St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church - Tucson

     I remember very well the first time I walked into the parish of St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church in Tucson, Arizona.  We had been away from the Catholic Church for many years and decided it was time to get back to our faith.  We did what Catholics do and went to our local parish.  However, the years that we had been away from the church were not kind.  What we found was a horrible liturgy with an even worse homily.  This was not the church I used to belong to.  We visited many churches and finally found an Eastern Rite parish which was going to be our last stop before the Orthodox Church.  

    St. Melany is the textbook definition of not judging a book by its cover.  The parish was purchased from a Unitarian community many years ago and is not what an Eastern Catholic Church should be designed like.  While the parish has done much to improve the outer facade, there is only so much you can do with available resources.

Street View of the St. Melany

    

    However, once you walk inside the church the beauty of an Eastern Catholic parish comes front and center.  There are a few things a Latin Catholic notices about an Eastern Catholic parish when they first come in.  First, and foremost, is the Iconostasis which separates the altar from the sanctuary.  

Iconostasis at St. Melany

    The iconostasis is a catechetical tool in and of itself.  The doors in the center are called the Royal doors because it is through these doors that Christ enters through the doors during the Divine Liturgy.  The icon at the top of the doors is the Annunciation when the Angel Gabriel announced to the Theotokos that she was to bear Christ in her womb.  At the bottom of the doors are the icons of the four Gospel writers.  As you are looking at the Iconostasis you see an icon of the Theotokos with the baby Jesus on the left and an icon of Christ the Pantocrator on the right.  The icon on the left represents the first coming of Christ, as a baby while the icon on the right represents the second coming of Christ, as judge of all.  It is commonly said that the space between the two icons is the time we are living in right now.

    

    There are two doors called deacon doors through which the deacons and servers pass during the Divine Liturgy.  The door on the left has the icon of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the church as revealed in the Book of Acts.  The door on the right has the icon of St. Lawrence, one of the seven deacons martyred in Rome by Valerian.  St. Stephen represents our Eastern heritage while St. Lawrence represents our communion with the Bishop of Rome.  The Angels are holding two orbs in their hands which represents the plan of salvations as revealed to the Angels before the fall of Lucifer.  Finally the icon on the far left is St. Nicholas, patron saint of the East and the icon on the far right is St. Melany, the patroness of the parish.

    There is a small chapel that is used by the parish for daily Divine Liturgy, as well as confession and other events such as the burial cave of Christ during the Triduum.  

   

Burial shroud of Christ before procession into
the chapel

Entrance to the side chapel with the icon of 
St. Mary of Egypt

Chapel setup to receive the burial shroud of Christ
on Holy Friday

    It has been said that the answer to what is the most beautiful church you've been to should be he one where I was baptized, chrismated, received confession, been married and seen loved ones buried in.  This parish holds many cherished memories for me.  While I was not baptized or chrismated there, I was married there, saw Ryan Chrismated and receiving his first Holy Communion there, received the gift of sacramental absolution many times, witnessed friends being married and having their babies receive all the Sacraments of Initiation, saw my Mom brought into the church and watched the journey of my first wife culminate in a funeral Divine Liturgy at the foot of the Royal Doors.  

Yours truly carrying the Cross on
the 40th Anniversary Divine Liturgy

Bishop Gerald Dino after Holy Communion during
the 40th Anniversary Divine Liturgy

Two bishops, four priest, three deacons and
ten servers

Three candles that are lit during a baptism which
represent the three-fold immersion of the Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit

A young diaconate student and his Bishop

Newly married (finally)!

Ryan about to receive his first absolution

Blessing of icons on the Holy Table

Celebrating the newest Byzantine Catholic

Iconostasis on Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday

"If your church isn't crying, it's dying"

Icon of Resurrection on Pascha

   

    If you find yourself in Tucson, take the time out of your day to visit this beautiful parish church and take part in a Divine Liturgy which traces back to the 5th century.