5th National Congress of Military Chaplains of UGCC begins in Ivano-Frankivsk

The first day of the congress was attended by about forty participants – chaplains and military personnel. The event was headed by Bishop Mykhailo Koltun, the head of the Department of Pastoral Care in the Armed Forces and Penitentiary System in Ukraine. "Chaplaincy work has never been easy.  And as an example I will use the Virgin Mary, who trusted God in her ministry. And I urge you, chaplains, to put your compete trust in God in your work and not to worry too much about difficulties that often arise in your pastoral activity." Fr. Lubomyr Yavorsky, deputy head of the Department of Pastoral Care, presented the work done by the department in 2011, and reported on events and plans for the next year. The pastor thanked the chaplains for their work: "Your activity proves that the work of the department is effective. Thank you all who care, who are here to develop the Ukrainian military chaplaincy." Chaplains together with representatives of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Internal Affairs discussed issues of pastoral ministry in the military.  Colonel Oleh Bilyj shared their experience of cooperation with chaplains. Colonel Ruslan Kohanchuk presented to participants models of military chaplaincy in foreign armies, identifying the advantages and disadvantages of each. Based on the experience gained in cooperation with the Ukrainian army, and having analyzed models of military chaplaincy and in other countries, Fr. Lubomyr Yavorsky proposed a model of chaplaincy service of the UGCC in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The presentation was followed by a discussion of the project. Solomiya Shchur, the spokeswoman for the department, presented the work of official site kapelanstvo.org.ua. Oleksandr Melnyk, assistant of the department, described the organization of interaction between military chaplains from the department with the security forces. In the evening, the chaplains watched a film about the Third National Military Pilgrimage Zarvanytsya-2011 and discussed the prospects for the future and the format of pilgrimages organized by the department. The next day, chaplains together with military personnel will visit military units, where they will learn about the ministry of chaplains in the Ivano-Frankivsk garrison.  

http://kapelanstvo.org.ua/news/379/