Celebration on Occasion of Enthronement of Bishop Borys Gudziak Begins in France
The celebration on the occasion of the enthronement of Bishop Borys Gudziak as Apostolic Exarch for the Ukrainian Catholics of France, Switzerland and the Benelux countries has begun with a hierarchical liturgy in St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral in Paris. The enthronement ceremony will be held on 2 December in Notre Dam as the Ukrainian Cathedral will not be able to house all he faithful of the exarchate and numerous pilgrims coming from Ukraine and various countries of Europe.
“We, Ukrainians, are to witness despite being sometimes at the margins of Europe yet remaining Europeans. Therefore, we should come out beyond ourselves. There are much more of us than the first apostles, yet they were not afraid to go to the farthest ends of the empire and move against the current. Are we prepared to come out of our comfort zones, language zones, Galicia and to stretch our hand to those at the margins, those who got lost? This is a question to everyone. To inspire us to overcome the difficulties the Lord gives us glory. The bishop’s chasuble and enthronement are not magnification o a person; they are necessary to understand that we are Christ’s followers, have spiritual identity and status of sons and daughters of the Lord,” stressed Bishop Borys in his address to the pilgrims and the faithful of the exarchate. He also added that he was moved by the presence of seminary students of the Lviv Spiritual Seminary, teachers, workers and students of the Ukrainian Catholic University, friends from L’Arche and Emmaus.
The parish priest of St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral, Fr. Mykhailo Romaniuk, greeted the pilgrims from Ukraine: “When we began the preparation for this celebration, we had some fears but today we are very pleased to see everyone, to see the two families, the faithful of the exarchate and the UCU family which are united in Paris today. This is the start of a great future for you and us.”
Also, on 29 November, a memorial service was conducted at the graves of the Exarchate’s clergymen and the Head of the Directorate of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, Symon Petliura.
