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The Heart of Christ, the Fire of Pentecost, and the Mission of Our Eparchy
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dearly beloved clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix,
Blessed Pentecost and joyful greetings in the radiant days of June!
The month of June opens for us beneath the living flame of Pentecost as we sing with one mind and with one heart:
“We have seen the true Light.
We have received the heavenly Spirit.
We have found the true faith,
And we worship the undivided Trinity,
for the Trinity has saved us.”
These words are the deepest confession of who we are as the Church. This year, June also brings before us a grace-filled moment of national and ecclesial significance. On Thursday, June 11, 2026, the Catholic bishops of the United States will consecrate our nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence. For us as Byzantine Catholics, this act of consecration is most fittingly received through the language of our own tradition: Christ is the Lover of Mankind, the One whose mercy, compassion, and divine love are poured out for the life of the world.
This solemn act of entrustment will be livestreamed from the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Florida. Please, share and encourage our faithful to participate spiritually through the livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@UsccbOrg/streams
The Heart of Jesus is not foreign to the Christian East. In every Divine Liturgy, in every Vespers, in every Matins, in every Moleben, we proclaim the Lord as good, merciful, compassionate, and the Lover of Mankind. The Heart of Christ is the living center of the Gospel. From His pierced side flows the mercy that heals the world. From His love comes the Holy Spirit, the Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life. Pentecost and the Heart of Christ belong together: the Spirit reveals the depth of Christ’s love, and the Heart of Christ sends us forth in the Spirit.
Therefore, I invite all our parishes, missions, outreaches, families, and faithful to enter spiritually into this act of consecration. Where pastorally possible, I encourage our communities to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on that day and to pray the Moleben to Jesus, Lover of Mankind, a beautiful expression of our Metropolitan Church’s Byzantine way of honoring the merciful love of Christ. Let us entrust ourselves, our families, our parishes, our Eparchy, and our nation to the Heart of the One who never abandons His people.
This consecration gives a spiritual backbone to everything we are living in this month of June.
From June 1–4, our clergy gathered at Saint Stephen Cathedral in Phoenix for our Annual Clergy Conference. The theme of our conference was: “You Can Become Fire: Igniting Spiritual Renewal Through Participation.” This theme comes from the wisdom of the Desert Fathers. When Abba Lot asked what more he could do, Abba Joseph stretched his hands toward heaven, and his fingers became like lamps of fire. He said: “If you want, you can become all flame.”
This is the invitation of Pentecost. This is the invitation of the Heart of Christ. This is the invitation before our Eparchy today: to become all flame.
During the conference, our clergy prayed, listened, studied, and discerned together how to renew our parishes and communities through participation in the Holy Spirit. We reflected on priestly zeal, the mission and role of the laity, the gifts and charisms given to the whole People of God, and the call to “conversation in the Spirit.” We also consecrated new antimensia, that sacred sign of the bishop’s presence and of the priest’s communion with his bishop at the holy altar.
The antimension reminds us that the Church is never a collection of isolated communities. Every parish altar is united to the bishop, to the Eparchy, to the whole Catholic Church, and to the one sacrifice of Christ. In a similar way, conversation in the Spirit reminds us that renewal is not born from isolated opinions, private agendas, or human planning alone. True renewal comes when we listen together, pray together, discern together, and allow the Holy Spirit to show us the path of mission.
Through the Mysteries of Christian initiation, Baptism, Chrismation and the Divine Eucharist we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and have a place in the life and mission of the Church. Every parish becomes more alive when the gifts of clergy, monastics, laity, families, youth, elders, cantors, catechists, altar servers, parish councils, and servants of charity are offered together for the glory of God.
Immediately after Pentecost, the Church gives us the Sunday of All Saints. The saints are the fruit of Pentecost. The goal of Pentecost is holiness. The goal of the Holy Spirit working in us is that we become saints. This is also the meaning of the Apostles’ Fast, which begins after the Sunday of All Saints.
In a particular way, our Eparchy saw a beautiful fruit of Pentecost this year in the ordination of Father Forrest Tucker to the holy priesthood on Pentecost Sunday in Spokane, Washington. What a grace for our missionary Eparchy! What a blessing for Saints Cyril and Methodius Parish, which has now given birth to another priestly vocation! The priest is born from the Holy Spirit and sent by the Holy Spirit. Through his hands, the Church continues to pray the great epiclesis: “Send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these Gifts here offered.” For this gift, we give glory to God. We congratulate Father Forrest, Pani Rebekah, and their God-loving domestic church. May his priesthood be a channel of grace, mercy, healing, and divine life for many souls. Axios! Many blessed years!
