About Byzantine Catholic Community · Summerfield, Florida
The Byzantine Catholic Community is a Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic mission in Summerfield, Florida, serving The Villages retirement community and surrounding area. Founded in 2019 under the leadership of Rev. Oleksiy Nebesnyk with the guidance of Rev. Robert Evancho and the Most Reverend Eparch Kurt Burnette, the community is part of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic and draws on the Byzantine Rite and Slavic traditions of the Ruthenian Church. Because the mission does not yet have its own building, Divine Liturgy is celebrated at Christ Lutheran Church (15699 SE 80th Avenue, Summerfield). The community is in full communion with the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, and its Sunday-vigil Liturgy fulfills the Catholic Sunday obligation.
- Established
- 2019
- Rector
- Rev. Oleksiy Nebesnyk
- Diocese
- Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic
Why belong here
This mission is a warm, accessible entry point into the Ruthenian Byzantine liturgical tradition for the thousands of Catholics — and curious Christians — who live in The Villages retirement community. With a single, easy-to-attend Saturday-morning Vigil Divine Liturgy that fulfills the Sunday obligation, face-to-face Confession after every Liturgy, and a small enough gathering that newcomers are personally welcomed, it offers the iconography, sung prayer, and Communion-under-both-species of the Byzantine Rite in an intimate setting. The community also builds fellowship through its 'Meet, Greet, and Munch' meals, ongoing food-bank outreach with Saint Alban's parish, and plans for Slavic dinners — making it a place where Eastern-rooted Catholics and visitors can worship, learn, and belong.
Mass times at Byzantine Catholic Community
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday — 12:00 PM (immediately after Divine Liturgy)
- By appointment — face to face, following the ancient Eastern tradition
Community History
The Byzantine Catholic Community of The Villages, FL was begun in 2019 as an outreach of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, founded to bring the Ruthenian Byzantine tradition to the retiree population of The Villages and surrounding communities in Marion and Sumter counties. From its founding it has been led by Rev. Oleksiy Nebesnyk, a married Ukrainian-born Eastern Catholic priest also serving Saint Anne Byzantine Catholic Church in New Port Richey, with canonical guidance from Rev. Robert Evancho and the pastoral oversight of the Most Reverend Kurt Burnette, Eparch of Passaic. The community first met in borrowed space at Saint Alban Church in Lady Lake, then relocated to its present worship home inside Christ Lutheran Church, 15699 SE 80th Avenue, Summerfield. Bishop Burnette celebrated Pascha with the community and commended its growth, a moment the parish identifies as formative. Its publicly stated long-term goal is to grow from its current 'Outreach' classification into canonical status as a 'Mission' and ultimately as a 'Church,' with a dedicated Byzantine Catholic worship space of its own.
- Founded 2019 in The Villages, FL
- Founding priest: Rev. Oleksiy Nebesnyk (also Administrator of Saint Anne Byzantine Catholic Church, New Port Richey)
- Canonical guidance: Rev. Robert Evancho
- Eparchial oversight: Most Reverend Kurt Burnette, Eparch of Passaic
- Originally met at Saint Alban Church, 625 W. Lady Lake Blvd, Lady Lake
- Currently hosted at Christ Lutheran Church, 15699 SE 80th Avenue, Summerfield
- Bishop Burnette celebrated Pascha with the community and commended its growth
- Long-term goal: canonical 'Mission' then 'Church' status with a dedicated worship space
Vespers & Other Services
In addition to the weekly Divine Liturgy, the community occasionally celebrates Vespers and other services of the Byzantine horologion and sanctoral cycle (e.g. the Sunday of Zacchaeus, the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, and other commemorations listed on the community's Vespers page). The community also gathers socially after every Liturgy for its 'Meet, Greet, and Munch' fellowship meal, and is developing Slavic heritage dinners in keeping with its Ruthenian roots.
