UGCC Synod of Bishops proclaimed Blessed Volodymyr Pryima as the Patron of UGCC Laity

Note that the year 2012 in the UGCC Church has been named as the Year of Laity.  Therefore, the Synod of Bishops devoted time to discuss the role of the laity in the life and mission of the Church, which also became the main topic of the Synod.

A fundamental thought was that laity belongs to a people dedicated to God, and are the inheritors of the union and the objects of the promise of salvation.  Simultaneously it was recognized that  at this moment the issue in question does not lie in the identity of the laity but rather in its mission as members of a unitary God’s people, to become “living  stones” in the construction of the Church and witnesses of God’s holiness in the world.  The Church needs men and women who would be capable of being active and creative collaborators with the pastors in Church life and remain protagonists in all spheres, providing Christian witnessing in families, at work, in everyday life.  Laity should cooperate with the bishops and clergy in pastoral work and to serve through their talents and abilities in the expansion of the Body of Christ, which is the Church, and in preaching God’s Kingdom in the world.

In summarizing the main topic of the Synod, the members accepted a host of resolutions which should assist the laity in better realizing their mission in the Church, to grow in faith and love, thus increasing their ability to share their faith with others.  In order to provide the laity with a real example of serving God and neighbor in the Church, the bishops proclaimed Blessed Volodymyr Pryima as the Patron of UGCC Laity and urged all lay people to spread devotion to the lay saints of UGCC.

Also the Synod Fathers addressed an Epistle to UGCC laity.  In it they thanked God for the Gift of Baptism with which God blessed our people and recognized laity for preserving their holy faith especially in difficult times of emigration and during the times of the Communist regime in the homeland. The Hierarchs also emphasized the on-going continued significant role of the laity in developing the Body of Christ and in fulfilling the mission of the Church.  Special emphasis was put on the family which should become “a real school of prayer and Christian love.”  The members of the Synod also welcomed the participation of the laity in the life of the parish, highlighting the planned development of UGCC “A living parish – the place of meeting with the living Christ.”

UGCC Department of Information