Catechesis is a work of the Church, a sharing in the teaching mission of the Body of Christ. Catechetical material, like iconogrphy or liturgical chant, strives to speak of the Tradition of the Church. The individual's insights, perceptions, and experiences become significant in that they personalize this Tradition and give witness to it in our contemporary world.
Accordingly, each text is the work of those Eastern Catholic Churches in North America which participate in ECDD, the catechetical arm of the bishops of Eastern Catholic Associates.
"To the Ends of the Earth" is in part a revision and an updating of the booklet, Eastern Catholic Churches in America (Office of Religious Education, Parma, Ohio, 1987) by Father David M. Petras, a priest of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. The text was subsequently reviewed and approved by all the hierachs of the thirteen participating eparchies, their directors of religous education and catechetical staffs. It therefore represents their communities common faith and vision. We are also indebted to Archbishop Francis Zayek (Marionite, Brooklyn) and Bishop Hovhannes Terzakian (Armenian Catholic, New York) for their valuable suggestions.
"The Old Testament: a Byzantine Perspective" is the work of Father John S. Custer, a priest of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. The text was subsequently reviewed and approved by all the hierarchs of the thirteen participating eparchies, their directors of religious education and catechetical staffs. It therefore represents their communities' common faith and vision.
