Synod of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishops Considers Use of Catechumenate

According to Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, “catechumenate is a kind of spiritual trip, a way which the candidates for baptism in the first centuries of the existence of the church took in order to become living and full-fledged members of the church.

According to Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, “catechumenate is a kind of spiritual trip, a way which the candidates for baptism in the first centuries of the existence of the church took in order to become living and full-fledged members of the church. The process lasted for two, three or even more years. During that time, a person guided by an experienced Christian or minister learned the basic truths of the Christian faith.

Two years ago, according to the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, a work team was set up to study the possibility of using the practice of the catechumenate in church life today.

According to the intention of the synodal fathers, the experience of catechumenate should serve the church along two lines: during the training of the candidates for receiving the holy sacraments of the Christian initiation (Baptism, Anointment and Eucharist) and to establish more firmly the faith of the baptized members of the church, who had no opportunity to be fully incorporated in the church life and remained “nominal” Christians due to the circumstances of the atheistic regime.

This year’s Synod of Bishops of the UGCC considered the first results of work of the working team headed by Sister Luiza Tsiupa of Sisters of Mary Immaculate and accepted them as the basis for further steps. In particular, the work team is instructed to develop a number of textbooks and manuals on the basis of which priests and catechites will conduct the course of catechumenate for adults wishing to be baptized in the UGCC. In addition, they will elaborate liturgical rites necessary for the use of the practice of  catechumenate and administration of the Holy Sacraments according to the program. The liturgical rites are to be prepared by the Patriarchal Liturgical Committee.

The materials prepared by the working team will be useful also for the introduction of parish courses of advanced spiritual life for those who were baptized but never had an opportunity to undergo thorough catechization and develop their spiritual life. “In this way, we plan to bridge the gap between what the Christians confess with their mouth and what they live in their everyday, family and professional lives,” noted Bishop Bohdan.

According to the Information Department of UGCC, the use of the practice of catechumenate will become a component of the wider Strategy of Development of the UGCC for the period until 2020 considered by the Synod of Bishops of UGCC this year.