The afternoon sun streamed through the stained-glass windows at St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church in Greenfield, illuminating the dozens of icons throughout the church. Spotlights from the soaring vault of the church formed columns of light through the rising clouds of incense. Choral singers began a series of robust anthems accompanied by trumpet and piano.
It was the start of what is believed to be an unprecedented gathering in the Pittsburgh area — 20 hours of prayers and liturgies continuing through the night and into this morning in which Catholics from a half-dozen traditions used ancient liturgies with roots from Rome to Ukraine to India.
It began Saturday afternoon with a Roman Catholic Mass presided over by Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik, with about 200 attending. As the afternoon light gave way to the more subdued lighting from dozens of votive candles, a smaller crowd came to chant a sparse penitential liturgy using the monotones and simple harmonies of Eastern …More