Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh

Announcement from the Chancery

Our beloved Metropolitan Archbishop, Basil Myron Schott, O.F.M., fell asleep in the Lord on Thursday, June 10th, 2010.

For a complete Biography of Metropolitan Archbishop Basil, CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE to view the official announcement.

In the early days of Christianity, funeral services were an all-night vigil of prayer. They ended about dawn with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and the subsequent burial of the deceased. Today, the Byzantine Catholic Church uses but a small segment of those ancient rites. Our modern Wake Service is called the PARASTAS or GREAT PANACHIDA. “Panachida” is literally translated from the Greek as “All-night Services.” “Parastas” is translated as a “Standing Service,” denoting the ancient custom of standing to pray. As they poetically accent the mystical aspects of death and resurrection, they also bring our hearts and minds in touch with the reassuring hope that God is merciful. In part, this is revealed when the solemn mood of the music is frequently interrupted by triumphal chords to symbolize that the death of every Christian “is swallowed up in victory” (I Cor 15:54). As a result, sorrow is lessened when seen through the light of the expectation of heavenly bliss; and the sadness of inevitable departure is alleviated by prayer, which is both encouraging and supportive. In the Parastas, two main themes are beautifully interwoven into a most expressive ritual: The awesome judgment of God and the resurrection to life eternal. The reality of judgment after death urges us to sincere, confident prayer for the departed soul, while the vision of immortality soothes our sorrow at this time of death. Thus we fulfill the counsel of St. Paul: “Brethren, we want you to be quite certain about those who are asleep (dead), to make sure that you do not grieve about them as those people who have no hope” (1 Thes 4:13). There is a three-way dialogue within the structure of the Parastas. In some prayers, we, the faithful, pray and intercede for a merciful judgment for the deceased; in other prayers it is the deceased admitting to the weakness of sin during life and now beseeching forgiveness and acceptance into everlasting life; in still other prayers we hear the voice of Christ as the Merciful Judge. Spiritual writers throughout the ages have attested to the tremendous value of prayers for the dead. In our times, Pope John XXIII wrote in his “Journal of a Soul”: “To remember the dead in prayer gives me courage and joy in confident hope of joining them all again in the everlasting glory of heaven.” (Above excerpted from “The Office of Christian Burial with Divine Liturgy,” Byzantine Seminary Press) May God grant to his servant, the High Priest, Metropolitan Basil, blessed repose and eternal memory!