The eighth (79th) session of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) began on May 21, 2024, in Munich, Germany. The working meetings of the bishops will continue until May 24.
This was reported by the press service of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC.
Participants in the meetings include:
Archbishop and Metropolitan of Philadelphia Borys Gudziak,
Bishop Volodymyr Yuschak of the Wroclaw-Koszalin Eparchy,
Bishop Iosafat Moschych of the Eparchy of Chernivtsi,
Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainians of the Byzantine Rite in Germany and Scandinavia Bishop Bohdan Dzyurakh.
The sessions are chaired by the Head of the UGCC, Sviatoslav.
The duties of the secretary of the Synod are performed by the Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archdiocese of the UGCC, Andriy Khimyak.
The location for the sessions was chosen deliberately, as the Apostolic Exarchate in Germany and Scandinavia is celebrating its 65th anniversary. On May 26, at 11:00 AM, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in concelebration with the bishops of the Permanent Synod, will lead a festive Divine Liturgy.
During the working sessions, the bishops will have the opportunity to discuss the current war situation in Ukraine and the challenges it poses to the Church in its pastoral service.
They will also receive reports from several UGCC commissions and institutions, including:
- Presentation of the pastoral situation in the Curitiba Archdiocese by Archbishop and Metropolitan Volodymyr Kovbych,
- Presentation of the state of pastoral care in the Apostolic Exarchate in Germany and Scandinavia by Bishop Bohdan Dzyurakh,
- Report from the Patriarchal Commission on Clergy Affairs by Bishop Bohdan Danylo, its head,
- Report from the Head of the UGCC Pastoral Council, Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski,
- Report from the Patriarchal Commission on Monastic Affairs by its head, Bishop Mykhailo Bubniy,
- Report from the UGCC Pastoral-Migration Department by Bishop Stepan Sus,
- Report from the Patriarchal Liturgical Commission by Bishop Hryhoriy Komar,
- Report on the activities of the “Wise Action” Foundation by its director and Patriarchal Economos Fr. Lubomyr Yavorsky.
An additional topic for the participants will be the state-church relations in Germany. Invited speakers will present the work of the Catholic Church in Germany in the field of state-church relations and the position and actions of the German state and Church in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Part of the sessions will also be dedicated to preparing for the next Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, which will take place this year at St Mary Spiritual Center "Zarvanytsia."
Besides the working sessions, participants of the Permanent Synod will meet with officials and politicians, public figures, and church dignitaries of Germany. The bishops will also meet with Ukrainian migrants and refugees, youth, and clergy of the exarchate. They will visit the Ukrainian Free University and hold discussions with community and volunteer organizations in Bavaria and Germany.