The Byzantine Discalced Carmelites [1] are a community of cloistered nuns of the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church living committed to a life of prayer, according to the tradition and lifestyle of the Discalced Carmelites. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Discalced Carmelites, or Barefoot Carmelites, is a Roman Catholic mendicant order. ...

It was out of a desire for Christian reconciliation and inspired by Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council that the Byzantine Carmel was brought to life. Holy Annunciation Carmel's founding Sisters, Mother Marija of the Holy Spirit, Sister Marie Helen of the Cross and Sister Ann of the Trinity (d. 2001) offered their lives for the healing of the Body of Christ with the inauguration of the monastery on 23 February 1977. The Most Reverend Michael Dudick (1916–2007), the Bishop of the Ruthenians of Passaic, New Jersey, assumed the total burden of financial responsibility and assisted the community for years. Father Walter Ciszek, S.J. both guided the sisters in the establishment of this new foundation and introduced the community to Bishop Michael. Blessed Pope John XXIII (Latin: ),(Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. ... The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Michael Joseph Dudick (February 24, 1916—May 30, 2007) was an American priest and bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the U.S. branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church. ... Passaic is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. ...

"Divine providence directed us to the Ruthenian people and their diocese of Passaic NJ, which stems from the Uzhgorod-Mukachevo eparchy in Transcarpathia (now Ukraine). At the time of founding Holy Annunciation, Communism was in full force and daily we prayed for "our suffering brethren" (behind the iron curtain). As Communism weakened and then collapsed (1989-1990) we received requests, even applications, from young women in Byzantine Slovakia and Carpathia who felt they had a Carmelite vocation. Several Byzantine rite girls came to us from Slovakia and Carpathia. We in turn promised, when feasible, that a foundation would be made in their homeland. This has been our endeavor since 1995, and in 2002 we sent Sisters there to begin the Monastery of St. Therese in Koritnyani, Transcarpathia." - Mother Marija

In 1999 the community, through an unusual chain of events accepted five young women of the South Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic Church as members. These sister comprise one third of the community and have greatly blessed Carmel by their presence. Bishop Dudick encouraged the assistance of sister Eastern Catholic Churches. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is a Major Archiepiscopal Church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. ... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ...

See also

• Carmelites
• Carmelite Rule of St. Albert
• Book of the First Monks
• Constitutions of the Carmelite Order
• Hermit
• Mary of Egypt
• Dialogues of the Carmelites

The Order of Our Lady of Mt. ... The Rule of St. ... The Book of the First Monks[1] is a medieval Christian work in the contemplative and eremetic tradition of the Carmelites. ... The Constitutions of the Carmelite Order stand as an expression of the ideals and spirit of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. ... Onuphrius lived as a hermit in the desert of Upper Egypt in the late 4th century A hermit (from the Greek erēmos, signifying desert, uninhabited, hence desert-dweller) is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion and/or isolation from society. ... Venerable[2] Mary of Egypt (ca. ... Dialogues of the Carmelites ( in French, Dialogues des Carmélites) is an opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc. ...

External links

• Carmelite Vocation
• Poetry of John of the Cross
• Discalced Carmelite Calendar and Saints
• Carmel's Heights - This CD album is an attempt to share with all some of Carmel's Saints - real persons of flesh and blood - who share with us in song their own spiritual experiences.
• Desert Mothers of Europe
• Sayings of the Desert Fathers