About Us
Our Organization
The Mission Society works to provide support for the Byzantine Catholic Church in Slovakia and the Transcarpathia Oblast in western Ukraine. We are all volunteers who belong to the Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh.
The Mission Society Office is in the Blanchette House at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our chaplain is Father Christopher L. Zugger, former pastor of the parish (1985-2008). We remain an all-volunteer organization. The design, postage, and mailing costs are absorbed by our volunteers. Our only expenses are for the website, printing, and materials. We never sell or give names and information to other organizations!
You can email us at admin@missionboronyavo.org.
Our Mission
First of all, we pray to God for healing of the division of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, for the spiritual growth of the American Byzantine Catholic Church; for the renewal of the Greek Catholic Church in Trans-Carpathia and Slovakia; for the canonization of Bishop-Martyr Theodore Romzha of the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church; and for the building up of the Kingdom of God in justice and charity among all people.
We assist the (Ruthenian) Greek Catholic Church in the Trans-Carpathian Oblast of the Republic of Ukraine, which is the territory of the ancient Eparchy of Mukachevo. As of March, 2022, we are helping with assistance for refugees and displaced persons inside Ukraine. The Eparchy is helping at border crossings into Slovakia and Hungary, as well as with people who decide to remain in Transcarpathia in hopes of finding refuge while remaining in Ukraine.
We also provide support for the Blessed Theordore Romzha Seminary; building projects of new chapels; the Sisters of Saint Basil; the Korolevo Orphanage; and Liturgy intentions which are given to the local priests to help in their financial support.
Meet Our Chaplain
Father Chris Zugger is an ordained priest of the Byzantine Catholic Church (1981). He hears confessions, assists at Divine Liturgies, services and classes in the parish, under the direction of the pastor. He provides spiritual direction for laity and clergy.
Father helps where he can in the Eparchy of the Holy Protection of Mary of Phoenix and in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. He is very thankful to God for the opportunity to continue to serve Him in new ways, and for the fact that Bishop Gerald Dino created this arrangement whereby he can continue to live where he has spent most of his priesthood.