BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//ephx.org//eCatholic//EN X-WR-TIMEZONE:LocalTZ BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:LocalTZ X-LIC-LOCATION:LocalTZ BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:LocalTZ DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:LocalTZ DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065742@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260426 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260427 SUMMARY:Sunday of the Paralytic DESCRIPTION:On the Sunday of the Paralytic and for the rest of the Paschal season\, Sundays deal with the theme of water. At these Divine Liturgies\ , the newly baptized adults who had been catechumens were given further in struction in the Christian faith\, and so the Sundays all deal with the sy mbolism of water used in Baptism. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065746@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260503 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260504 SUMMARY:Sunday of the Samaritan Woman DESCRIPTION:The fifth paschal Sunday is given over to the texts of the Sam aritan Woman\, she who boldly bantered with the Lord on a hot afternoon by the well of Shechem. Afterward\, she led her townspeople to faith in Him as the Messiah. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065747@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260510 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260511 SUMMARY:Sunday of the Man Born Blind DESCRIPTION:Today the Church continues the baptismal theme and the use of water\, but here spiritual blindness is removed as well as physical. In fa ct\, icons of the miracle show the pool of Siloam in the shape of a baptis mal font. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065748@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260514 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260515 SUMMARY:The Ascension of our Lord\, God and Savior Jesus Christ DESCRIPTION:Ascension Thursday comes at the end of the forty days of Pasch a. On Wednesday morning\, the Easter canon is sung for the last time\, and then the Plaschanitsa is removed from the altar and can be laid in the to mb for the faithful to venerate one last time for the year\, before it is put away.\n END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065750@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260517 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260518 SUMMARY:Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council DESCRIPTION:The Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council is t he Sunday after the Feast of the Ascension. The First Ecumenical Council w as held in 325 AD at Nicaea\, outside of Constantinople. This Council auth orized the famous Nicene Creed\, recited at every Divine Liturgy\, which a ffirms the divinity and humanity of Jesus\, and so our salvation through H is Passion\, Death and Resurrection. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065805@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260524 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260525 SUMMARY:Pentecost Sunday DESCRIPTION:The Descent of the Spirit came with a great wind that rushed t hrough the building\, and tongues of fire danced on the heads of the disci ples. This event\, at nine o’clock in the morning\, is commemorated every day in the Divine Office at the Third Hour. As a result of the descent of the Holy Spirit\, Saint Peter is transformed and he begins his preaching m inistry in the street outside of the house\, and thousands are converted t o faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the true Messiah of Israel.\n END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065806@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260531 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260601 SUMMARY:Sunday of All Saints DESCRIPTION:Each day of the church year is dedicated to a saint or group o f saints. But there are many saints that no one knows or guesses about. In God's Providence\, their names are recorded in the Book of Life. Therefor e\, in order to pay their respects\, the Church has dedicated a day to hon or all Saints who are not included in the annual cycle of the church calen dar. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065807@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260601 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260602 SUMMARY:The Apostles' Fast (June 1 - 28) DESCRIPTION:This Summer Lent is a preparation for the great feast of SS. P eter and Paul on June 29th. These two apostles are the two pillars of the Church. It is also related to what Jesus said in Matthew 9:15\, in reply to the Pharisees’ complaint that the apostles were not keeping fast days a ccording to the Law: But the days will come\, when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them\, and then shall they fast." END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:2960526@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260608 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260621 SUMMARY:Young Adult Mission Trip to Athens\, Greece June 8-20\, 2026 DESCRIPTION:This summer young adults may join a mission trip to Athens\, G reece (June 8-20\, 2026) organized by the Office of Youth and Young Adults Ministry of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065808@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260624 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260625 SUMMARY:Birth of the Holy Prophet\, Apostle\, and Forerunner John DESCRIPTION:June 24 is the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. He is the only “ordinary” saint whose conception\, birth and death are com memorated on the Church Calendar. He is the Forerunner of Jesus\, the last of the Jewish prophets\, the one who prepared “the way of the Lord” for J esus’ ministry. