Annunciation Melkite Catholic Cathedral

Our Lady of the Annunciation Melkite Greek Catholic Cathedral in the Roslindale

Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts

Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan.It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Orange Line in nearby Jamaica Plain...

neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, is a modern cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

inspired by Byzantine architecture

Byzantine architecture

Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...

. It is the principal church of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton

Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton

The Eparchy of Newton is an eparchy of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church...

, which encompasses the entire United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the seat of its hierarch, currently Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

Nicholas Samra

Nicholas Samra is the eparch of the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton in the United States, elected in 2011. He has written extensively on the subject of ecumenism and the Eastern Catholic Churches.-Early life and priesthood:...

, and the parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

of the Melkite Greek Catholic

Melkite Greek Catholic Church

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...

community in Greater Boston

Greater Boston

Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...

.
Its present structure and its status as a cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

date to 1966; previous to that, Our Lady of the Annunciation Melkite Catholic Church was a parish church in the South End of Boston

South End, Boston, Massachusetts

The South End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.-Geography:The South End lies south of the Back Bay, northwest of South Boston, northeast of Roxbury, north of Dorchester, and southwest of Bay Village...

Melkite immigration to Boston

In the 1890s, Christians from Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

and the Levant

Levant

The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...

(now Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

) emigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in search of better economic opportunities and to escape Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

rule in their homelands. Among the immigrants were Melkite Greek Catholics

Melkite Greek Catholic Church

. Boston was among the northeastern cities in which the Melkites settled, attracted to it by opportunities in the city's garment district.

The majority of the Melkite

Melkite

The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Byzantine Rite Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. The word comes from the Syriac word malkāyā , and the Arabic word Malakī...

immigrants to Boston, and elsewhere in eastern Massachusetts, hailed from in and around Zahlé

Zahlé

Zahlé is the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 50,000 inhabitants, it is the fourth largest city in Lebanon, after Beirut, Tripoli and Jounieh...

in the Levant. As was typical in that era, they were soon joined by a priest dispatched from the region in which they originated. Thus, Father Joseph Simon, a hieromonk

Hieromonk

Hieromonk , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholicism....

of the Basilian Salvatorian Order

Basilian Salvatorian Order

The Basilian Salvatorian Order is a religious order of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. The Latin name of this order is Ordo Basilianus Sanctissimi Salvatoris, the French name is Ordre Basilien Salvatorien. The name cames from its motherhouse, the Holy Saviour monastery, The Basilian Salvatorian...

(BSO), which had responsibility for many of the parishes in Zahle, arrived in 1896. However, he remained only briefly in Boston, moving on to settle in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...

, where the Melkites were more populous than in Boston.

Although both he and his Basilian successors, Father Philip Batal and Archimandrite

Archimandrite

The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...

Basil Nahas, periodically ministered to those in Boston, the community was anxious to have its own church and a permanently assigned priest. Since there was no Melkite hierarch in the United States at the time, they petitioned John Williams, Catholic Archbishop of Boston

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the state of Massachusetts...

, who had canonical jurisdiction of them, to address their pastoral needs. The Archbishop, however, was unconvinced that their numbers were sufficient to support a priest or church and declined to act on the request.

Parish church

A decade after Father Simon's arrival, the Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Zahle Cyril Moghabghab

Cyril IX Moghabghab

Cyril IX Moghabghab served as Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1925 to 1947.-Life:Patriarch Cyril born in Ain Zhalta, Lebanon on October 29, 1855. He was ordained a priest on March 27, 1883...

(later Melkite Patriarch) conducted a pastoral visit to the emigrant communities of North

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, including that at Boston. Meeting with Coadjutor

Coadjutor bishop

A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...

Archbishop William O'Connell

William Henry O'Connell

William Henry O'Connell was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1907 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1911.-Early life:...

, he obtained agreement that the Melkite congregation would be afforded a church as soon as O'Connell succeeded to the episcopal throne of Boston. Two years later, in 1908, Archbishop O'Connell approved the purchase of a commercial structure at 178 Harrison Avenue in the South End of Boston

South End, Boston, Massachusetts

, the neighborhood in which the majority of Melkites resided.

The building required remodeling to be suitable for worship. A photograph taken subsequent to the renovations shows a rudimentary iconostasis

Iconostasis

In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...

, absent doors, suggesting that its interior had only superficial resemblance to the traditional styling of Byzantine

Byzantine architecture

churches. This was common in a time when such church furnishings were typically omitted from Eastern Catholic churches, as they were foreign to the predominant Latin Catholics, the majority of whom were unaware of their religious significance to their Eastern counterparts.

The church was titled as Our Lady of the Annunciation Syrian Catholic Church and the Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...

was first served there in November 1908, although the building and its altar were not formally dedicated until June 27, 1910. Archimandrite

Archimandrite

The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...

