St Michael Archangel UGCC Dearborn Michigan

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St Michael Archangel UGCC Dearborn Michigan

St. Michael the Archangel Parish, located in Dearborn Michigan, is a vibrant Ukrainian Catholic Community, part of the St. Церква Святого Архангела Михаїла

St.

Nicholas Eparchy located in Chicago, and is in communion with the Bishop of Rome. Michael the Archangel Parish, located in Dearborn Michigan, is a small but vibrant Ukrainian Catholic Community dedicated to preserving the traditions upon which it was founded and bearing witness to God's active presence in creation. It is an Eastern Catholic Church that uses the ritual of the Byzantine Church and f

ollows Ukrainian traditions, customs and liturgical practices. Services are conducted in both English and Ukrainian. Open to all Christians, St. Michael's Parish is in full communion with the Catholic Church. All Catholics in good-standing are able to partake of the Eucharist and can fulfill their obligations as stipulated by the Catholic Church.

09/06/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning September 6th, 2026
15th Sunday After Pentecost

As we begin this new Church Year, three feasts occur this week. The first two pertain to one of the Twelve Great Feasts, the Nativity of the Theotokos; the second commemorates her parents, and the third is a lesser feast of our parish patron, St. Michael the Archangel.

The Bible does not give us an account of the birth of Mary. The details of her birth come to us through the ancient Christian tradition preserved in the Protoevangelium of James. According to this tradition, Mary was born to the righteous Joachim and Anna, who had remained childless into their old age. Their prayers were answered when God blessed them with a daughter. Because of this, the Church remembers Joachim and Anna on September 9 as examples of steadfast faith and patient trust in God.

The troparion of the feast reveals the deeper meaning of this event. We do not celebrate Mary’s birth merely as the birth of a remarkable woman. Rather, her Nativity is understood as the beginning of God’s preparation for the coming of Christ. The troparion proclaims: “Your Nativity, O Theotokos, has proclaimed joy to all the world.” Her birth brings joy because from her will come Christ, the Savior of the world.

This feast reminds us that God’s saving work often begins quietly and invisibly. The birth of a child to an elderly and previously childless couple appeared insignificant to the world. Yet through this child, Mary, God prepared the way for the fulfillment of His promise.

On this Sunday, September 6, we recall how the Archangel Michael appeared and saved a church dedicated to him, along with its miraculous spring. The church was located near Colossae in Phrygia. It was rescued from flooding after pagans devised a plan to divert and combine two rivers and direct their waters against the church to destroy it. The Archangel Michael appeared in great glory. He made the sign of the Cross over the rushing waters, causing them to stand still. He then struck a large rock near the church with his staff. A wide fissure opened in the rock, and the waters plunged into it and flowed underground, leaving the church unharmed.

09/04/2026

Отець і Глава УГКЦ Блаженніший Святослав видав Декрет про утворення тимчасової робочої групи з підготовки англійського перекладу Божественних Літургій святого І...

08/30/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning August 30th, 2026
14th Sunday After Pentecost

On September 1, 2026, the Byzantine calendar transitions to the year 7535 AM (Annus Mundi—Year of the World)

The beginning of a new year has never been set in stone. While January 1 is used in the Gregorian civil calendar today, medieval Europe and other cultures have marked the beginning of the year according to religious feast days, the changing seasons, or lunar cycles. March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, was once used in medieval Europe; March 1 was used in ancient Rome; the first day of Tishri, Rosh Hashanah, marks the Jewish New Year in the autumn; and the Lunar New Year follows the lunar calendar.

For the Byzantine tradition, September 1 marks the beginning of the liturgical New Year. It is also associated with the Indiction, a term derived from the Latin word meaning “proclamation.” It originally referred to a 15-year imperial tax and administrative cycle established in the late Roman Empire.

Why do we continue to observe September 1? According to tradition, this day is associated with the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. The Gospel appointed for the day is from St. Luke, telling us that Christ entered the synagogue and read from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor…” The Byzantine liturgical tradition therefore sees the beginning of the year not merely as a change of dates, but as an opportunity to place the whole course of human time under Christ’s lordship.

