Prayers for peace in Ukraine poured forth from weekend Masses across Virginia, but for approximately 100 Catholics in a Front Royal church March 20, the petitions were especially personal and fervent. At Sts. Joachim and Anna Ukrainian Catholic Church, you may be a pew away from someone who was born in Ukraine, worked there or can trace their lineage to those resisting Russian bombings and aggression today.
Since the war began Feb. 24, the parish has seen an uptick in visitors and a surge in offers to help affected Ukrainians, according to congregants and clergy.
“The generosity of people, whether they’re Catholic or not, has been absolutely amazing,” said Father Robert Hitchens, pastor. “It has really given an opportunity for Christians to practice what we’re supposed to do — taking care of our sisters and brothers.”
Father Hitchens and another priest from the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family in Washington alternate weekends at the Front Royal church.
Bob Wiesner, a founding parishioner, said they routinely field calls offering a vacant room or in-law apartment for shelter and other aid for any displaced Ukrainians who arrive here. “The people making these offers are not necessarily Catholics, either,” he said. The calls increased after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s visit Feb. 27 was covered by local media. The church has partnered with the shrine and others to raise nearly $100,000 to support food and humanitarian aid from Caritas Ukraine for the war’s victims dispersed in Poland and elsewhere.
In the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the third Sunday of Lent, called the Great Fast, is considered the midpoint of the season and dedicated to the veneration of the Holy Cross. The liturgy is marked with the refrain of, “To Your Cross, O Master, we bow in veneration, and we glorify your holy Resurrection.” It is a sign both of what’s to come (the Passion) and also a sign of Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death, Father Hitchens said.
He noted in his homily that this year it falls at a challenging time, with the continued attacks on Ukraine. While that may prompt some to question the impact of prayer, he said their prayers are being heard as evidenced by the outreach to the church in Front Royal and those throughout the world.
“There is a conversion of hearts that is taking place, so we need to intensify our prayers and actions during this time,” Father Hitchens said. “May all of us intensify our commitments to living our Christian values and the promises that we made in holy baptism.”
Parishioner Ivanna Richardson was born in Ukraine and has extended family there. When her daughters recently wired money to help their cousins in Ukraine, the local banks lacked the currency to dispense it. Although she has lived in the United States for decades, she can still recite the Our Father and Hail Mary in her native language. “It makes me feel at home,” she said of attending the parish.
The establishment of Sts. Joachim and Anna Church helped, along with family ties, to lure Teresa Fedoryka to the area from Philadelphia. She worked in Ukraine from 1992 to 1995 as part of a humanitarian relief effort following the fall of the Soviet Union. Recently, she reconnected through social media with friends in Europe offering to house those fleeing the violence. She helped translate a new website built to reach them. Two weeks ago, her friend in France helped welcome 100 refugees.
The Ukrainian Catholic Church is one of 23 Eastern churches and follows the Byzantine liturgy, authored by St. John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople, in the fifth century. These Eastern churches are in communion with the Vatican in a relationship that has grown stronger over the centuries. During his pontificate, St. John Paul II stressed the importance that the church breathe with “both lungs” — the East and West.
While Catholics are unified in doctrine, there are differences in celebrating the faith. Mass is instead referred to as Divine Liturgy and punctuated by acapella singing and movement throughout the church during the service. A screen, or iconostasis, adorned with icons of saints, separates the altar from the pews. It symbolizes the meeting of heaven and earth in church. Three doors allow the priest and altar servers to pass back and forth. There are no kneelers; worshippers show reverence through frequent, deep bows, or metanies, and the Eastern version of the sign of the cross.
To perform it, the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand are clasped together in a point representing the Holy Trinity, while the last two fingers remain flat against the palm, symbolizing Christ’s two natures, human and divine. Next, the hand is raised to touch the forehead (“In the name of the Father”), brought down to the lower chest (“and of the Son”) and touches each shoulder, starting with the right (“and of the Holy Spirit”) rather than the left.
The church was established in 2015 in response to an appeal from Wiesner and several other Catholics for more convenient access to Eastern worship. Previously, attending this particular liturgy required a drive to the shrine in Washington that can exceed three hours roundtrip from Front Royal.
For several years, the parish gathered for worship in a Human Life International chapel, until the pandemic’s social-distancing requirements forced them outdoors. In late 2020, Father Hitchens purchased a former Pentecostal church that became the parish’s new home. In December, the addition of another priest allowed the church to move weekend liturgies from Saturdays to Sundays, with confessions available beforehand. Now the church is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., to accommodate increased interest from Catholics and the broader community who want to come and pray during the week.
“Even though Ukraine is such a faraway place and many people may not have known anything about it before, they’re really just like everybody in Virginia and in the Arlington diocese,” Father Hitchens said. “They want to raise their families, see their children go to school, have grandchildren some day and just to life live in freedom.”
