Response to Dr. Curtin’s Crisis Magazine Article

When the claim that some observers make such as Dr. D.P. Curtin made in his article in Crisis magazine, that the “Byzantine Catholic Church is collapsing” and will “soon fade into oblivion” the question should be asked, “what part of the Byzantine Catholic Church are we talking about?” Collapse and fading away are certainly not the case in the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma which serves the 12 State region of the Midwest part of the United States.  Nor is collapse happening in the Byzantine Catholic Church in particular areas and parishes of the other three American (arch)eparchies and the countries of their origin such as in western Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. Furthermore, churches with “crumbling stairs” water-stained ceilings where Sunday Liturgy attendance “averages a dozen or so” are not the manifestation of the “state of the whole of the Ruthenian Catholic Church.”  For the sake of accuracy, a fuller vision and context of the Byzantine Catholic Church is warranted.

The Byzantine Eparchy of Parma is experiencing remarkable growth. Last year (2025) in proportional terms the adult convert cohort represented 1% of the entire eparchy and the total inflow amounted to 6% growth in a single year. Outreaches and missions have been established in areas of the 12 State region of the Eparchy that previously had no Byzantine Catholic presence.  Requests for new Byzantine Catholic communities are coming in from throughout the Eparchy and outpacing the resources the Eparchy has to meet the requests.  Last year two missions were elevated to parish status. In some parishes in the Eparchy the growing and youthful congregation have outsized the church building itself.

What explains the vibrancy and growth of the Eparchy of Parma is that it has taken what seems to be collapse, which is largely due to recent demographic changes in America, and turned it into opportunity. Through a program of visioning, strategic planning and evangelization and sailing upon the “Holy Flotilla” of Sacrificial StewardSHIP, Authentic WorSHIP, Godly FellowSHIP and Missionary DiscipleSHIP, the Eparchy of Parma is revisiting its original charism of being an Eparchy that is creative, daring, visionary and evangelical.  

The demographics of America, its economy has shifted away from the once mighty industrial centers of the north and eastern parts of the United States where, as Dr. Curtin correctly wrote, were the vibrant centers of the Byzantine Catholic Church from the time of its early immigrants from Europe. The movement in America has gone more south and west. Where there are once mighty Byzantine Catholic Churches in the northern and eastern parts of the United States that now have 12 or less people on Sunday and crumbling staircases and leaky roofs, they are a testimony to the impact upon these churches of major demographic shifts in recent decades. These churches simply await the development of a creative, visionary and strategic plan.  Yes, such plans may involve the sale of these properties, mergers and relocations. But this is not a loss. It is “imploding in order to explode” anew as is happening in the Eparchy of Parma. It is not about hanging our heads or simply “closing a parish”. It is about the renewal of a Byzantine Catholic community on all levels. It is about being small but mighty. The Byzantine Catholic Church in the Midwest is not fading into oblivion. It is a star shining brighter and brighter.