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On Art: Byzantine Catholic tradition celebrated
Friday, October 01, 1999 By Mary Thomas, Post-Gazette Art Critic
On Sunday, members of the Byzantine Catholic Church in America, guests and European visitors will gather at the David Lawrence Convention Center to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of what has become the Byzantine Archdiocese of Pittsburgh. They will also visit an exhibition at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, "The Byzantine Catholic Expression: Commemorating 75 Years of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh," that is open to the public through Jan. 16.
When plans were being made for the Diamond Jubilee Celebration, church member David Ragan says, "we were discussing what we would do to honor the 75th anniversary and to demonstrate what our faith was about to the rest of the community." They learned of the community gallery at the History Center, and with a great deal of planning and hard work have put together an exhibition that explains the faith through artworks, liturgical elements and historic photographs.
Byzantine Catholics make up one of 22 churches under the leadership of the pope, according to church member Dorothy Mayernik. Originally the Catholic Church had two centers, Rome and Byzantium or Constantinople, now called Istanbul, she continues. In the 11th century, the Eastern Church split off as the Eastern Orthodox faith, but several centuries later some groups, including Byzantine Catholics, realigned with the Vatican.
Slavic immigrants who came to Pittsburgh at the turn of the century to labor in the mills and mines brought their faith with them and began to build churches. In 1924 Rome recognized these Ruthenian peoples by establishing a "mission" that has become the Byzantine Archeparchy (archdiocese) of Pittsburgh.
The exhibition touches upon both the cultural and the belief aspects of the faith through such things as photographs of parish events that date from the early 1900s to the present, and elaborate vestments and other objects of liturgical celebration. A short video made for the exhibition also explores "liturgical rites and traditional customs," according to Ragan.
The splendid icons associated with the Byzantine -- sacred images that depict important religious figures or events -- are well represented, with more than a dozen individual works, an actual icon screen and a display of stages in the "writing" of an icon. Three very fine, large photographs of icon screens in Pittsburgh-area churches and a seminary illustrate different varieties and common components. Also displayed is a photograph of a special icon that was commissioned for the anniversary, a reminder that iconography is a living art.
Everyone's favorite, the pysanky, or intricately decorated egg, is also present, along with its own "stages" display. These and other artifacts -- ranging from a lovely stained-glass window to photographs that show church styles here and in the Old World to a sumptuously large Oriental rug -- immerse the visitor into a vision of this rich culture and fascinating faith.
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