The Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church passed a number of proposals regarding the main theme of this year’s theme of the Synod, “Role and mission of laymen of UGCC.”
The proposals were about the importance of helping lay people to understand the Word of God, encouraging them to take a more active part in the prayer and liturgical life and the church’s charitable activity of diaconia. According to the bishops, priests should ensure that the Holy Scripture be explained properly to all the faithful and should lead Bible groups in their parishes. Therefore, the Synod decreed to instruct priests to organize systematic Bible hours at their parishes and encouraged the faithful to daily readings of the Bible. The Patriarchal Catechetical Committee was instructed to further develop the Bible apostolate in the parishes, monastic institutions and church educational institutions of UGCC.
In order to increase the participation of the faithful in the church life, the Synod encouraged the lay people to attend the services not only on Sundays and holidays but also on other days. The bishops drew the parents’ attention to their responsibility of bringing up children in the faith and love for God and neighbors and to their active participation in the life of the church community. The bishops called all the faithful to say daily prayers with children and prayers before and after meals.
An especially important aspect of church life where laymen’s gifts may be manifested is charitable activity, the diaconia. The bishops encouraged lay people to participate in various brotherhoods and institutions helping the sick, orphans, migrants, widows, prisoners, and elderly people. According to the bishops, organizations of lay people according to their professions should be very useful. Such organizations are already active at the local level.