On July 2, 2001 the Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) held the first working session of their synod. Twenty-nine Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops from Ukraine, Europe, North and South America and Australia are taking part. (Information from the website of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, www.ugcc.org.ua)
The synod was officially opened with a solemn Divine Liturgy held at St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv on Sunday, July 1, 2001. His Beatitude Lubomyr Cardinal Husar took the opportunity to thank the various coordinators and all those responsible for planning and carrying out Pope John Paul II’s pastoral visit to Ukraine from June 23 to June 27. On Monday the participants greeted Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, apostolic nuncio in Ukraine, and began their working sessions.(Archbishop Eterovic is pictured at left in the photo. Cardinal Husar is in the center. The picture was taken during the recent Papal Visit to Ukraine.) The synod plans the following: - Reviewing the Pope’s pastoral visit to Ukraine - Ratifying the particular code of canon law for the UGCC - Presenting and eventually approving new candidates for the episcopacy - Reorganizing the structure of the UGCC, in particular creating new eparchies for eastern Ukraine -Discussing important questions regarding the UGCC’s activities