Beloved in Christ, as we entrust ourselves to the Heart of Jesus, Lover of Mankind, let us also ask the Holy Spirit to show forth His fruits in our Eparchy: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let these fruits be visible in our parishes. Let them be visible in our homes. Let them be visible in our parish councils, ministries, outreach efforts, and works of charity. Let them be visible in how we speak, how we listen, how we forgive, how we serve, and how we go forth in peace.
Our Eparchy is missionary not only because we cover many miles. We are missionary because Christ has entrusted to us the thirst of many hearts. The Heart of Jesus reminds us that no person is forgotten, abandoned, or unloved. The fire of Pentecost reminds us that the Church is never meant to remain closed in fear. The Holy Spirit sends us out. May the Heart of Christ burn within us and may the Holy Spirit make us all flame.
With my blessing and prayerful love in Christ,
✠ Artur
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| Union of Uzhhorod 380th Anniversary Presentation | | |
On May 15, in commemoration of the 380th anniversary of the Union of Uzhhorod in which our mother Ruthenian Church joined into communion with the larger Catholic Church, Very Rev. Christopher Zugger, the Director of Evangelization and Religious Education for the eparchy, gave a presentation at Saint Stephen Cathedral about the history of that union and how it impacts us today.
Faithful from Phoenix and the Arizona East Valley came to eat pizza and listen to Father Chris' presentation, which was recorded and is now available on our relaunched YouTube channel.
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Our Byzantine Catholic Church in the United States (as it is called today) directly traces its history to this significant event on April 24, 1646 in which 63 priests in the town of Uzhhorod, today located in Western Ukraine, brought their ancient Byzantine traditions and spirituality with them into communion with Rome. Father Christopher explains why this event took place, the history behind it, and how it matters to us as Byzantine Catholics in the Eparchy of Phoenix today.
Watch this video (and many others, with more to come!) on our relaunched YouTube channel.
| | Father Chris connects a 380-year-old event to our life as Byzantine Catholics. | | Axios! Eparchy Gains Newest Priest, Father Forrest Tucker | Father Forrest Tucker was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Artur on Pentecost Sunday in Spokane Valley, Washington. Father Michael Mandelas, the Rector of Saint Stephen Cathedral and Director of Vocations for the Eparchy of Phoenix, was also there to celebrate the occasion. Father Forrest is remaining at Saints Cyril and Methodius in Spokane Valley while his assignment as a priest is pending. | | Bishop Artur lays his hands on the head of Father Forrest, invoking the Holy Spirit to grant him the grace required for their new ministry | Father Forrest is vested by Bishop Artur with the epitrachilion, representing the grace of the Holy Spirit flowing down upon Father Forrest and the spiritual yoke of his office. | | Bishop Artur places the pectoral cross on Father Forrest, chanting the words of Saint Matthew: "The Lord said: 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'" Axios! | | Father Forrest (right) concelebrates as a new priest in the rest of the Divine Liturgy, fanning the Holy Gifts during the recitation of the Nicene Creed with Father Benjamin of Saints Cyril and Methodius | | Father Forrest reads the Ambon Prayer, bringing the Divine Liturgy of his ordination to a close. | | Father Forrest gives his first priestly blessing to Bishop Artur. It is customary for clergy and faithful to seek out a "first blessing" from a new priest. | | |
Clergy (from left to right) include Deacon Tim Kelleher (Saint George), Fr. William O'Brien (retired), Father Benjamin Crowe (Saints Cyril & Methodius), Bishop Artur, Father Forrest, his brother-in-law Fr. Stephen Hilgendorf (Saint Barnabas in Omaha, NE), Deacon George Saratsis (Saint George), Subdeacon Taylor Black (Saint John Chrysostom) and Father Michael Mandelas (Saint Stephen Cathedral).
The liturgy was celebrated at Saint Mary Catholic Parish in Spokane, WA to accommodate all of the family, parishioners, and guests.
| | Reflection on Ordination, by Father Forrest Tucker | | |
By Father Forrest Tucker:
O give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever!
It is with a great sense of thankfulness that I write this reflection after the occasion of my ordination to the Presbyterate!
