Light of the East Beginning to Shine Brighter in Omaha

Catholic Faith. Orthodox Worship. Evangelical Spirit. These three pillars are the foundation of Omaha’s emerging Byzantine Catholic community.

Spearheaded by Matt Willkom, Producer and Program Manager at Spirit Catholic Radio, the local Byzantine community is working to educate and activate the faithful who may be interested in celebrating the ancient liturgy of the Eastern Catholic Church.

Willkom, who was raised in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, had no childhood history with the Byzantine liturgy, nor does he have any connection to the areas of Eastern Europe and the Middle East where the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church have thrived. For Willkom, his current passion for the Eastern Liturgy was something of providence.

“Back when I lived in Minnesota, I was looking for an alternative route to get from one end of the Twin Cities to the other during rush hour,” Willkom said. “I ended up in some back neighborhoods of northeast Minneapolis and I stumbled on a Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church. I stopped in, and ended up going back for the liturgy and I was blown away by the beauty, both in the icons and in the liturgy itself – it’s so rich. The liturgy really just captivated and kept me coming back there while we were in Minneapolis.”

After leaving Minneapolis and spending a brief time living in rural southwest Missouri, Willkom was eventually offered a job at Spirit Catholic Radio in Omaha. Upon examining and evaluating the interest for a Byzantine liturgy here in Omaha, Willkom began his efforts to evangelize and spread awareness of the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church.

Willkom said that although most Eastern Catholic Churches offer the ancient Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which came into practice in the 4th century, the Ruthenian church in particular has been more forward-thinking in their attempts to foster parish growth and development in the United States.

“What’s unique about the Ruthenian Catholic Church is that the liturgy is entirely in English,” said Willkom. “This happened mostly through mixed marriages and converts to the Ruthenian Church.”

Willkom noted that the hymns of the Ruthenian Church have likewise been translated into English, offering those attending the liturgy a deeper connection with the historicity of the Byzantine liturgy.

“They have taken these ancient chants and translated them,” Willkom said. “It’s another element of the liturgy that I love – you’re able to get this sense of connection with the early church. It is also beneficial because some of the distractions that come along with modern hymns are just avoided completely. I think that's part of the genius of the Byzantine liturgy, and this is why it is desired that everything is chanted. The genius is that you’re able to cry out full throated as a congregation, no holds barred and to not be embarrassed by it. In order to have that stance, just like a child crying out to their father, it needs to be in the vernacular.”

Willkom noted that while all Catholics should be aware of the beauty of the Byzantine liturgy, there is no doubt that the Eastern Rite will greatly appeal to those with a more traditional Catholic world-view and hold the ancient Catholic liturgies in high esteem.

“The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom never changes, and that is part of the beauty,” Willkom said. “Some people look at that think, ‘Oh, it’s just petrified in time,’ but I don’t know if that’s a good way to put it. It grew out of the Church’s need to protect itself from all these heresies that, primarily the Eastern Church, had to bear the brunt of. This liturgy was formed in a crucible, with heresy all around it. The Eastern Church was able to navigate through this by developing such a rich liturgy. That does to appeal to traditionalists – but it also opens people’s minds to the reality that there is more to this Church than just the Latin Rite. But, no matter who you are, an awareness of the Eastern Churches is going to help you.”

Although Willkom’s efforts to establish a Ruthenian presence in Omaha is still in the early stages, he has a great deal of momentum behind him. Willkom is currently reaching out to growing and developing areas in Omaha to ensure the survival of a potential parish, as well as having the liturgy at the local Ukrainian Catholic Church on 16th and Martha Street in south Omaha.

“I’ve also been in contact with Father Thomas Loya, who is pastor of Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church in the Chicago area. He also hosts a radio program called Light of the East. He is very good at explaining the Eastern Churches in general – but he is also Ruthenian and he has taken us under his wing and offered to give some educational talks, like a mini-conference, to educate people here and see if there enough interest to start a mission. We have a Byzantine Catholic community, but in order for it to be a true mission church, there would have to be all aspects of an active parish. So, that is the current goal,” Willkom said.

Willkom also stressed that the efforts to establish a Ruthenian parish in Omaha are in no way to diminish or draw away from the already existing Eastern Rite Ukrainian Catholic Church in south Omaha. However, in conjunction with their all-English translations of the liturgy, Willkom also values the unique independence of the Ruthenian Church.

“The reason the Ruthenians have been able to adapt so well to this country is that the Byzantine Ruthenian Metropolitan See of Pittsburgh is the only Catholic Church sui iuris – a Latin word meaning "of one's own right" – in this country. This means they're allowed to manage their own affairs, while still being ultimately subject to the Bishop of Rome. This was due to the extreme persecution Ruthenian Catholics underwent behind the iron curtain in the late 1940s, when the Holy See realized that Ruthenians in this country needed their own bishop. All the other Eastern rites, including the Ukrainians, have their patriarchs in other countries.”

Regardless of one’s personal affinity to a particular Church, however, Willkom said it is essential that we further educate and empower the Omaha faithful to grow in their understanding of our Eastern brothers and sisters, modeled after the exhortations of one of the Church’s newest and most beloved saints.

“The church needs to breathe with both lungs, as St. Pope John Paul II said, and that may be the current problem with the Church not being able to stand up all the time – or as effectively – to secularism, because we are not breathing with both lungs. That is a call to ecumenism with the Eastern Church, but also a call to Latin Rite Catholics to rediscover, or discover for the first time, the Eastern Catholic Churches. That is something that we need to encourage people to do," Willkom said.

Any interested parties are encouraged to attend the next Divine Liturgy on Friday, April 17th at 6:00 p.m. at the Ukrainian Catholic Church, located at 16th and Martha St. in Omaha, NE. For further information you may contact Matt Willkom at omahabyzantine@gmail.com.

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