Nicholas Ghannam, BSO, Superior of the Salvatorian monastic community in Zahlé

Zahlé

Zahlé is the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 50,000 inhabitants, it is the fourth largest city in Lebanon, after Beirut, Tripoli and Jounieh...

prior to arriving in Boston, was named as its first pastor. He served in that role, assisted by his brother, Father Athanasius Ghannam, BSO, for the next seventeen years. He was succeeded in 1925 by Father Peter Abouzeid, BSO.

During the latter's eight-year tenure the mortgage was retired and both church and rectory were remodeled; however, it became increasingly apparent that a larger church was required. The existing building was inadequate to house a congregation that had grown in numbers, as Melkites relocated to the city, perceiving that employment opportunities were more plentiful in the urban setting than elsewhere. Despite this perceived need, the economic crisis in the aftermath of the 1929 Stock Market Crash precluded taking any action on the matter.

Relocation to Warren Avenue

In 1933, Father Abouzeid was transferred to Lawrence, Massachusetts

Lawrence, Massachusetts

and replaced by Archimandrite Flavian Zahar, BSO. The new pastor was likewise frustrated in his desire to build a replacement church, initially by the financial constraints of a post-Depression economy and, subsequently, by entry of the United States into World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. A vacant Protestant

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

church on nearby Warren Avenue, at the corner of West Canton Street, offered a viable solution to wartime restrictions on non-essential civilian construction and the parish purchased it.

The new church was renovated and dedicated on May 3, 1942. Photographs of its interior show a high altar at the rear of the sanctuary

Sanctuary

A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...

, statuary, and an altar railing

Altar rails

Altar rails are a set of railings, sometimes ornate and frequently of marble or wood, delimiting the chancel in a church, the part of the sanctuary that contains the altar. A gate at the centre divides the line into two parts. The sanctuary is a figure of heaven, into which entry is not guaranteed...

; there is no iconostasis. The highly Latinized appearance offers no suggestion that the parish was anything other than a typical Catholic church. The failure to employ traditional forms of Byzantine church architecture, decor, and furnishings was reflective of prevailing attitudes that Eastern Catholics in the diaspora

Diaspora

A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...

should largely conform to the styles and customs of their Latin Catholic counterparts.

Parishioners were generous in meeting the parish's financial needs and celebrated by burning the mortgage on the new church only three years after its purchase. However, a few months later, they mourned the death of Archimandrite Zahar, who had led them in achieving the goal of a new church. Father Beshara Thalage, BSO, administered the parish until Protosyncellos Eftimios Saba, BSO, was named as its fourth pastor in the early months of 1946.

Like his predecessors, Father Saba had a distinguished background, having been both a seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

rector and First Secretary to Patriarch Cyril IX Moghabghab

Cyril IX Moghabghab

. Father served the parish for ten years. Particularly during the last half of that decade, many Melkites moved from the South End, although they continued to travel back to their old neighborhood to attend Divine Liturgy and parish functions. When Father Saba died in 1956, Archimandrite John Jadaa and Father Elias Kweiter, both Salvatorians, had responsibility for administering the parish until mid-1957, when Archimandrite Nicholas Borkhoche, BSO, was appointed pastor.

Reflective of both the growing parish and the demands on the time of Father Borkhoche, who was simultaneously serving as Regional Superior of the Salvatorians, Father Georges Coriarty, BSO, was assigned as his assistant. For the second time in the parish's half-century of existence, the need for larger quarters was raised; this time, the issue was also discussed as to whether the time had come to seek a location more conveniently situated to the new neighborhoods in which parishioners had settled.

However, Father Borkhohe's responsibilities to his religious order necessitated that he relocate to St Basil's Monastery in Methuen, Massachusetts

Methuen, Massachusetts

Methuen is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 43,789 at the 2000 census.-History:Methuen was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1726; it is named for the British diplomat Sir Paul Methuen. Methuen was originally part of Haverhill,...

only three years after being named pastor. Consequently, the questions of rebuilding and possibly relocating were not pursued beyond the most preliminary stages of discussion. Subsequent to his departure, Father Coriaty administered the parish for a brief period.

Construction of the church in Roslindale

In 1960, Father Coriaty was transferred to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

and Archimandrite John Bassoul, BSO, was named as sixth pastor of the church. His term was also brief, lasting only two years, but he is credited with initiating the process of relocating the church. Following up on the earlier discussions that had been had, it was immediately apparent to him that the Melkite faithful were not only no longer concentrated in Boston's South End neighborhood, but that they had not been for some time.

As early as 1942, when they first occupied the building on Warren Avenue, a program book produced for a parish celebration already reflected significant dispersion of the parishioners among Boston's neighborhoods and suburbs, particularly those to the south. Almost twenty years later, travel demands, a shortage of parking, neighborhood deterioration, and the need for extensive and expensive repairs, necessitated that an alternative site be identified.