The Christian understanding of time is fundamentally different from the secular time. All time belongs to God. We begin the year by giving thanks for what has passed and asking God to bless what is to come. Another year of our earthly life is not simply another unit of chronological time; it is another portion of the life God has entrusted to us.

The Troparion for the day expresses this beautifully: “Bless the crown of the year with Your goodness, O Lord.” The Church asks God to preserve His Church, grant peace to the world, bless the earth, and guide His people. The question at the beginning of the year is therefore not simply, “What will this year bring me?” but rather, “Lord, how will I use the time You have given me?”

08/23/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning August 23rd, 2026
13th Sunday After Pentecost

“Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” — Matthew 11:11

This coming Saturday, August 29, the Church commemorates the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Christ. After Christ and the Theotokos, St. John is among the most frequently commemorated figures in the liturgical calendar, with six principal feast days dedicated to him. These include his Conception, Nativity, Synaxis, the First and Second Finding of his Head, the Third Finding of his Head, and his Beheading. This prominence reflects his unique place in the history of salvation: he is the last and greatest of the prophets, the Forerunner who prepared the way for Christ, and the one who pointed to Him as the Lamb of God.

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark recount John's death, traditionally dated to about A.D. 32. John openly condemned Herod Antipas for taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod imprisoned John but feared him and recognized him as a righteous man. At Herod's birthday banquet, Herodias's daughter, Salome, danced before the guests. Pleased, Herod rashly promised to grant her whatever she requested. At her mother's urging, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Bound by his oath and concerned about the opinion of his guests, Herod ordered John's ex*****on. John's disciples took his body and buried it at Sebaste.

The Church commemorates John's death on August 29, even though it occurred shortly before Passover. According to Church tradition, this date was associated with the consecration of a church built over John's tomb at Sebaste.
The Beheading is a strict fast day, regardless of the day of the week. Our fasting expresses sorrow over John's violent death and recalls his own austere life of repentance, prayer, and preparation for the coming of Christ. In some Slavic traditions, additional customs developed: avoiding food served on flat plates, knives, round foods, or red foods, as well as dancing and singing, recalling the circumstances surrounding John's death.

John's life and death remind us that fidelity to God's truth can carry a cost. Like the Forerunner, we are called to prepare the way for Christ—not only with our words, but by repentance, faith, and a life ordered according to the Gospel.

08/16/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning August 16th, 2026
12th Sunday After Pentecost / Post-Feast -- Dormition of the Theotokos

This Sunday, we are still celebrating the great feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Mother of God). During the pre and post-feast, we observe the ancient customs of processing with and displaying the Shroud of the Theotokos. It sometimes depicts the body of the Theotokos lying in repose, surrounded by the Apostles, while Christ stands above her, holding her soul. It should not be confused with the Shroud of Christ used on Great Friday.

This custom began in Jerusalem at the Church of the Dormition at Gethsemane, where ancient Christian tradition locates the burial place of the Mother of God. The Jerusalem tradition developed a solemn commemoration of her burial, including a procession and the singing of Lamentations before her tomb. From Jerusalem, this practice spread to other churches, particularly among the Slavic people.

The Shroud deliberately parallels the Epitaphios of Christ used during Holy Week. On Great Friday, the Church mourns Christ's death and burial; during the Dormition, it commemorates the death and burial of His Mother. In both cases, however, the shroud does not represent death as the final reality. The procession the night before the feast ultimately points to Christ's victory over death and the promise of resurrection.

Around the shroud, one of two statements is placed. One the feast's central hymn expressing this beautifully: “In giving birth you preserved your virginity; in falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. You were translated to life, O Mother of Life.” Or the second "Neither the tomb nor death could hold the Theotokos..." The Church therefore calls her death a Dormition, or “falling asleep,” because death could not hold her.

This Shroud parallels the one of Christ used during Great Week. On Great Friday, the Church mourns Christ's death and burial. Now it commemorates the death and burial of His Mother. In both cases, the shroud does not represent death as the final reality. Its use ultimately points toward the victory of Christ over death and the promise of resurrection.

