Slava Iisusu Christu! Glory to Jesus, the Christ!
Slava vo v'iki Bohu! Glory forever to God!
Welcome to Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church!
Welcome to the website of Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church. We are located at 311 First Avenue in lovely Jessup, Pennsylvania. Our Rectory is right next door at 313 First Avenue in Jessup. If you should be in the Scranton area, we hope that you would stop by and worship with us.
Our weekend Divine Liturgy Schedule is as follows:
Our weekend Divine Liturgy Schedule is as follows:
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Saturdays
Vespers at 2:00 p.m. Confessions heard from 3:00 till 3:25 p.m. Public Recitation of the Holy Rosary, 3:15 Divine Liturgy at 4:00 p.m. |
Sundays
Divine Liturgy at 11:00 a.m. |
ECF (religious) classes are on Summer Break -
Thanks for a great year!
Registration for ECF (Eastern Christian Formation) classes will take place in late August, with a start day of early September. ECF not only teaches our children how to become closer to God through prayer, service, and knowledge, but it also teaches them what it is like to be an Eastern Rite Catholic, and the beautiful traditions of the Byzantine Catholic Church. To read a blog of what we did this year, please click HERE. We welcome the opportunity to teach your child about his or her faith, and the ways of our beautiful Rite.
Jessup is located in Lackawanna County, just ten minutes from Scranton, Pennyslvania which is home to the Steamtown National Historic Park, the Steamtown Marathon (a qualifier for the Boston Marathon!), and two excellent Catholic schools of Higher Learning, the University of Scranton and Marywood University. Jessup itself is home to the annual La Festa dei Ceri or the Race of the Saints known as St. Ubaldo Day.
Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church is an Eastern Rite Catholic Church. There are over twenty Rites in the Catholic Church. Byzantine and Roman Catholics are in union with Rome and share the same basic faith and Sacraments. However, they express them in different ways. Immediately upon entering a Byzantine or Eastern Rite Church, one notices many icons on the walls and an icon screen, the iconostasis, at the front of the church. The iconostasis separates the Holy Place (sanctuary) from the nave (main body) of the church. The nave represents the created, worshipping earth; it is where the congregation sits in the pews. The Holy Place represents Heaven and is often dome-shaped to represent the Kingdom of Heaven. The tradition is that when the large central doors (the Royal Doors) of the iconostasis are open, the Faithful gain a glimpse of Heaven. Icons themselves are not viewed as "pictures" but as "windows into Heaven". Eastern Rite Christians use icons to focus their prayer. Every iconostasis has four main icons. The one to the left of the Royal Doors is always the Mother of God; the one to the right of the Doors is always Jesus Christ. The second icon to the left will be St. Nicholas, Patron Saint of the Eastern Church. The second icon to the right would be the Patron Saint of the Church which, in our case, is the Holy Ghost so we have the icon for the Feast of Pentecost. The smaller doors in the iconostasis are called Deacon Doors.
Our cross is a three-barred cross. The short bar on top symbolizes the inscription that was placed above Jesus' head when He was crucified; it read "Jesus the Nazorean the King of the Jews" in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The center and longest bar on the cross represents the crossbar which Jesus carried to Golgotha where He was crucifed. The bottom bar, which is often slanted, represents where Jesus' feet were nailed to the cross.
We celebrate the Divine Liturgy which is a continuation of the Mystical Supper that Jesus shared with His apostles. Led by the priest, we praise and thank God, proclaim His goodness, and partake of the Holy Eucharist. We receive in both species, the blessed Body and Blood of Christ. But, we receive on a Communion Spoon, rather than in our hands. The Sacrament is so sacred that we dare not touch it.
We chant or sing everything and the only musical instrument that we use is the one that God Himself created, the human voice. A cantor or choir leads the Faithful in their prayers and responses, the prostopinije or simple chant of the Rusyn people. The language of our Church is Church Slavonic; our people came from the Carpathian Mountain region between Slovakia and Ukraine. Saints Cyril and Methodius were the Apostles to the Slavs.
Holy Ghost is a parish in the Eparchy (or Diocese) of Passaic, NJ which is part of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, PA.
We are partnered with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton to provide a quality Catholic education for our students. Our Elementary School is La Salle Academy with their Primary Campus for grades Pre-K to 3rd grade located just ten minutes away in Dickson City, PA and their Main Campus for grades 4-8 located next door to our church in Jessup. For more information about enrollment, visit their website or call the Main Office at 570-489-2010. La Salle Academy is proud to be the only bi-ritual Catholic School in the United States; the school students regularly attend Masses at the local Roman Catholic Church, Queen of Angels Parish, and Divine Liturgy here at Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church. This provides them will a full experience of the Catholic Church and richly enhances their faith formation. Our High School is Holy Cross High School located just ten minutes away in Dunmore, PA. For more information about enrolling in the High School, visit their website or call the Main Office at 570-346-7541.
Our cross is a three-barred cross. The short bar on top symbolizes the inscription that was placed above Jesus' head when He was crucified; it read "Jesus the Nazorean the King of the Jews" in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The center and longest bar on the cross represents the crossbar which Jesus carried to Golgotha where He was crucifed. The bottom bar, which is often slanted, represents where Jesus' feet were nailed to the cross.
We celebrate the Divine Liturgy which is a continuation of the Mystical Supper that Jesus shared with His apostles. Led by the priest, we praise and thank God, proclaim His goodness, and partake of the Holy Eucharist. We receive in both species, the blessed Body and Blood of Christ. But, we receive on a Communion Spoon, rather than in our hands. The Sacrament is so sacred that we dare not touch it.
We chant or sing everything and the only musical instrument that we use is the one that God Himself created, the human voice. A cantor or choir leads the Faithful in their prayers and responses, the prostopinije or simple chant of the Rusyn people. The language of our Church is Church Slavonic; our people came from the Carpathian Mountain region between Slovakia and Ukraine. Saints Cyril and Methodius were the Apostles to the Slavs.
Holy Ghost is a parish in the Eparchy (or Diocese) of Passaic, NJ which is part of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, PA.
We are partnered with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton to provide a quality Catholic education for our students. Our Elementary School is La Salle Academy with their Primary Campus for grades Pre-K to 3rd grade located just ten minutes away in Dickson City, PA and their Main Campus for grades 4-8 located next door to our church in Jessup. For more information about enrollment, visit their website or call the Main Office at 570-489-2010. La Salle Academy is proud to be the only bi-ritual Catholic School in the United States; the school students regularly attend Masses at the local Roman Catholic Church, Queen of Angels Parish, and Divine Liturgy here at Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church. This provides them will a full experience of the Catholic Church and richly enhances their faith formation. Our High School is Holy Cross High School located just ten minutes away in Dunmore, PA. For more information about enrolling in the High School, visit their website or call the Main Office at 570-346-7541.