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065809@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260629 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260630 SUMMARY:The Holy Apostles SS. Peter and Paul DESCRIPTION:Peter and Paul are considered to be the two pillars of the Chu rch. From radically different backgrounds - Peter a commercial fisherman f rom Galilee\, Paul a well-educated Pharisee and Roman citizen from the col ony of Tarsus. Our two saints are responsible for the preaching to the Gen tiles (Paul) and approving that mission (Peter). END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:2981817@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260709 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260713 SUMMARY:2026 ByzanTEEN Rally July 9-12 in Cleveland\, OH DESCRIPTION:The next ByzanTEEN Youth Ralley will take place in Cleveland\, OH on July 9-12\, registration opens in January 2026. Together with their peers\, youth actively engage in living\, growing in\, and promoting the Byzantine Catholic tradition. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067031@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260719 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260720 SUMMARY:Fathers of the first six Ecumenical Councils DESCRIPTION:On the Sunday between the 13th and the 19th of July\, the East ern Churches commemorate the first Six Ecumenical Councils. These began in 325 AD\, just 14 years after the Christian Faith was given legal status i n the Roman Empire\, as the Church sought to define Who Jesus Christ is\, and how we are saved by His Precious Blood on the Cross and brought to new life in Him. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067032@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260720 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260721 SUMMARY:Holy Prophet Elijah DESCRIPTION:The feast of St. Elias / Elijah is commemorated on July 20 eve ry year\, by Catholics\, Orthodox\, and by the Carmelite Order\, which see s Elias as its spiritual ancestor. His icons are noted for the bright colo rs that are used\, fiery red especially. He is the patron saint of wheeled vehicles\, due to his heavenly chariot\, and cars and other vehicles are blessed on his feast day. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3065813@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260731 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260803 SUMMARY:Christ Our Catechist Retreat DESCRIPTION:A catechists’ weekend of renewal will be offered at the Cathed ral of St. Stephen in Phoenix\, AZ on July 31 - August 2\, 2026 for all EC F coordinators and teachers in the eparchy.\n\nThe weekend begins at 5 pm on Friday July 31 with dinner and concludes with a Hierarchical Divine Lit urgy with Bishop Artur on Sunday at 10 am at the Cathedral. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067033@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260801 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260815 SUMMARY:The Dormition Fast DESCRIPTION:On Aug. 1 we begin a two-week fast in honor of the Holy Theoto kos\, in preparation for the celebration of her holy Dormition (falling as leep). Our fast ends on August 14th\, the Vigil of the Dormition of the Mo st Holy Theotokos. Traditionally this is a strict fast\, but observance in America is voluntary. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067035@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260801 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260802 SUMMARY:Procession of the Holy Cross DESCRIPTION:August 1 is a multiple feast. First off\, today marks the begi nning of the Dormition Fast. Next it is the remembrance of the Procession of the Life-Giving Cross: on this day the True Cross was carried through the streets of Constantinople and laid on the altar of Hagia Sophia. Then on the eve of the Dormition\, it was returned to its usual resting place n ear the palace. On both days\, the clergy would pray for God’s blessings u pon the city and the empire. Some places still do this with a relic of the True Cross being carried around the church. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067038@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260806 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260807 SUMMARY:The Transfiguration of the Lord DESCRIPTION:August 6 marks the holy day of the Transfiguration. Jesus take s his three closest friends – Peter\, James and John\, who He will also ta ke into the Garden of Gethsemane - to the top of Mount Tabor. There He is finally revealed in all His glory. He is accompanied by Moses\, the giver of the Law\, and Elijah\, the greatest of the prophets\, who come to confi rm His divinity as the Son of God\, the long-awaited Messiah. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067042@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260815 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260816 SUMMARY:The Dormition of the Mother of God DESCRIPTION:The liturgical year\, which is the image of the life in Christ \, is also defined by two events in the life of Mary\, her birth and her d eath. In fact\, the first feast of the liturgical year is the Nativity of the Virgin (September 8). The last major feast of the liturgical year is t he Dormition\, celebrated on August 15. