UGCC Head visits New Westminster Eparchy

On Thursday, August 30^th, His Beatitude Sviatoslav together with Bishop Ihor (Vozniak), the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Lviv, Bishop Ken Novakivsky, New Westminster Eparch and Bishop Severian Yakymyshyn, New Westminster Bishop-Emeritus, co-celebrated vespers in the Parish of the  Exaltation of  the Holy Cross in Surrey, British Columbia.  After the service, the UGCC Primate had a chance to meet with the faithful, clergy and their families and representatives of  the eparchy’s various organizations and commissions. On Friday, August 31 at the invitation of Bishop Ken, His Beatitude Sviatoslav blessed the new eparchial and catechetical centre -- Bishop Jerome Chimey Centre – honoring the first bishop of New Westminster, and the Bishop Severian (Yakymyshyn) Library.  Participants of the ceremony were representative of the city administration who actively support the eparchy’s community, as well as members of the Patriarchal Catechetical UGCC Commission who recently held their meeting here.  On the occasion of UGCC Head’s visit to the city, the mayor read a special proclamation naming August 31, 2012 as  “Patriarch Sviatoslav’s Day in the City of New Westminster.” That evening the Father and UGCC Head led a prayer together with Bishop Ken in Holy Eucharist Cathedral in New Westminster and addressed parishioners and guests.  UGCC Head assured his flock of spiritual support and prayer and encouraged them to continue evangelization – preaching the Word of God in today’s world, a joint endeavor of our Church.  The meeting with UGCC Primate was attended by a large number of faithful from the Greater Vancouver area as well as from the island of Vancouver in British Columbia.  This gathering was also marked by special recognitions of the faithful who have worked over many years and continue to toil to strengthen and develop the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in British Columbia.  The evening  concluded in the Cathedral Hall where the community could freely interact with His Beatitude Sviatoslav. On September 1, the feast of the beginning of the liturgical year, UGCC Head led a Pontifical Divine Liturgy in the Parish of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vancouver and also met with the faithful at a banquet at the Ukrainian Catholic Center. During the coming days, UGCC Head plans to visit one more parish of the New Westminster Eparchy in the city of Kelowna.   Anna Vyshnevska for UGCC Department of Information

Photos: Doreen Kostyniuk