On Pentecost Sunday, by the grace of God in the power of the Holy Spirit I received the Holy Priesthood of Jesus Christ by the hands and through the prayers of our God loving Bishop Artur.
This change in my life is something that, like other changes such as marriage or the birth of a new child, is a change that is experienced in progressive unfoldings over time.
It has already been a great joy and blessing to me to have the opportunity to bless the people of God, to reconcile sinners to God, to celebrate the Divine Liturgy - bringing our Lord Jesus to His people in Word and Flesh, and to bring new Christians into the Kingdom through the waters of a Holy Baptism and Chrismation.
Many have asked me how I feel after my ordination; at my ordination to the subdiaconate I received a great sense of having a father again - after having been without a bishop of our own for so long I was blessed, like all of you, to have a bishop again! I also received a special grace of being connected to his fatherhood through my ordination. This connection has only grown through my subsequent ordinations to the Diaconate and now the Presbyterate.
Being a son of our Bishop, it is my joy to share the vision and mission that he has received from the Holy Spirit.
Another grace that I have felt - as someone who has for most of my life sought to serve God and His Kingdom to the best of my ability - is that of being a greater conduit of the Graces of God for His people. It is a great joy to be used by God in this way, unworthy as I am.
As a missionary priest in a missionary Eparchy, one might be tempted to worry as they cast out into the deep waters of ministry. But when I am tempted to worry I remind myself of the words of my heavenly friend Saint Maximilian Kolbe which has been a great encouragement to me for many years and through many troubling times: "Silly one, why do you worry? If all belongs to the Immaculata (the Theotokos), will she not attend to it? Then let her lead you!"
It is my prayer that my priesthood would be an unrestricted conduit to the Church and to the world.
Be assured of my prayers for you and please pray for me a sinner!
| | Father Forrest with his family, after his ordination to the priesthood. | | Catechist Retreat Registration Deadline is June 15 | | If you are an ECF coordinator or teacher at your parish, save the date for our Christ the Catechist retreat at Saint Stephen Cathedral in Phoenix, AZ.
Registration is due by June 15th! Speak with your parish priest if you would like to attend. | | |
A weekend of renewal will be offered for all ECF coordinators and teachers in the eparchy, including:
- Fellowship and time for prayer
- Conversations of strengths and challenges
- How to present Bible Study programs
- Catechist Certification Program
- more!
The weekend begins at 5 pm on Friday, July 31 with dinner and concludes with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with Bishop Artur on Sunday at 10 am at the Cathedral.
Click here for a schedule and how to register at your parish to attend.
Registrations are due by June 15.
| | Mission Society Easter Card Campaign Update | |
The Mission Society of the Mother of God of Boronyavo is all-volunteer 501(c)3 charity in the Eparchy of Phoenix that raises money to support our mother church in Eastern Europe. Most recently, the Easter Card campaign that was prominent in our parishes raised $29,400. Among the recipents of these funds were:
- $2,400 to Sister Josaphata at the Korolevo Orphanage located near the Boronyavo monastery.
- $14,037 to the Saint Don Bosco Spiritual, Educational, and Rehabilitation Center which will help children and families affected by the war.
- $8,948 to Ukraine Relief, helping displaced people and refugees from the war with rent for housing, clothing, school supplies, food, and firewood for heating.
- $2,255 to Theodore Romzha Seminary & Priests - the seminary of our very own Bishop Artur.
| The Korolevo Orphange family. Sister Josaphata writes: "Our family has grown to 21 children. A month ago, social services removed three little ones from an environment that posed a serious threat to their wellbeing and lives. The youngest is two years old, the middle child is three, and the eldest is eight. They have already settled in, their souls have warmed, and they are genuinely happy to have so many brothers and sisters around them. Watching this unfold is a true grace.” | The Saint Don Bosco Spiritual, Educational and Rehabilitation Center nearing completion. Bishop Teodore of Mukachevo writes, "In every war there are wounds that can be counted and wounds that cannot. For this reason, the Mukachevo Greek Catholic Eparchy has undertaken a project that seeks not merely to construct a building, but to help rebuild lives. In the mountain town of Dubove, located in the Transcarpathian region of western Ukraine, we are completing construction of a place dedicated to healing, education, faith, & hope. The project is being developed under the care of the priests and religious sisters of the Congregation of the Incarnate Word who have faithfully served the people of Dubove for many years." | Over 400,000 people from eastern Ukraine have taken refuge in the Transcarpathia region in western Ukraine, which is next to Slovakia. Donations to the Mission Society are used to help bring safety as well as spiritual and physical healing to these people in need. | The Seminary of Blessed Theodore Romzha, where Bishop Artur entered in August of 1994, graduated in 1998, and later came back to teach English to the seminarians. All of the donors to the Mission Society are remembered in prayer by the seminarians. | | |
We have reached our goal of $300,000!