The image is from an Epitaphios of the Theotokos, available at https://churchembroidery.net/

08/15/2026

Liturgy for the post feastday of the Dormition of the Mother of God and blessing of flowers this Sunday at 10AM.

08/09/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning August 9th, 2026
11th Sunday After Pentecost / Post-Feast of the Transfiguration

This Sunday, August 9, the Church remembers the holy Martyrs of the Brass Gate, a group of not-so-well-known martyrs: Julian, Marcian, John, James, Alexius, Demetrius, Photius, Peter, Leontius, and Maria the Patrician. In the year 730, under the iconoclast emperor Leo III, these faithful Christians gave their lives to defend a wonderworking icon of Christ that stood above the Chalke Gate, the main entrance to the imperial palace in Constantinople. When soldiers raised ladders to tear down the sacred image, the martyrs pulled the ladder away. One soldier fell and died. For this act of courage, the nine men were imprisoned for eight months, receiving five hundred blows each day. Strengthened by Christ, they endured. Finally, their faces were burned with red-hot iron, and they were beheaded. Maria the Patrician, learning of their sentence, voluntarily joined them in martyrdom. These saints stand as early witnesses to the orthodox understanding of holy icons. Icons are not idols; they are windows to heaven, tangible affirmations of the Incarnation. Because the Son of God truly became man, His face may be depicted, and through the image we encounter the One who is depicted. By defending the icon, the martyrs defended the truth of the Gospel itself. Their feast falls during the Post-feast of the Transfiguration, when we still celebrate the uncreated light that shone from Christ’s face on Mount Tabor, and within the Dormition Fast, a season of purification and deeper devotion to the Mother of God. The same light revealed on Tabor is the light that sustained these martyrs in their sufferings. The same love for Christ that moved them to protect His image invites us, in this Fast, to purify our own hearts so that we may more clearly behold Him. Let us look with renewed reverence upon the holy icons in our churches and homes. May the actions of these martyrs strengthen us to guard the faith with humility and steadfastness, and to become living icons of Christ in the world.

08/02/2026

Reflection for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost
and the Transfiguration of Christ.
Matthew 17:14-23

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

This Sunday is unique. The Gospel reading from St. Matthew follows immediately after the Gospel appointed for this coming Thursday, the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mount Tabor. It is uncommon for these two passages to be proclaimed in the same week.

But this coincidence allows us to place them side by side, for together they reveal two inseparable aspects of Christ's saving work. On the mountain, the disciples behold His divine glory. In the valley below, they encounter a world still enslaved by sin, suffering, and death.

As Christ descends from Mount Tabor with Peter, James, and John, He is met by a desperate father whose son is tormented by a demon. The father says to Him, "I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."

The contrast could not be greater. On the mountain there is light, peace, and the voice of the Father proclaiming, "This is My Beloved Son." In the valley there is confusion, failure, and despair.

This contrast is deliberate. St. Matthew teaches us that the Christian life cannot remain on the mountaintop. Peter wanted to build three tents and remain there, but Christ leads His disciples back into the world because that is where His saving work must continue.

St. John Chrysostom, in his homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, writes: "The Lord led them up the mountain to strengthen them before His Passion, but coming down He immediately encounters human misery, teaching them that after prayer comes service."

The glory of the mountain was never meant to be an escape from the world. It was given to prepare the disciples to serve the world.
There is another striking contrast that we often overlook. While Peter, James, and John were with Christ on the mountain, the other disciples remained below. It was these disciples who were unable to cast out the demon.

The Church Fathers see great significance in this. Spiritual power comes not from our own abilities but from remaining in the presence of Christ. The three who ascended the mountain witnessed His divine glory, while those below struggled because they relied too much on themselves.

The same is true for us. Whenever we distance ourselves from Christ through neglect of prayer, worship, or repentance, we discover how powerless we truly are. But when we remain close to Him, He grants us strength beyond our own.

When the disciples later ask privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" Jesus answers, "Because of your little faith." In St. Mark's account of this incident, Jesus adds, "This kind cannot come out except by prayer and fasting."

Again, St. John Chrysostom says: "Prayer is the root, the fountain, the mother of countless blessings. Fasting gives wings to prayer and makes the soul lighter than the winds."

