Local Byzantine Parish

The Rad Trad will remain in Byzantium for the foreseeable future. A Slavic Byzantine parish is located a mere two miles from the Rad Trad's current residence and, a major factor, does not require his Traddiness to take the Dallas Tollway.

The parish is old, but the physical plant is new (former Baptist community). The iconostasis was done by an Eastern Orthodox iconographer. Somehow he was willing to write an icon of St. Josaphat, the bishop who favored unity between the Slavic Byzantine Churches and the Roman Church.

The parish, which will remain anonymous, gathers about 70-80 people at a Sunday Divine Liturgy, a far cry from the thousands who pack the protestant megachurches in the area, but also an improvement from the 49 averaged last year.

The priest is young, vibrant, and an excellent sermonist. Today he preached about the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He concentrated not on the Prodigal, who was dead and returned to life in his father's house, but on the ungrateful son who stayed and asked why he did not receive special treatment—an insight relevant to us believers.

De-Latinization seems to be a work in progress, but a definite progress. The Stations of the Cross, not a part of the Byzantine tradition, have been relocated from the sides of the nave to the back wall and replaced with icons. Children of all ages communicate. There are still a few hymns sung, but traditional Slavic hymns and a preference for the psalms is apparent; the arrival of a cantor would probably accelerate the process. Most interesting is the service book below.

And just for your own amusement the Rad Trad has included a short video

of the typical megachurch experience in the area (thanks Mark of the Vineyard).