Your generosity has directly supported the essential work of our eparchy, including:
• Youth and young adult ministry
• Eastern Christian formation and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
• Communication and evangelization
• Retreats and spiritual renewal
• Seminarian education and fostering new vocations
• Strengthening parishes and supporting the eparchial services that serve them
A final report will be forthcoming. Thank you for your generosity and shared stewardship of our eparchy!
| | 2025 Eparchy of Phoenix Financial Report | | |
The 2025 Eparchy of Phoenix Financial Report: A Shared Commitment to Proclaim the Gospel offers a transparent overview of the financial health, priorities, and stewardship of our missionary eparchy.
It is Bishop Artur and the Department of Stewardship and Fiscal Services' hope that this report will foster deeper understanding of the mission entrusted to us and encourage continued trust and collaboration in building up the Church throughout the West.
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Pope Leo Releases First Encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas" on AI | |
Pope Leo recently released his first encyclical, "Magnifica humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence." The encyclical argues that artificial intelligence must serve the human person, not dominate or replace him, and that it now shapes work, war, health care, and public life in ways that demand moral discernment. Pope Leo XIV explicitly says AI must be freed from domination, exclusion, and death, and placed at the service of the common good.
Click here to read more about the encyclical.
| Image composition: EWTN News | Bishop Artur Visits GCU Headquarters | |
In early May, Bishop Artur visited the home offices of GCU, a non-profit life insurance and financial planning company with deep ties to our Byzantine Catholic Church in the US. The GCU was established over 100 years ago as the Greek Catholic Union, founded by Ruthenian and Greek Catholic immigrants who needed to find ways to support each other, as commercial life insurance firms would not insure them due to the hazardous nature of their mill and coal mine jobs they had to work in order to support their families.
Bishop Artur and the GCU leadership discussed ways that we can continue to build upon this longstanding partnership and grow together in 2026 and beyond. A hierarchical Divine Liturgy was also celebrated by Bishop Artur at the GCU's adjacent Saint Nicholas Chapel.
| Bishop Artur with GCU National Director and Chairman of the Board George Kofel. | Bishop Artur celebrating the Divine Liturgy with Fr. Valerian Michlik (left), along with GCU Spiritual Advisor and former instructor at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Pittsburgh, PA. | Bisbop Artur holds the trikirion (left) and dikirion (right), ornate candlesticks used by Bishops to bless the faithful while celebrating the Divine Liturgy. The trikirion's three candles represent the Holy Trinity, and the dikirion's two represent the dual nature of Christ as both God and man. | Saint Nicholas Chapel was built in 1992 and was expressly designed to recreate the style of churches from the Carpathian Mountains where many of GCU's founders came from. | The altar and iconostasis was patterned after Saint Nicholas in Zboj, Slovakia. | Bishop Artur pictured with, from left to right, GCU National Director David Oleksa, Chariman of the Board George Kofel, Fr. Valerian, President and CEO Jeremy Stephenson, and General Counsel Theodore Trbovich, Esq. | | Eparchy Debuts Pro-Life Resource | | |
The Eparchy of Phoenix, led by Pro-Life Advocate Deacon James Danovich, recently published a section on its website for pro-life advocacy and resources. The sanctity of human life is cherished in our Church and is upheld by Bishop Artur, who joined Deacon James and other local parishioners and advocates in the 2025 Arizona March for Life, 46 days after his enthronement as Bishop of the Eparchy of Phoenix.
Future plans for the section include pro-life resources and ministries specific to each region in the eparchy that has a presence.
Click here to see the new pro-life section.
| | Bishop Artur, Deacon James, and some of the parishioner attendees at the Arizona March of Life on March 15, 2025. | | The Apostle's Fast: June 1st - 28th | | |
The Apostles’ Fast or "Summer Lent" is a summer fast that begins after All Saints Sunday (following Pentecost) and concludes on June 29, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. It commemorates the Apostles’ preparation for their missionary work after Pentecost and invites the faithful to share in that spirit of prayer, fasting, and witness.
