About the sixty-fourth session of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv - Galician Major Archbishopric of the UGCC

Tuesday, 17 June 2014, 13:12

The sixty-fourth session of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv-Galician Major Archbishopric of the UGCC was held on 13-14 June 2014 in the Marian Spiritual Centre in Zarvanytsya.

See also:

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Let us be grateful to God for being able to receive personally living water here, in Zarvanytsia, since it is impossible to quench thirst online, - the Head of the UGCC during the pilgrimage

The Synod was attended by all the Greek-Catholic bishops serving in Ukraine and nominated Bishop Josaphat (Moschych) proclaimed as the auxiliary bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk archdiocese.

Before the start of the Synodal meetings, a seminar on ecumenism (the movement for unity among Christians) took place and it was conducted by the Rev.Dr.Igor Shaban. The same issue was also the main theme of this session of the Synod.

Synod finalized and approved the Regulations on the status and ministry of the bishop ministered in the Kyiv-Galician Major Archbishopric of the UGCC and adopted in the first reading the Pastoral adviser "Calling to the laity to participate in social and political life of the country" and the Model Statute of the parish, which were provided under the Rev.Dr.Mykhaylo Mel’nyk and the Rev.Dr.Vitaliy Tokar. Synod also approved amendments to the Regulation on the parish catechetical school and Regulations on the procedure for appointment to the catechetical ministry and withdrawal from it.

Synod fathers in this session also examined the issue of exorcism and prayers for healing for the laity and priests, that were reported by father Jehoshaphat Savran.

In the economic and financial block of issues were presented the results of extensive audit and the report on the activities based by the UGCC Non-state pension fund "Pokrova", stated the need for learning of the faithful the basics of financial and economic literacy. There were also discussed other issues of financial and economic life of the Church, in particular the activity of Patriarchal pilgrimage center, reported by Father Lyubomyr Yavorskyi.

In addition to the above, it was considered a good preparation for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the legalization of the UGCC in Ukraine and the Ukrainian program of this year's pilgrimage to Zarvanytsya that will be devoted to this celebration. The program was presented by Ternopil-Zboriv Metropolitan Vasyl’ (Semenyuk), the governor of Marian Spiritual centre in Zarvanytsya.

About the Major Archbishopric Comission activity and commissions recent publications reported Fr.Petro Rak, the Head of the church committees. About the activity of Bureau of Kyiv-Galician Major Archbishopric of the UGCC in the matter of new religious movements reported its President Anna Eva Bodnar.

Members of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv Galician Major Archbishopric of the UGCC, having learnt of the tragic death of our 49 soldiers by hands of the terrorists in Lugansk, assured of continued prayers for the souls of all the deads and expressed their condolences to the bereaved and relatives of the deads in a plane shot down by terrorists, and all the relatives of those who in last month gave their lives for freedom and a better future for our country.

The sixty- fifth Session of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv-Galician Major Archbishopric of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was decided to hold in November 2014.

Secretariat of the Bishops Synod

Kyiv-Galician Major Archbishop of the UGCC