

Each Eastern Catholic Church is an autonomous Church (sui juris), possessing its own hierarchy, including patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and distinct legal canons.  The term “Eastern” refers to their historical roots in regions from Egypt and Syria to Iraq, Ethiopia, and India, and their liturgical traditions originating in ancient centers like Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria. The Eastern Catholic Churches are not merely Catholic communities with different liturgies; they are distinct Churches with their own apostolic lineages and legitimate rites. The Second Vatican Council’s decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum affirmed that the diversity within these Churches enhances, rather than harms, the unity of the Catholic Church, and that all Churches, including the Latin Church, are of equal dignity. The Pope is the supreme authority over all, with the Congregation for the Oriental Churches serving as the central organ of the Holy See for these Churches.

 In our Church, we celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (the Eastern equivalent of the Roman Mass) as developed in the city of Constantinople. While our Church is open to all nationalities, our heritage is that of the Rusyn people, who had the Gospel brought to them by Sts. Cyril and Methodius, apostles to the Slavs, in the 9th century. We retain practices like the use of leavened bread for the Eucharist, the reception of Holy Communion under both kinds, and infant Communion.

 The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, promulgated in 1990, ensures the preservation and organic development of their rites and ways of life. Despite comprising only about 1.5% of the global Catholic population, these Churches are valued for their deep traditions, vibrant communities, and the richness they bring to the universal Church.

 These churches are under the direction of Father Anthony Costantino.

Fr. Anthony is a native of Canonsburg, PA. He was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona in 2022. He spent seven years serving as a Franciscan on the Gila River Indian Reservation south of Phoenix as well as in inner-city Detroit. After departing from the Franciscan Order, he returned to the Pittsburgh area and began serving with the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. He has been assigned as administrator of St. Mary church in Ambridge, St. George Byzantine Catholic Church in Aliquippa, as well as St. Nicholas Chapel in Beaver.