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067046@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260829 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260830 SUMMARY:Beheading of St. John the Baptist DESCRIPTION:Because of his importance\, John the Baptist is the only saint \, other than Mary the Mother of God\, whose conception (Sept 23)\, birth (June 4) and death (Aug 29) are all commemorated. Along with those dates a re the commemorations of finding of his head (Feb 24: First and Second tim es\, and May 25 the Third)\; and the Synaxis on January 7\, the day after the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany\, January 6). END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067053@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260902 SUMMARY:Beginning of the Liturgical Year DESCRIPTION:Among the ancient Mediterranean cultures\, it was common to be gin a new year in the autumn\, with the end of the previous year's harvest . The civil year of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire began in Septembe r\, and September 1\, the first day of the civil year\, also called the "I ndiction"\, became the first day of the Church's year as well. The First E cumenical Council (325) decreed that the Church’s year should begin on Sep tember 1. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067056@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260908 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260909 SUMMARY:Nativity of the Mother of God DESCRIPTION:We celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary on September 8 as th e first big festival of the Byzantine liturgical year\, which began on Sep tember 1. All icons of this feast show the elderly but happy parents\, SS. Joachim and Anne\, and the birth is usually presented in a cozy family se tting of women attendants bustling around Saint Anne. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067059@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260914 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260915 SUMMARY:Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Creating Cross DESCRIPTION:September 14 marks the second great feast of the liturgical ye ar\, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Cross was being broken into sma ll pieces to provide relics for churches and the devout by the 340s. The r emaining main part of the Cross was lost after the Muslim reconquest of Je rusalem in 1187. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067060@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261001 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261002 SUMMARY:Holy Protection of the Mother of God DESCRIPTION:October 1\, is the patronal feast of our eparchy: the Holy Pro tection of the Mother of God (Pokrov in Slavonic). This feast\, on the fir st day of October\, celebrates the reality of Mary\, the Mother of God (Th eotokos) interceding for us before the throne of the Almighty. Both our ow n eparchy and the oldest Byzantine Catholic eparchy\, Mukachevo\, have thi s title. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067062@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261011 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261012 SUMMARY:Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council DESCRIPTION:Today we remember the Fathers of Nicaea II\, or the Seventh Ec umenical Council in 787. Called to gather at the site of the first council \, which had determined who Christ was\, these Fathers had to grapple with the heresy of iconoclasm. The location was an appropriate choice\, for th e iconoclasts were close to denying the human nature of the divine person\ , Jesus Christ. His humanity and divinity had been affirmed at Nicaea back in 325. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3067065@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261018 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261019 SUMMARY:Feast of Saint Luke DESCRIPTION:Saint Luke is the author of both his gospel and the Acts of th e Apostles\, which should be read as one unit. A Greek physician from Anti och\, he was converted by the preaching of Paul. The Acts are dedicated to an unknown governor of the province of Antioch. He is also said to have b een the companion of Cleophas on the road to Emmaus. Another tradition cla ims that he was among the Seventy Disciples who followed Christ during his preaching. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068264@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261026 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261027 SUMMARY:Holy Great-Martyr Demetrius DESCRIPTION:The church calendar is filled with warrior saints\, soldiers w ho served in the military faithfully but stood up for their Christian fait h when necessary. Demetrius was an officer in the Roman army\, and belonge d to one of Rome’s ancient patrician families with the right to speak in t he Senate. He was killed in the last big persecution of Christians under t he emperor Diocletian. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068280@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261031 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261101 SUMMARY:Blessed Bishop-Martyr Theodore Romzha DESCRIPTION:Blessed Theodore Romzha\, the youngest Catholic bishop at 33 i n 1944\, became the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church's defiant leader amid Soviet annexation\, as the sole free bishop in the USSR by 1946. He resist ed pressure to join the state church\, preached martyrdom\, and secretly c onsecrated successors\, ensuring the faith's underground survival after hi s October 31\, 1947 martyrdom. Beatified in 2001\, his feast honors that d ate. He is the patron of Bishop Artur's vocation. