New Bishop ordained for Byzantine Eparchy of Van Nuys

The episcopal ordination and enthronement of Bishop Gerald N. Dino as the fourth bishop of the Byzantine Eparchy of Van Nuys, California took place in St. helens catholic Church.

GLENDALE, AZ (CNS) - Bishops, priests, deacons and laypeople gathered at St. Helen Catholic Church in Glendale March 27 to celebrate the episcopal ordination and enthronement of Bishop Gerald N. Dino as the fourth bishop of the Byzantine Eparchy of Van Nuys, Calif.

The eparchy -- or diocese -- serves Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholics throughout the western United States. St. Helen is a church in the Latin-rite Diocese of Phoenix.

In his homily, Bishop Dino promised to lead his flock with "gentleness and humility," qualities attributed to his patron St. Nicholas.

"The humble person lives free of pretense and free of self-deception," he said before the crowd which included Archbishop Pietro Sambi, papal nuncio to the United States, and Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, head of the Latin-rite Diocese of Phoenix, with whom Bishop Dino now shares geographic proximity.

Though originally formed in Van Nuys, Calif., the eparchy has been based in Phoenix since 1994 when the Northridge earthquake severely damaged the pastoral center, bishop's residence and cathedral. Its headquarters are at St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral.

Bishop Olmsted reflected on the diverse nature of the church that Bishop Dino's episcopal ordination recalled.

"It gives concrete expression to the unity that Christ bestows on his church, within which there flourishes a rich diversity of rites," he said. "This diversity is reflected in the beauty of each respective liturgical tradition, spiritual heritage and ecclesiastical discipline."

At the time of his appointment in December, then-Msgr. Dino was pastor of St. George Parish in Linden, N.J., and protosyncellus -- the Eastern Catholic equivalent of a vicar general -- in the Byzantine Eparchy of Passaic, N.J. He also was administrator of the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Elizabeth, N.J.

As bishop of Van Nuys, he succeeds Bishop William C. Skurla, who was named in December to head the Passaic Eparchy.

For Diane Pepke, a parishioner at St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral, greeting Bishop Dino was like welcoming home a new relative.

"It's very exciting for our eparchy. There are a lot less parishioners per parish, so it lends itself to a more intimate setting for us to get to know the Lord," she said. "We're family."

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops