Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh): We want to think about the essence of the Eastern Catholic Churches

"We want to think about the essence of the Eastern Catholic Churches, taking into consideration the theological, canonical and pastoral aspects, so we may better carry out our mission in the Catholic Church and successfully fulfill our pastoral ministry," said Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh), Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, of the goal of the Meeting of the Bishops of Eastern Rite Catholic Churches. According to Bishop Bohdan, the decision to examine a wider range of issues related to the life and work of the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches was made last year. We remind that the 13th Meeting of the Bishops of Eastern Rite Catholic Churches was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from November 4 to 7, 2010. The meeting coincided with the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the union of Bulgaria’s Byzantine-Slavic Rite Church with the Catholic Church. Representatives of 13 Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris discussed the topic “The ecclesiological criteria of the Eastern Churches today.” Pastoral care structures for migrants of Eastern rite churches were also discussed. According to Radio Vatican, in the meeting took part Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops from Ukraine and Europe, the hierarchy of other Greek Catholic Churches of the continent and the Maronite archbishop of Cyprus. The Holy See was represented by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and its Secretary Archbishop Cyril Basil, and Archbishop Antonio Veglio, President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. It should be noted that previous meetings were devoted to the theological reflections on the Holy Sacraments. In the Catholic Church are churches sui iuris, which are in full communion with the Roman Church but have their form of liturgical worship, canonical discipline, terminology, and theological tradition. Currently there are 24 churches sui iuris around the world, 15 of them are of the Byzantine liturgical rite (14 are in Europe).

Information Department of the UGCC