UGCC Declares Close Relations With All Three Orthodox Churches
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Lubomyr on 10 November visited Zhytomyr to present the 4th Social Days of UGCC there. “Our Church has launched the so-called Social days aimed to direct the attention of the faithful to the social values. For our attitude to God makes us a family!” said the hierarch. “This practice is very useful. We recall our best days, become more open and sincere to each other,” he added.
According to the Information Department of UGCC, the Social Days of UGCC are to direct attention to the problems of education and science, the needs of socially unprotected and imprisoned , orphans, are to support those who daily solves social issues. “The Social Days should become one of the elements of development of the civic society. For a society of citizens is a community of people who are not indifferent to each other, who live and think about the community and not just about themselves,” said the head of UGCC at the Round Table dedicated to the action.
The correspondent of Zhytomyr-Online asked if UGCC plans to regain at least part of the faithful in its canonical territory as in the end of the 18th c., the Ukrainians of Zhytomyr Region and nearly all the Right Bank Ukraine were Uniates. Patriarch Lubomyr answered: “The time of persecution was a time of blessing! Our Church was destroyed two times but it survived thanks to people who kept the faith in their hearts. We do not seek to grab as many people as possible now. But we are looking for Greek Catholics also here, in Zhytomyr Region, where there are our communities, where there are Basilian sisters. And in the southern Ukraine and in Donbas, everywhere where our faithful are. Now there are over 60 our communities in the Kyivan Archeparchy alone!”
During his communication with Zhytomyr journalists and activists of public organizations, the head of UGCC also said that he supported the idea of establishment of one Local Church.
In the end the hierarch said that UGCC maintains close relations with all the three Orthodox Churches. “We maintain the best relations with UOC-Kyivan Patriarchate. But we try to maintain good relations with the Autocephalous and the Church of Moscow Patriarchate as well as they are our brethren in the faith,” said the head of UGCC.
