The Head of the UGCC: “The Patriarchal Council becomes a moment of examination of conscience”

Friday, 14 August 2015, 14:56

A strategy of the UGCC development “The Vibrant Parish – a place to encounter the Living Christ” – it is not just a plan, designed for someone. It is an all-Church movement and it is a life we are living. Thus, Patriarchal Council is an appropriate moment of exchanging experiences and gifts. It is also a moment of examination of conscience, to respond to ourselves: to what extent we are a living community as a Church?

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The Head and the Father of UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav told about it in his interview for the film “The face of the living Church” that is being worked upon with a creative group of “Live.TV”. A premiere film show is planned for the 25^th of August, during the work of the VI session of the Patriarchal Council of UGCC.

The Head of the UGCC signified, in UGCC are different parishes: those that are born, ripened, those which are overripened and even those that are frozen. “That is why it is so important for us to exchange those gifts we are having today, thus to accept some kind of an experience our parish is having, let’s say, in another country or, maybe, on another continent. It is so important for us to understand where we are in that strategy”, - mentioned His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

Framing the main tendencies of Church development in this strategic plan, the Head of the Church said: “We are open for God to make His corrections”. Church is a flesh of Christ but not a human edifice that has a plan of its strategic development.

“The last word in a Church life is always after Christ that is the Head of it. He is a Bridegroom of the whole Church community when it is His bride”, - explained he.

As the Head of the UGCC mentioned, history makes its own corrections in the Church life, as well: “Some five years ago we couldn’t imagine a war to start in Ukraine. We didn’t think our country would go through the Revolution of dignity. And we didn’t know, for sure, a place to encounter a Living Christ would not only be a parish but Kyiv Maidan and a front line, too”.

So, up to his mind exactly this Patriarchal Council will become a “moment of listening to God’s word, when Christ’s bride is talking to His Bridegroom, listening to Him, meeting Him, responding to His call”.

We remind, on 25^th-27^th of August, the VI session of Patriarchal Council of Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church “The Vibrant Parish – a place to encounter a Living Christ” will take place in Ivano-Frankivsk.

The UGCC Department of Information