On February 28, 2025, a meeting of the bishops of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with representatives of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) was held in Ottawa, Canada.
The Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, thanked the Canadian bishops for the long-term cooperation and support provided by the Catholic Church in Canada to the UGCC and the Ukrainian community in general. He emphasized that the Ukrainian Catholic bishops in Canada are full members of the CCCB. In addition, the Metropolitan of the UGCC in Canada is a member of the Permanent Council of the Bishops' Conference. The Catholic Church in Canada actively supports the UGCC and Ukrainians, especially those who have found refuge in Canada because of the war.
This was reported by the UGCC Department for Information.
During the meeting, the topic of synodality in the Catholic Church was discussed. The bishops of the UGCC shared their experience of synodality in Poland, Germany, the United States and Ukraine, and the Roman Catholic bishops of Canada presented their vision of this process.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav spoke about the synodal structure of the UGCC, which includes 58 bishops and 36 eparchies (16 in Ukraine and 20 abroad). He presented the activities of the highest legislative body of the Church, the Synod of Bishops, which meets once a year. The head of the UGCC emphasized that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is not monarchical but synodal, which allows it to effectively organize services for believers worldwide.
Additionally, His Beatitude Sviatoslav explained the role of the Permanent Synod of the UGCC as a governing body of the Church in the inter-synodal period, noting that this body is “ever moving.” He spoke about the visits of the Permanent Synod to different parts of the world where the UGCC operates, planned for 2025. “It is really important for us to move to meet our Ukrainian church communities around the world,” he emphasized.
According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Permanent Synod is an effective tool of the Church for advocacy of Ukraine. “As a Church, we strive to be the voice of the Ukrainian people, ordinary people, including 300,000 Ukrainian refugees in Canada who came here as a result of the full-scale war,” said the Head of the UGCC. He expressed gratitude to the Catholic Church in Canada for the hospitality and support of Ukrainians affected by the war.