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068629@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261108 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261109 SUMMARY:Holy Archangel Michael and all the Angelic Powers DESCRIPTION:November 8 is the “Synaxis of the Holy\, Heavenly\, Bodiless P owers”\, or Saint Michael the Archangel\, and all the choirs of Angels. Th is includes our own Guardian Angels. Some say that we have guardian angels assigned to us when we are conceived in our mother's wombs. Others say\, as in the baptismal ritual\, that they are given to us when we are baptize d. Either way\, we are blessed with angels who try to steer us in the righ t direction and watch over us. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068631@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261115 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261225 SUMMARY:Saint Philip's Fast (Nativity Fast) DESCRIPTION:The Pre-Christmas Fast\, or Saint Philip’s Fast (Filipovka) is connected to Saint Philip the Apostle because his feast day is forty days before Christmas\, and forty days has a repeated biblical significance. \ nThe fasting is designed to help us to prepare to see Christ come into the world\, and the beginning of His public ministry on Theophany (January 6) . END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068633@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261121 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261122 SUMMARY:Entrance of the Mother of God Into the Temple DESCRIPTION:The Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple\, also calle d The Entrance of Our Lady into the Temple\, is one of the Twelve Great Fe asts of the Byzantine Rite\, celebrated on November 21. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068636@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261206 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261207 SUMMARY:Holy Father Nicholas\, Archbishop of Myra DESCRIPTION:Saint Nicholas is the special patron of our own Byzantine-Ruth enian Catholic Church. The center of monastic life and the residence of th e bishops of our Church was the monastery of Saint Nicholas in the town of Mukachevo\, for at least 900 years. Such is his fame and importance that every iconostas in every church that uses the Byzantine rite\, Catholic or Orthodox\, must have his icon at the north end of the screen. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068639@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261212 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261213 SUMMARY:The Theotokos of Guadalupe DESCRIPTION:December 12 is the feast of the Theotokos of Guadalupe. Under this title\, the Mother of God is invoked as the patroness of the Americas \, as well as of Mexico\, and as such is included in our liturgical calend ar with all honor. In our day\, she is invoked as the protectress of the u nborn against abortion\, as she is revealed in the miraculous image as bei ng pregnant. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068641@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261213 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261214 SUMMARY:Sunday of the Forefathers DESCRIPTION:All the great Fathers and Mothers and Prophets of the Old Test ament\, starting with Adam\, Abraham\, Isaac and Jacob\, are called to min d this weekend including such figures as the Holy Prophets Elias and Danie l. The Church brings them to our attention now\, right before Christmas\, largely because of their faith – their belief in the promise given by God to Adam during his expulsion from the garden of Eden\, that in the end a S avior will come into the world and will redeem mankind from original sin. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068645@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261220 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261221 SUMMARY:Sunday of the Ancestors DESCRIPTION:The Sunday of the Ancestors celebrates the men and women in Je sus' family tree. Just like ordinary families\, there are some people of w hom we know little\, and some that we'd rather not know about at all! This genealogy shows that Jesus is open to all people\, of all backgrounds\, j ust as His Church is. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068649@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261225 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261226 SUMMARY:Nativity of our Lord\, God and Savior Jesus Christ DESCRIPTION:The Byzantine Christmas greeting Christ is born! Glorify Him! was already common in the mid-300s. St Gregory Nazianzen starts his famous Christmas sermon with those words\, and Eastern Christians have been sayi ng this during the twelve days of Christmas for over 1700 years. Jesus lai d in the manger – the feed trough for the animals which is transformed int o the feeding place for people who worship Christ. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068652@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261227 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261228 SUMMARY:The Holy Apostle and First Martyr Stephen DESCRIPTION:Saint Stephen was one of the first seven deacons\, and the fir st martyr to die for Christ. Thus\, he is known as the protomartyr. He was one of the Greek deacons (Stephanos)\, and in Acts he is described as fil led with the Holy Spirit and "full of grace and strength" (Acts 6: 5-8). END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:3068657@ephx.org DTSTAMP:20260425T122900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261227 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261228 SUMMARY:Commemoration of the Relatives of the Lord: Saints Joseph\, James and David DESCRIPTION:Today we celebrate three important saints who are connected wi th Jesus: David the King\, Joseph His foster-father\, and James the Just. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR