Religion in Poruba

Poruba's Greek Catholic Church, built ca. 1837 (photo 1997)

Eastern Slovakia was steeped in Carpatho-Rusyn and Slovakian religious tradition, with both the Greek Catholic and the Roman Catholic churches being strong. Slovaks were ordinarily Roman Catholic and Carpatho-Rusyns usually Greek Catholic, now called Catholics of the Byzantine Rite. Byzantine Catholicism came about as follows: Portions of Central and Eastern Europe had been of the Eastern Orthodox religion since the schism between the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople in 1054 AD. Those of the Eastern Orthodox faith living in areas dominated by Roman Catholics, namely Carpatho-Rusyn people, were made to feel like second-class citizens. Their Eastern Orthodox clergy decided in 1646 at the Union of Uzhhorod, to once again recognize the Pope in Rome as head of the church, without the requirement of giving up their liturgical language and Byzantine religious customs. The result was the Uniate Church, most commonly referred to as Byzantine Catholicism.

There are several ways in which the Byzantine Rite differs from the Latin Rite, or Roman Catholicism. Children are confirmed during infant baptism rather than in young adulthood. Communion is taken in the form of bread and wine. Celibacy among priests was not required until about 1930. The Liturgy is celebrated in Old Church Slavonic, a Slavic Liturgical language used as was Latin in the Roman Catholic Church (English is now used in the US). The symbol is the three-barred Eastern cross. Churches are often built and decorated in the Old World style with gilded onion domes outside, and exquisite, intricate mosaic work inside. Christmas is celebrated on January 7 and there are other unique religious holidays. Worshippers in a Byzantine Catholic church are accustomed to the sweet aroma of incense which permeates the building because the priest burns it during each Liturgy.

Baba recalled many old traditions associated with Easter time. During the week leading up to Easter women prepared special meats, breads and pastries for the Easter meal. These items were packed into roomy baskets and taken to church on Easter Sunday to be blessed by the priest. Pysanky (also called Rusyn or Ukrainian Easter eggs) were decorated with wax and natural dyes to create stunning flowered and geometrical designs of every color. These were given as symbolic gifts at Easter time. On Easter Monday young men called at the home of a favorite young woman hoping she would be the person to answer the door, and regardless of which female did answer, she was doused with a bucket of water. Girls too young to be seriously interested in boys avoided the front door on this day. The custom was reversed on Easter Tuesday when the young women did the same to the young men.