Session of Permanent Synod of UGCC held in Kyiv

The meetings of the 15th (30th) session of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church were held on January 20-23 in Kyiv. During the first two days of its activity, the members of the Permanent Synod were busy with the preparation of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, which will take place in September of this year in Winnipeg, Canada, and considered a number of questions related to the life of the church in the period between the synods. In particular, the members heard reports from Eparch of New Westminster Bishop Ken Nowakowski, the head of the working group on the implementation of the Strategy of Development of the UGCC for the period until 2020, Bishop Venedykt Aleksiichuk, the head of the Patriarchal Liturgical Committee, and Hieromonach Petro Baran, the head of the Patriarchal Committee on Matters of Monasticism. On January 21, a meeting of the Permanent Synod with the clergy of the Kyivan Archeparchy was held. It was attended by Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyivan Archeparchy Yosyf (Milian), numerous priests and deacons from central Ukraine, workers of the Patriarchal Curia, and seminarians of the Kyivan Spiritual Seminary. After the hierarchical liturgy led by Patriarch Sviatoslav, a discussion was held on the state of development of the church in the central and eastern regions of Ukraine and the prospect of evangelization activity in future. The members of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC noticed a growth in the number of the faithful in the UGCC communities in the east and learned about some of the difficulties faced by the clergy in their pastoral ministry. These questions will be the subject of discussion at the Permanent Synod in its search for ways to provide better spiritual care for the faithful of the UGCC in the east of Ukraine. In order to familiarize themselves with the life of church communities, on January 22 the members of the Permanent Synod celebrated services in various communities of the Kyivan Archeparchy of the UGCC. On January 23, the Permanent Synod completed its work. In addition to the head of the UGCC, it was attended by bishops from Ukraine and the diaspora, Archbishop Metropolitan Ihor Vozniak of Lviv, Archbishop Metropolitan Vasyl Semeniuk of Ternopil and Zboriv, Eparch of Stamford, Bishop Paul Chomnycki, Exarch of Odesa and Crimea, Bishop Vasyl Ivasiuk. UGCC Information Department