Blessed Theodore Romzha [Ruthenian]

About the Mission

Blessed Theodore Romzha Byzantine Catholic Mission is a Ruthenian (Byzantine-rite) Catholic mission serving Byzantine Catholics in the Matanuska–Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley around Wasilla and Palmer, Alaska. It is canonically a mission of St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church in Anchorage — itself the only Byzantine Catholic parish in Alaska — and falls within the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of the Most Holy Protection of Mary of Phoenix. The community gathers for the Byzantine Divine Liturgy (the Eastern-rite equivalent of Mass) twice a month at 4:00 PM on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, in the former Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church building at 1201 Bogard Road, Wasilla.

History of the Mission

The mission's story reaches back to the late Fr. Michael Artim, third and longest-serving pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra in Anchorage, who dreamed of spreading Byzantine Catholic worship across Alaska but retired in 1985 without seeing the vision realized. When Fr. Wesley Izer, SDB arrived in Anchorage in winter 2001, he noticed that Valley families were drifting away from St. Nicholas because of the long commute. With Archbishop Roger Schwietz's blessing and the hospitality of Sacred Heart's pastor Fr. Kasparaj Mallavarapu, the first Divine Liturgy in Wasilla was celebrated on Thomas Sunday, April 7, 2002.

• Mid-1990s: St. Nicholas families begin relocating to Palmer and Wasilla for cheaper housing.
• October 2001: Fr. Michael Artim dies; his bequest funds the future mission and his private chapel furniture is donated to the project.
• Thomas Sunday, April 7, 2002: First Divine Liturgy celebrated in old Sacred Heart Church in Wasilla (monthly schedule).
• April 2003: Bishop William Skurla makes his first Visitation of the 'Byzantine Catholic Outreach of Palmer–Wasilla.'
• June 2003: Bishop Skurla asks that Divine Liturgy be celebrated every Sunday.
• August 2005: Land near Seldon and Wasilla–Fishhook Road is purchased as the site for a future Byzantine church.
• February 16, 2006: Outreach is canonically erected as a Mission and placed under the patronage of Blessed Theodore Romzha.

Patron: Blessed Theodore Romzha

The mission's heavenly patron is Blessed Theodore George Romzha (1911–1947), the Greek Catholic Eparch (Bishop) of Mukachevo in Sub-Carpathian Rus'. Ordained a priest in Rome on Christmas Day 1936 after studies at the Russicum, he was consecrated Bishop of Mukachevo on September 24, 1944 and led his flock through the brutal Soviet annexation of the region. He was severely beaten by NKVD agents on October 28, 1947 in an apparent assassination attempt and died of his injuries shortly after midnight Moscow time on November 1, 1947 — though local time placed his death before midnight on October 31, the date now observed as his feast. Pope John Paul II beatified him as a Martyr for the Faith in Lviv on June 27, 2001; his relics, recovered in 1998, were solemnly translated back to Holy Cross Cathedral in Uzhhorod in June 2003.

• Feast day: October 31 (martyrdom); June 28 also observed as Translation of Relics.
• Venerated as a Blessed Martyr in both Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches.
• Often regarded as 'prime benefactor and cofounder' of the Wasilla Mission because of the dream he passed on.

Clergy & Leadership

The mission is administered from St. Nicholas of Myra in Anchorage. Today, the Mission Community is led by Reverend Michael Sidun, who also serves as pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra. He succeeded the mission's founder, the Right Reverend Archimandrite Wesley Izer, SDB, who began the trips from Anchorage to Wasilla in 2001 and was named Administrator when the Mission was canonically erected on February 16, 2006.

• Rev. Michael Sidun — current pastor/administrator
• Right Rev. Archimandrite Wesley Izer, SDB — founding Administrator (2006)
• Bishop William Skurla (now Bishop of Passaic) — erected the Mission in 2006
• Archbishop Roger Schwietz, OMI — supported the 2001 outreach initiative
• Rev. Kasparaj Mallavarapu — pastor of Sacred Heart who welcomed the Byzantine community

Schedule & Location

Divine Liturgy is celebrated at 4:00 PM on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month at the former Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church building, 1201 Bogard Road, Wasilla, Alaska. Confessions are heard by request. The Mission Community looks forward to the day it will worship in its own dedicated Byzantine church, currently planned for land near Seldon and Wasilla–Fishhook Road.

• Divine Liturgy: Sundays, 2nd & 4th of each month, 4:00 PM
• Confession: by request
• Address: 1201 E. Bogard Road, Wasilla, AK 99654
• Mailing/phone: c/o St. Nicholas of Myra, 2200 Arctic Blvd, Anchorage, AK 99503 — 907-277-6731

Related Byzantine Catholic Community: St. Nicholas of Myra, Anchorage

St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church in Anchorage (2200 Arctic Blvd, founded 1958) is the parent parish and only Eastern Catholic parish in Alaska. From its pulpit the Wasilla Mission is administered, and its pastor currently serves as the Mission's administrator. The North Star Catholic has described St. Nicholas as 'the only Eastern Catholic parish in Alaska' and noted that 'the church maintains a mission in Wasilla — Blessed Theodore Romzha Mission.' In December 2018 the parish marked its 60th anniversary with a Divine Liturgy concelebrated by Bishop Kurt Burnette of the Eparchy of Passaic and joined by Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne and Archbishop Emeritus Roger Schwietz.

Visiting the Mission

Visitors are warmly welcomed. The parish's own welcome page invites anyone interested in the Eastern Christian Church — or whose family roots lie in central or eastern Europe — to join them for Divine Liturgy on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 4:00 PM at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wasilla. In Wasilla the community is known simply as the 'Blessed Theodore Rhomza' Byzantine Catholic Mission. For more information, call 907-277-6731.