Ukrainian Catholic Church Moves Center to Kyiv
The administrative center of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) officially moved from western Ukrainian Lviv to central Ukrainian Kyiv on 21 August 2005 . The event was marked by a ceremonial Liturgy in front of the construction site of the UGCC Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection.
The celebration began with an official announcement of the transfer of the see of the major archbishop of the UGCC from Lviv to the capital, read by the church's elder bishop, Sofron Mudryi . Divine Liturgy was celebrated after the announcement . Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the UGCC, presided. Concelebrants were the members of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC; Fr . Wojcech Zalucky , chargé d'affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine ; and more than 100 clergy.
More than 3000 faithful participated in the Liturgy. Representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the Georgian Orthodox Church, Protestant churches and religious organizations, and representatives of the government came as guests to the celebration.
In his homily Patriarch Lubomyr considered the thesis that Kyiv is a cradle of Christianity. He suggested that this definition provides us with a chance to learn, for "a cradle is an external element which gains importance only when the baby is inside. Who is the baby who was resting in the Kyivan cradle? Jesus Christ himself. Therefore, when we say that this city is a cradle from which Christianity spread all over the Christian East, it is not the merit of the city itself but the work of the love of Christ who wanted to make this city a cradle of Christianity in this part of the world."
The head of the UGCC also discussed the issue of the division of Christians. In the patriarch's opinion, when considering the division among denominations we throw up our hands and think we will never be able to improve the situation. Still, in this issue we should count not on ourselves and on human means but on God, who of course wills such unity, and his will gives us strong hope for that. "Let our hearts be filled with hope today," said Patriarch Lubomyr.
Patriarch Lubomyr's official title as head of the UGCC changed after his move to Kyiv. Now he will be called "major archbishop of Kyiv and Halych." Previously he was "major archbishop of Lviv for Ukrainians. The church territory will be called "the Kyiv-Halych major archbishopric."
RISU note : The title of "patriarch" is not considered to be official for the head of the UGCC, though it is used during Liturgies in most communities of the UGCC. In a commentary for RISU, Patriarch Lubomyr indicated that he does not forbid people to call him "patriarch," but he himself never uses the title "patriarch" officially. RISU uses this title along with others for the head of the UGCC, which reflects the vision of most clergymen and laity of this church in Ukraine and beyond its borders.
Source: www.ugcc.org.ua
|
