First Ukrainian Greek Catholic Synod in Canada Opens
Winnipeg, Canada — Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), on 22 May 2005 formally opened the first meeting of the Permanent Synod of the UGCC to be held in Canada.
Cardinal Husar and other members of the synod and local Roman Catholic hierarchs concelebrated a Divine Liturgy at Saints Volodymyr and Olha Cathedral which was attended by hundreds of faithful of the UGCC.
In his homily, Cardinal Husar emphasized that we all have a vocation to sainthood. "Everything that is done in our church must be done for the sanctification of the people of God. The church has only one purpose, and that is sanctification, all people must be subordinate to this purpose," he said. "The Permanent Synod meeting here in Winnipeg in a sense is a symbol of the unity of our bishops," said the cardinal.
"It very important for us to realize that we are all children of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The name of our church is the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the term Ukrainian is meant as an opening not a closing statement. The name identifies the origins of our spiritual gifts. The spiritual gifts we carry into the world are those that we have received from Ukraine , however this does mean that we are closed in on ourselves. We are ready to share them with others," said Cardinal Husar.
RISU note: In the English-speaking diaspora, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church. According to the press service of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada, the Permanent Synod consists of Cardinal Husar; Metropolitan Stephen Soroka, archbishop of Philadelphia; Bishop Michael Hrynchyshyn, apostolic exarch for the Ukrainians in France; Bishop Yulian Voronovskyi of Drohobych-Sambir, Ukraine; and Bishop Volodymyr Juszczak of Wroclaw-Gdansk, Poland. The press service reports that the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church meets yearly in Ukraine and membership consists of all of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops in the world. The Permanent Synod has an ongoing executive function, and meets at least four times a year, usually in Ukraine, to plan, discuss problems, and make decisions for the good of the church. It was decided that the Permanent Synod should meet at least once a year in a country outside of Ukraine where the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is established.
The press service notes that the aim of these meetings outside of Ukraine is to provide a real sense of unity with the local churches united under the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. By holding meetings outside of Ukraine , the bishops hope that the Permanent Synod will have an opportunity to have a clearer vision of the needs and strengths of the local churches.
Source: Press office of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada
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