Prayer and fasting are inseparable. Together they quiet our passions, strengthen our faith, and teach us to rely upon Christ rather than ourselves.

St. Cyril of Alexandria explains: "Faith is not merely to confess with the lips, but to possess an unwavering confidence in Christ's divine power."

Do we resemble the disciples who remained below the mountain? Do we try to solve every problem through our own intelligence, our own plans, and our own strength? Or is it only after exhausting ourselves that we finally turn to God? Christ reminds us today that victory over evil begins not with self-confidence but with faith nourished by prayer and fasting.

The movement from the mountain to the valley is also the pattern of every Christian life. We all experience moments when God's presence seems especially near: during the Divine Liturgy, in silent prayer, or as we receive the Holy Mysteries. These are our own glimpses of the Light on the Mountain.

Yet, like the disciples, we cannot remain on the mountaintop. We leave the church and return to our homes. We encounter illness, family struggles, temptation, grief, and uncertainty. Like the Apostles, we descend into the valley.

Again, St. Matthew connects this directly to the Transfiguration. The glory of Mount Tabor cannot be separated from the Cross on Golgotha. Christ revealed His divine glory so that when His disciples saw Him suffering, they would understand that His Passion was voluntary and that beyond the Cross lay the Resurrection.
Our takeaway from today's Gospel should be that we do not leave Christ behind when we descend the mountain. Rather, we carry the Light on the Mountain into the darkness of the world. The purpose of every Divine Liturgy is not simply to give us a holy experience, but to transform us so that we may become witnesses to Christ wherever He sends us.

Immediately after healing the child, our Lord again foretells His Passion: "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men... and the third day He will be raised."

Of this, St. Leo the Great writes: "The principal purpose of the Transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the Cross from the hearts of His disciples."

This is the journey the Church invites us to make. During this Dormition Fast, we ascend Mount Tabor through prayer, fasting, repentance, and faithful participation in the life of the Church. But we must also be willing to descend with Christ into the valleys of everyday life, bringing His light to those who suffer and His hope to those who despair.

For the same Lord who was transfigured in glory is the One who heals the broken, strengthens the weak, conquers the powers of evil, and walks with us on the road to the Cross and, beyond it, to the joy of the Resurrection.

And to Him, together with His Eternal Father and His all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, be glory, honor, and worship, now and forever, and ever. Amen.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

08/02/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning August 2nd, 2026
10th Sunday After Pentecost

As we enter August, we also begin the Dormition Fast, two weeks of prayer, fasting, and spiritual preparation for celebrating the Dormition. During this fast, the Church celebrates one of the Twelve Great Feasts: the Transfiguration of Our Lord on August 6.

The Transfiguration is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. Christ takes Peter, James, and John up Mount Tabor, where "His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light." Moses and Elijah appear speaking with Him, and a bright cloud overshadows them as the Father's voice declares, "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

The Transfiguration is not a change in Christ but a revelation of the divine glory that has always dwelt within Him. As St. John of Damascus writes, Christ "was transfigured, revealing to His disciples what He in fact was." He further explains that the light radiating from Christ is the uncreated glory of God; the visible manifestation of His divine energies. Building upon this teaching, St. Gregory Palamas affirmed that while God's essence remains beyond human comprehension, we truly participate in His uncreated grace and life.
The appearance of Moses and Elijah reveals Christ as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets and as Lord of both the living and the dead. The Transfiguration also manifests the Holy Trinity: the Son shines in glory, the Father speaks from heaven, and the Holy Spirit is present in the luminous cloud. At the same time, the event points forward to Christ's Resurrection and His Glorious Second Coming.

Finally, the feast reveals humanity's true calling: theosis, or deification. Through Christ's Incarnation and the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are invited to share in God's divine life. As the Kontakion proclaims, Christ revealed His glory "as far as they were able to bear it," strengthening the disciples before His Passion and revealing that His suffering would be embraced willingly for the salvation of the world.

Address

6340 Chase Road
Dearborn, MI
48126

Telephone

(313) 582-1424

Website

http://www.stmichaelarchangel.org/, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0rHIHDbILEufDILza3d1uw

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