Synod of Bishops of the UGCC Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate meets in Kyiv
On November 1, 2019, the Synod of bishops of the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate began its work in Kyiv. The sixth session of the Synod is chaired by His Beatitude Sviatoslav. Meetings of the Synod are held in the Patriarchal residence.
The Synodal sessions are attended by all the bishops of the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate, Bishop Stepan Menyok, Exarch of Donetsk, Bishop Josaphat Gover, Exarch of Lutsk, Bishop Mikhail Bubnov, Exarch of Odessa, Bishop Vasily Tuchapets, Exarch of Kharkiv, Bishop Joseph Milyan, auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archdiocese, and Bishop Bogdan Dzurakh, Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, Bishop of the Curia of the Supreme Archbishop.
The Synod began with the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the passing into eternity of the righteous Metropolitanate Andrei Sheptytsky.
At the beginning of the sessions, Fr Vasyl Chudiyovich presented the program of permanent formation of the clergy, taking into account the universal, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral aspects.
The main theme on which the pastors reflect is "Pastoral care of vocations". It was presented by Fr Petro Zhuk, rector of the Kyiv Three Saints' Theological Seminary. On the eve of the Synod, Fr Petro took part in a meeting with the syncellus of the Archdiocese and exarchates in the affairs of the priesthood and those responsible for the vocation. Chairman of the working group, which includes the press secretaries of the Kyiv Archdiocese and exarchates, Fr Andriy Bodnaruk, will present to the Synodal fathers developments in the field of permanent media education and the situation with the release of the magazine "Our Council", which was recommended by the Synod as the printed edition of the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate of the UGCC. The bishops will also hear Fr Taras Valakh, the judicial vicar of the Kyiv Archdiocese, who will tell about the Church proceedings in the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate of the UGCC
At each session of the Synod, the bishops hear practical questions about the existence of the Kyiv Three Saints' Theological Seminary, which are presented by the rector, Father Petro Zhuk.
In a comment to the UGCC Information Department, His Beatitude Sviatoslav said: "At this Synod, we will dwell more deeply on the issues of the priestly vocation, which is an invaluable gift of God for the good of the Church. Together with the Holy Spirit, for He is the one who begets in the heart of man the vocation to the special service of God, let us consider how we can serve in order to increase the number of vocations to the priesthood and monasticism."
Reference
On November 21, 2011, it was emphasized that the Kyiv-Halych Metropolis comprises the Archdiocese of Kyiv, the Exarchates of Lutsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Odessa and Crimean, as well as the throne of ancient Halych.
The Kyiv-Halych Metropolis of the UGCC covers the territory within the following administrative boundaries: Kyiv Archdiocese – Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia regions and the city of Halych; Lutsk Exarchate – Volyn and Rivne regions; Donetsk Exarchate – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk regions; Kharkiv Exarchate – Kharkiv, Sumy and Poltava regions; Odessa Exarchate – Odessa, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions; Crimean Exarchate – Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
This is reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.
