Is This Home? A Weekend at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh

“And we went into the Greek lands, and we were led into a place where they serve their God, and we did not know where we were, on heaven or on earth; and do not know how to tell about this. All we know is that God lives there with people and their service is better than in any other country."

Glory to Jesus Christ! I recently just came back from Pittsburgh after a wonderful weekend at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. I have quite a story to bring back.

The seminary was very accommodating to me when I requested to visit for the weekend. One of the seminarians, Miron, picked me up at the airport and drove me through quite a hilly neighborhood; as an Illinois native, I initially felt uncomfortable at how steep some of the streets were. When we arrived, I was greeted by the rector, Fr. Robert Pipta, along with a motley crew of seminarians who I would quickly befriend.

I took every opportunity to interact with the seminarians and get to know their discernment journey. I hitched on a car ride with the Melkite seminarians (quick shout-out to Mikhael, Deacon Oliver, Chris, and especially Neven for suddenly busting out "Kordero ng Diyos" in the car) to Akron, Ohio to visit their parish assignment. There, we attended a wonderful Divine Liturgy followed by a friendly coffee hour with Fr. Eugene and the parishioners.

Back at the seminary, I got a taste of seminarian life. I got to prepare a Lenten dinner with a couple of seminarians, Chris and Kyprian, for a few other guests that came. Aside from burning a few sunflower seeds, we created the best Fumi salad ever!

I got to shadow a music workshop shortly before I left for the airport. The instructor, Coreen, was very friendly and has an excellent voice. We did a quick run-through of a few Resurrection troparia (hymns), and the seminarians practiced chanting the Epistles. Needless to say, I wished I could've stayed longer and picked up some chants to bring back to my parish in Northlake.

I was blessed to have attended the various services in the chapel, from Matins to Divine Liturgy to Vespers. The chant coming from the voices of the clergy and congregation was phenomenal and truly drove in the sense of the sacred and divine permeating the chapel.

Overall, I felt enriched and motivated by my visit to the seminary. It's been a huge step in my discernment journey, and I definitely see myself coming back in one form or another. I'm grateful to the people there for being so welcoming and willing to guide me over the weekend. To all readers, please keep me in your prayers as I continue to discern the path God wants for me.

As always, for this year's Lent, I will be posting a donation link for those giving alms. Click here to make a donation to the Byzantine Catholic Seminary and support vocations! God bless!