A census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of registered parishioners confirmed that substantial numbers of them were living in Boston's West Roxbury neighborhood. A 4.2 acres (16,996.8 m²) property on the VFW Parkway

VFW Parkway

VFW Parkway is a historic parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The parkway begins at Spring Street in West Roxbury at the Charles River and ends at Centre Street at the Arnold Arboretum. The parkway was built in 1931 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005...

in Boston's Roslindale

Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts

neighborhood was identified as promising, in its proximity to West Roxbury, easy road access, and suitability of the terrain for building. There were, however, complicating factors involved. The land was owned by the City of Boston and, assuming the city's willingness to sell a parcel designated as conservation land, its ability to enter into a sale was pre-conditioned on legislative approval under restrictive home-rule provisions applicable to the city under Massachusetts General Law

General Laws of Massachusetts

Massachusetts General Laws, also known as the General Laws of Massachusetts, is a codification of many of the statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth's laws are promulgated by an elected bicameral legislative body, the Massachusetts General Court...

.

Father Bassoul's negotiations with the city, aided and encouraged by Cardinal Richard Cushing, Archbishop of Boston, who had a history of affording support to the Eastern Catholic communities within his archdiocese, were successful. Legislative approval for the sale was secured and Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

John Volpe signed the bill authorizing the city to set a price and transact the sale. At this point, Father Bassoul's efforts were halted by an announcement that the Holy Synod of the Melkite Church had elected him to head the Archeparchy of Homs, Hama, and Yabroud in Syria

Syria

. Before departing for his new position, he was ordained to the episcopate at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross on April 28, 1962 at a Divine Liturgy presided by Cardinal Cushing, garbed in Byzantine hierarchal vesture.

Father John Elya

John Elya

John Adel Elya is a bishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. From 1993 to 2004, he served as Eparch of Newton, with jurisdiction over Melkite churches in the United States.-Biography:...

, BSO (later Bishop), briefly administered the parish until appointment of Father Lucien Malouf, BSO, as its seventh pastor on November 1, 1962. Having twice previously constructed parish churches, Father Malouf was undaunted by the prospect of doing so a third time. Within weeks of taking office, he and his newly-appointed assistant, Father Charles Aboody, undertook to ascertain the status of the proposed purchase. In discussions with the Cardinal and chancery officials, it quickly became evident that, after the announcement of Father Bassoul's election as archbishop, critical momentum had been lost and the City of Boston had failed to act on the final crucial step, setting a purchase price.

With a construction boom then underway in the northeast region, the priests feared that rising costs, already in excess of what had been planned, would become prohibitive if action was not taken quickly to finalize the sale and commence building. With the Cardinal's encouragement, they renewed negotiation with city officials. Finally, these efforts produced agreement at a price that the parish deemed affordable and Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

John Collins

- Arts :*John Churton Collins , English literary critic*John Collins , bass guitarist for Powderfinger*John Collins , of The New Pornographers and The Smugglers...

signed the deed, transferring ownership of the land to the parish.

A building committee was formed and Lawrence J. Cuneo was retained as the principal architect for the design of the church. A groundbreaking ceremony, held on May 31, 1964, was followed by a banquet at which Cardinal Cushing announced a building fund drive. He then immediately pledged $300,000 of personal funds, an amount equal to one-half of the projected building costs, to launch that drive. Four and a half months later, on October 15, 1964, a contract was awarded to Rich Construction Company, to serve as general contractor for the project.

From parish church to cathedral

In January 1966, the Holy See announced the appointment of Father Justin Najmy

Justin Najmy

Justin Najmy was the first bishop for the United States in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Appointed exarch for the newly-created Melkite diocese in the United States, Bishop Najmy served for two years before his death at age 70.- Biography :...

, pastor of St. Basil the Great Church in Central Falls, Rhode Island

Central Falls, Rhode Island

Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 19,376 at the 2010 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the thirty-second most densely populated incorporated place in the United...

, as the first Exarch for Melkites in the United States. He chose the Church of the Annunciation as the cathedral for the new exarchate, and on March 25, 1966, the Feast of the Annunciation

Annunciation

The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...

, the cathedral celebrated its inaugural Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy

. The altar

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

was consecrated by Bishop Thomas J. Riley on April 23, 1966 and the following day the building was solemnly dedicated. Bishop Najmy was enthroned in the new cathedral in June 1966 and delegated Fr. Lucien Malouf, BSO

Basilian Salvatorian Order

as its rector.

Later events

In 1976, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in the United States was elevated from the status of an Exarchate to that of an Eparchy

Eparchy

Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...

. On May 8, 1977, at a Patriarchal Liturgy served at the Cathedral, the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton

Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton

The Eparchy of Newton is an eparchy of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church...

was canonically erected with Archbishop Joseph Tawil

Joseph Tawil

Archbishop Joseph Tawil was the Melkite Greek Catholic eparch for the United States, teacher and theologian...

as Eparch.

External links

Annunciation Melkite Catholic Cathedral official web site

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