The traditional Fast as described in the Typikon is one of strict abstinence on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In the United States, the Ruthenian Metropolia (to which the Eparchy of Phoenix belongs) recognizes this as a penitential season and observance is voluntary.
Click to learn more about the Apostle's Fast.
| | Theology On Tap in Albuquerque With Father Joshua Johnson | | On May 27, Father Joshua Johnson of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Albuquerque, NM was invited to speak at the Theology on Tap young adult ministry hosed by ABQ Catholic. His talk was called "Monasticism for Everyone: A Byzantine Catholic Perspective." If the format seems familiar, you may have seen video on our YouTube channel of Father Chris Zugger giving talks at prior Theology on Tap events. | Father Joshua gets into the Theology on Tap spirit while speaking to the young adults. | | He spoke about using monasticism as a reference point for all people, and how monasticism answers "How would I live if I arranged my entire life around the love of Christ?" Its concrete, visible practices (like having a set schedule for prayer) allow it to function as a reference point for everyone else. In forsaking all that can enslave us to the passions, monastics reveal that a truly human life is about more than productivity, entertainment, or even self-expression, allowing us to love God and neighbor wholeheartedly. Examples he gave included having a simple prayer rule, following traditional fasting patterns of the church, having a regular way of engaging in the works of mercy... all with the idea that "intentional patterns and good peer pressure are more valuable than spontaneous willpower, ten times out of ten." | | Over 40 young adults in the Albuquerque area came to listen and talk with Father Joshua. | |
19th Annual Ecumenical Prayer Service in Southern California | | Father Stephen Washko and the choir of Annunciation in Anaheim participated in the 19th Annual Roman & Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christian Ecumenical Service of Prayer for Christian Unity in Santa Ana, CA. Priests and choirs from Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, Oriential Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox parishes in the Southern California area gather in apostolic fellowship and ecumenical prayer. In prior years Annunciation has hosted this event, which was held this year at Forty Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church. | | The priests dined together in fellowship at a banquet in the hall of the Forty Martyrs parish, where they were joined by the respective choirs and faithful. | | Father Stephen at the dismissal along with the other Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox clergy. | | Rev. Chor-Bishop Ashoor Lazar of the Assyrian Church of the East blesses the attendees. | | The choir of Annunciation that attended the service. Every year Annunciation's choir participates along with Father Stephen. | | June 29: The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul | | |
The Apostle's Fast concludes with the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29. Peter and Paul are considered to be the two pillars of the Church. From radically different backgrounds - Peter a commercial fisherman from Galilee, Paul a well-educated Pharisee and Roman citizen from the colony of Tarsus - they set about to convert the Roman Empire from their base in Jerusalem, and then in Rome itself. Peter overcame his prejudices and proclaimed the gospel to the Gentiles, breaking free of Jewish legalisms. Paul pleaded his case for the Gospel before Emperor Nero himself, who would blame the new Christian Church for the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD.
Peter and other apostles were initially opposed to the Gentile converts being baptized and hands laid on for the Holy Spirit unless they followed the Mosaic laws. Paul went to Jerusalem to plead his case. Peter was converted to this point of view by a vision given to him by God which was followed by the baptism of the Roman centurion Cornelius and all his household and announced the change of his position at the first Council. Peter’s support was needed for the mission to continue, as he was recognized as the leader of the Church. Thus, many icons show the two embracing in reconciliation at this council.
Read more about the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.
| | June Priestly Anniversaries | |
June 1: Rt. Rev. Joseph Stanichar (58 years)
June 4: Rev. Randall Ackley (21 years)
June 6: Rev. Thomas Donlin (2 years)
June 11: Rev. Milan Kasperek (20 years)
June 12: Rev. Joshua Johnson (1 year)
June 15: Very Rev. Vasyl Mutka (19 years)
June 16: Very Rev. Diodoro Mendoza (15 years)
June 16: Very Rev. Michael Mandelas (13 years)
June 18: Rev. Michael Bezruchka (10 years)
June 20: Rev. Francis Murin (22 years)
| Advisory: We have observed attempts from scammers to impersonate clergy in email correspondences. If you receive an email from clergy or staff in our eparchy that is unsolicited and asks for vague favors, money, or help, please speak directly to that person and confirm its authenticity, and let us know at media@ephx.org if you receive any questionable emails. Thank you! | |
Office of Communications
Holy Protection of Mary
Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix
media@ephx.org
(602) 861-9778
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