Church #27: St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral
With Ukraine so often in the news and with such a large Ukrainian community here in Chicago, I was looking forward to attending this church. In addition to services held every day, each Sunday are two Ukrainian-language services and one bilingual service. I attended the bilingual service, which was the last of the day.
One of the first waves of Ukrainian immigrants to Chicago came in the 1890s. They settled in a few places around the city, including what today is called the Ukrainian Village. At the time, they called themselves Rusyns and considered themselves to be Eastern Catholic Christians of the Byzantine rite.
One of the main differences between the Eastern Catholic Christians of the Byzantine rite and Roman Catholics is that in the first, the Liturgy (Mass) is almost completely chanted. Also, communion is given out to standing congregants. And finally the church has icons instead of statues.
It was these newly arrived Ukrainians who founded St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Ruthenian Catholic parish in 1905 in the Ukrainian Village. At first, they bought a Danish Lutheran Church in 1906 and met in the small wooden building. But by 1913, they had already outgrown it. The church bought land with the plan that church members could buy lots all around the church and then they can have their own “new Rus’ right here in Chicago.” In all, twenty such lots were purchased.
The new church, which is also where they still worship, was completed in 1915. It was modeled after the 11th-century St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is a Byzantine-Slavonic design and has thirteen domes (one each for Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles). It is considered one of the most impressive examples of such in Chicago.
Future waves of Ukrainian immigrants ensure the success and growth of the Ukrainian Village. Currently, 100,000 Ukrainians live in Chicago, and 10,000 of them live in the Ukrainian Village. Thirty thousand have come just since the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The only real notable incident that has happened in the history of this church occurred in 1969. In 1961, Chicago was assigned its first bishop. Then in 1969, this bishop decreed that all of the churches in Chicago would follow the Gregorian religious calendar rather than the Julian calendar that they had been following.
Both calendars divide the year into twelve months and 365 days. Every four years, leap year, an extra day is added. However, the Julian calendar, put into effect by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was off by eleven minutes every year. The Gregorian calendar, developed by Pope Gregory VIII in 1582 AD, does not add a leap day when the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400. As a result, it is more accurate, off by only 26 seconds each year. (This is the calendar that we use in the United States and in most of the world).
This may not seem like a big deal, but a group of parishioners was angry at the change. They felt it was done to “undermine their ancient religio-cultural heritage.” So they broke away from the church and started their own church, now very successful, just down the street: Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Parish, which still used the Julian religious calendar.
On Sunday morning, when I arrived at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, the previous service was just letting out. But I didn’t see anyone going into the church. As per usual, I waited and waited to follow someone going in. And when I did, as per usual, I slipped into a pew in the back. When the service began, there were probably only twenty people attending. I only saw two young girls wearing veils - I wasn’t sure how strict the dress code would be. My guess is that the majority of the congregation attends the Ukrainian services.
The iconostasis separates the sanctuary of many Eastern churches from the nave and is not a solid wall like some of the others I’ve seen. Instead, it looks almost like a folding screen that has been stretched across the front. Every other panel has a large icon painting for a total of four. In between are smaller icons, and the whole thing is a beautiful structure of intricate gold lace work.
That also means we could see through the screen to see the activity on the other side. I have seen solid wall iconostasis in other churches, with only a door leading from the front to the back.
This one also has a large door in the middle to allow the priest to move back and forth.
My first instinct was to prefer this iconostasis because it didn’t feel so secretive and hidden. It didn’t feel as divisive or separate. But also, I have to admit that this service was not nearly as powerful or moving as other Eastern Orthodox churches. Not saying the difference is the inability to see what is happening behind the screen vs. watching it, but I also don’t want to dismiss it either.
Icons surround the inside of the church, painted directly on walls, in frames, on stands sitting on lecterns, on tables. People from the congregation and the priest bow in front of and kiss (venerate) these icons. There seem to be a number of ways to kiss the icon is to make the sign of the cross three times and then kiss the hands or feet.
And the service is as to be expected, filled with incense, bells, chanting. I don’t know if I previously mentioned this, but the Eastern Orthodox church does not include instruments in its service while the Roman Catholic church does.
Sitting, standing, sitting, standing. And the priest was busy behind the screen at the altar table. Some of the chanting was in English, which actually sounded strange! English doesn’t come across nearly as poetic.
I have been to a few of these Eastern Orthodox services, and the experiences have been very powerful. Very. But for some reason, this service felt performative, uninspired, and robotic. At first I thought perhaps it was because there were so few people in the church, but then I remembered attending the Orthros at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (you can read about my visit to that church HERE), and I was the only person there. And that service was amazing.
Then the priest read the Gospel, first in English and then in Ukrainian.
Matthew 22:1-14, The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
The sermon followed the Gospel reading, and it was extremely short. The priest came out from behind the screen and stood at a lectern. Basically, he simply gave a summary of the reading. The priest explained that celebration is important. A wedding is a huge change not only for the couple, but also for the family, friends, and the community. A new reality has been established.
And to be invited to the wedding of the king's son is huge. But those who were invited ignored the invitation. Some even went so far as to kill the king’s servants. But we have to remember that this is a parable, the priest reminded us. It is like Jesus inviting us to the church for the union of divinity and humanity. But people ignore that invitation too and find the most pathetic excuses not to attend.
Many are called. Few are chosen. Let’s go out and live our lives and be chosen, the priest encouraged in conclusion.
After the offering, during which two people chanted, first in English and then in Ukrainian, came the petitions. Many prayers, not surprisingly, were lifted for the military, for Ukrainians fighting in the war, and for victory.
Another interesting thing was that when it came time for the Lord’s Prayer, no one other than the priest actually recited it.
I hate to admit that I was looking at my watch, but I really struggled to feel connected to this service, and the priest spent twenty-five minutes preparing for communion. The priest reminded me of a magician, or an alchemist. He had a cape that he would repeatedly flip back; his arms flailed around as if he was mixing potions. Interesting.
Finally, after communion, the priest brought a microphone down to the lectern in front of the iconostasis and then gave the church announcements. He was selling tickets for the “Parish Pilgrimage to Hollyfield.” Tickets are only $40 for adults and $35 for those 12 and under. Attendees will leave at 8:30 AM and arrive at 10:30 AM. Prayer will be at 11:00, lunch at noon, and the liturgy at 2:00 PM.
So weird.
Plus he made other announcements: a church meeting, an upcoming picnic, etc.
There was something that seemed almost disrespectful about having the priest selling tickets. For me, it certainly punctured the illusion of mystery and respect.
The priest then walked through the iconostasis door, closed it behind him, and pulled a curtain over it to obscure the view behind it.
And that was it!
I was a bit confused - an odd, anticlimactic ending.
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