Priest holds Easter with new congregation
LYNDORA — The Rev. Radko Blichar celebrated his first Easter as pastor of St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, 105 Koehler Ave.
And even though Radko has a wife and children and the Byzantine cross has three bars on it, St. John's congregation marked Easter on April 1 just like other Catholics worldwide.
That's because St. John is a Catholic church, said its deacon, Paul Simko of Meridian.
“We are in communion with the Pope of Rome. We are Eastern Catholic, one of the 23 Eastern Catholic churches,” he said.
Founded in 1913 by a heavily Slovak community in Lyndora, Simko said today its nearly 300 members are “a real mix.”
“Many of the parishioners have married into the church. They are not from Eastern Europe. Our services are all in English,” he said.
Simko added, “We follow the same sacraments as the Roman Catholics do. We have a different emphasis and different rituals, but we share the same faith as the Roman Catholics. The pope is head of the church.”
St. John's congregation has had to do with a series of guest priests since its former pastor, Abbot Leon Schlosser, 84, retired in February 2017.
Blichar said because of a scarcity of priests in the United States, the head of the Byzantine Catholic Church, Metropolitan Archbishop William C. Skurla, reached a deal with his counterpart in Slovakia which had more priests than churches in the eastern part of the country. Twelve priests were dispatched to serve churches in the United States.
“We are like soldiers. They tell us where to go,” said Blichar.
So, Blichar, 37; his wife of five years Katarina; and his sons, Benjamin, 3 and David Aaron, 1; arrived in the United States last year.
“In the Eastern Church, we are permitted to ordain married men,” said Blichar.
“The best I can figure this is the first married priest we've had here since 1928,” said Simko.
Blichar served in the St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral in Munhall while he brushed up on his English.
Blichar said he attended a seminary in Presov, Slovakia, worked as a chaplain in Bardejov and then worked for a year in a gypsy outreach mission.
He said he sees his move to Lyndora as following the teachings of Christ.
Blichar said, “Because Jesus Christ said go to all the nations, that's the mission.
“When there is a huge need for priests in the United States, you cannot say 'We cannot help you.' We couldn't just pass this by,” he said.
He added he hasn't gotten homesick.
“The climate and the countryside are similar to Slovakia,” he said.
And he finds the people here friendly.
“People in Europe are not so open as they are here,” he said. “They are open here. That makes Americans unique. In Europe they don't speak to people in the stores.”
Blichar said his plans for his pastorship include turning part of the parish center into a gym where people can come to exercise.
He also plans to add an Akathist (hymn) service on Fridays dedicated to the Virgin Mary and expand the number of worship services offered at St. John.
“We forget that a church should speak to you. In church you are in the company of angels and saints. With open eyes, ears and heart, everything in our ligurgy speaks to you,” said Blichar.