- Vespers — scheduled occasionally; see /vespers page for current dates
- Pascha (Paschal Divine Liturgy) — the great celebration of the Resurrection
- Other Great Feasts: Nativity, Theophany, Annunciation, Dormition, Exaltation of the Cross
- 'Meet, Greet, and Munch' fellowship after every Liturgy
- Slavic dinners — in development
Cantors & Music
Music is central to Byzantine worship, and the community's cantors lead the faithful in the sung dialogue of the Divine Liturgy. The lead cantor is Loretta Fernandez, who welcomes newcomers interested in this ministry after Liturgy. The Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh hosts an online program of recordings of every part of the Divine Liturgy and online Moodle classes for those discerning a call to cantoring, and the community actively encourages and supports those pursuing this training.
- Lead cantor: Loretta Fernandez
- Active recruitment of new cantors
- Training resources through the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh (recordings + online classes)
- Sung prayer is the normal mode of the Divine Liturgy
Ministries, Outreach & Fellowship
Although it is a small mission without its own building, the Byzantine Catholic Community has developed a remarkable range of ministries for its size, reflecting both its Eastern heritage and its commitment to local charity. Its food-bank outreach is done in partnership with neighboring Saint Alban Church in Lady Lake, with donations to the food pantries of Lady Lake and Fruitland Park on the first Sunday of each month. Lay leadership is central: Dr. Barbara Yastishock-Lutz serves as the community's lay representative, and the cantor team, hospitality team, and Slavic-heritage dinner planning all rely on volunteer parishioners.
- Food-bank outreach with Saint Alban Church (first Sunday of each month — Lady Lake and Fruitland Park food banks)
- Cantor ministry (lead: Loretta Fernandez)
- Lay representative: Dr. Barbara Yastishock-Lutz
- 'Meet, Greet, and Munch' hospitality after every Liturgy
- Slavic heritage dinners (in development)
Byzantine-Ruthenian Tradition & the Eparchy of Passaic
The Byzantine Catholic Community belongs to the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, one of four Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic eparchies in the United States, with its cathedral — the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel — in Passaic, New Jersey. The Ruthenian Byzantine tradition traces its roots to the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius to the Slavic peoples and is in full communion with the Bishop of Rome (the Pope). Byzantine Catholics share the same faith, sacraments, and moral teaching as Roman Catholics but celebrate the liturgies in the Byzantine Rite — with iconography, incense, sung prayer, Communion under both species by intinction, and the use of the Julian-derived liturgical calendar with Pascha as the center of the year. The Eparchy of Passaic's history is deeply tied to waves of Carpatho-Rusyn, Ukrainian, Slovak, Hungarian, and Croatian immigration to the industrial Northeast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today the Eparchy extends its pastoral care to Byzantine Catholics across the eastern United States and into Florida, where it maintains parishes from Miami to Fort Myers to Ormond Beach.
- Belongs to the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic (cathedral in Passaic, NJ)
- Ruthenian tradition, descended from Saints Cyril and Methodius and the Slavic mission
- In full communion with the Pope — Liturgy fulfills the Roman Catholic Sunday obligation
- Sister churches in Florida include Saint Anne (New Port Richey), Holy Dormition (Ormond Beach), Saint Nicholas of Myra (Orlando), Saint Basil the Great (Miami), Saint Therese (St. Petersburg), Our Lady of the Sign (Coconut Creek), Saints Cyril and Methodius (Fort Pierce), and All Saints (North Fort Myers)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Oleksiy Nebesnyk2019–present
Married Ukrainian-born Eastern Catholic priest; has also served as Parochial Administrator of Saint Anne Byzantine Catholic Church, New Port Richey, FL since June 2017. Travels from New Port Richey to serve the Summerfield mission. Married clergy is permitted in the Eastern Catholic tradition, and Fr. Nebesnyk was among the first married Eastern Catholic priests to serve in the U.S. after the 2014 papal permission.