St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, Chicago

I was raised in the Eastern Orthodox Church (Antiochian) and I greatly appreciate that our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom as well. I attended the 11:30 am "English" liturgy today and was a bit taken aback that perhaps a third of the service was in Ukrainian, a language that I do not speak. I understand that the two earlier Sunday services are entirely in Ukrainian, but I assumed that "English service" meant precisely that. I also assumed that by offering a service in English (a rare practice in Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic parishes), St. Nicholas was signaling an openness, an invite, to non-Ukrainian worshippers. I imagined a community not mired in the ethnocentricism so prevalent within Eastern Christian communities in North America. Instead, the English service appears to be aimed at a) people who prefer attending a late-morning service and b) American-born Ukrainians who may not be as proficient in the Ukrainian language as their immigrant parents and/or grandparents. Both of which are perfectly legitimate and fine reasons, but not at all what I was hoping for. I get that I am not the "target demographic" for this parish. I appreciate that this is a congregation built by and for Ukrainians, and I defend their right to define it as such. If the church exists, in part, to preserve cultural and linguistic integrity, then more power to it. After all, isn't that why the 8 am and 9:30 am services are in Ukrainian? BUT I do think St. Nicholas is missing an opportunity with it's 11:30 am service to reach beyond the Ukrainian community. The riches of Eastern rite worship should be shared beyond our ethno-lingustic enclaves (I know those enclaves well). But first, people like me need to feel welcome, which cannot happen in an environment that defines me as a cultural outsider. I will conclude by saying that it was a beautiful service in a beautiful church, and although I will likely not return, I do hope at some point they re-envision the purpose of having an English language liturgy in the first place.

A beautiful church, externally, but especially internally. Color, paintings, and stained glass abound inside.