We see this appointment as the whole UGCC striving to be more noticeable in the United Europe

On Saturday, July 21, Pope Benedict XVI nominated Fr. Dr. Borys Gudziak as a bishop. This news came suddenly but was long expected as talk of the rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) becoming a bishop had been going on for several years. According to the press service of the Vatican, the bishop-nominee will become the Apostolic Exarch for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in France, Switzerland and the Benelux countries. Currently Fr. Gudziak is outside Ukraine. Below is a conversation with vice rectors of UCU Taras Dobko and Myroslav Marynovych.

— Has UCU known about this nomination for a long time? What is your first reaction?

— Myroslav Marynovych. Rumors about the possibility of the episcopal ordination of Fr. Borys have circulated for several years. If they hadn’t, then they would have had to be made up! After all, the Church could not have ignored such a powerful figure as Fr. Borys Gudziak. Furthermore, these thoughts and hopes were nurtured among the UCU community, where Fr. Borys is best known. Therefore, news of the ordination of Fr. Borys did not catch us by surprise. But we learned about the decision after it was accepted by the ​​Pope.

Of course the UCU community is happy about this news. Fr. Borys was still the spiritual and administrative backbone of UCU and we are happy that the whole Catholic Church, and especially the faithful of the UGCC in Western Europe, will have the opportunity to see the charisma of this priest and take advantage of its gifts.

— Father Borys has already served in Ukraine for 20 years, and his activity is widely known not only here but in many countries. The logical question: Why secular Europe? Why not one of the Ukrainian eparchies?

— Taras Dobko. The UGCC has long been a world Church, and it would be wrong to think of only one part of it – even if it is such an important and “core” part as Ukraine. Patriarch Sviatoslav declared the global nature of the UGCC’s activity, for which ministers with a global vision and global expertise are needed.

It was from these countries that the estrangement of modernity from religion began, the process of European secularization. One of the missions of UCU is to create spiritual alternatives, and new conditions of service will not affect Fr. Borys’s fulfillment of the mission but only give it new meaning.

And as for Ukraine, during the years of the existence of the Lviv Theological Academy, and then later UCU, Fr. Borys was actively involved in education of hundreds of seminarians who now work in Ukraine and are changing the face of the UGCC. His presence in the Ukrainian eparchies will be felt for a long time through these graduates.

Myroslav Marynovych. Nominating a bishop, the Church pays attention not only to a passport or citizenship but to the willingness of the nominee to carry the Gospel to specific life situations. We see this appointment as the whole UGCC striving to be more noticeable in the United Europe. Do not forget that France, Switzerland, and the Benelux countries includes Brussels, the capital of the European Union, and Geneva, an important city for many European organizations. Fr. Borys’s diplomatic talent has been known to us for a long time, so we can be certain that with the advent of the new bishop in this particular European space, the voice of the UGCC will be heard much better.

— Are there many UGCC faithful in France, Switzerland and the Benelux countries? As far as we know it is a quite a small exarchate.

— Myroslav Marynovych. To my knowledge, the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians in France was formed in 1960 and unites the faithful who live in France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. According to official figures, it numbers 20,000 Ukrainian Catholics, and obviously this figure does not include migrant workers. This, of course, is a relatively small number, but the quantitative argument is not always the most important in the Universal Church. It suffices to compare the number of the faithful of the Constantinople Patriarchate and its influence on world Orthodoxy.

Taras Dobko. The exarchate to which Fr. Borys was appointed is a special first of all because it unites several European countries with different languages, different circumstances, and different histories. This is quite a large territory, on which are scattered UGCC parishes, consisting of post-war Ukrainian migrants and a new wave of migrants workers. I think that the ministry of Fr. Borys in these countries will coincide with what Patriarch Josyf Slipyj designated for UCU – gather the dispersed, be a leader and pastor for tens of thousands of Ukrainian in various towns and cities of Western Europe. Father Borys, like no one else, understands the situation of postmodern culture and how in these circumstances to proclaim the risen Christ to modern man. During his years at UCU Fr. Borys gave a course “Christian Spirituality in the Postmodern Era,” where he tried to find and develop a new language with which to communicate with our contemporaries. We hope that this will help him in his archpastoral service.

— Talk about the possibility of Fr. Borys’s episcopal ordination has long been underway in many circles. We apologize for the provocative question, but why did this choice come so late?

— Taras Dobko. This question can only be meaningful if those years were wasted, which in no way can be said about the last few years of Fr. Borys’s work. We believe that securing the reliable development of UCU was an important priority for the Church. For many years, Fr. Borys was called to another great cause – to take the university to new levels. The momentum he gave for the development of UCU has defined our path for the next 5-10 years.

We can honestly admit that there was a time when Fr. Borys’s increasing authority outside UCU would have put the institution in adverse conditions. Today, UCU has a stable team that has taken over daily management. For example, in 2011 Fr. Borys was abroad for a long time, but UCU was not hurt by this – the community performed its work steadily.

— It is easy to foresee that in our mistrustful world it will be suggested that this appointment is an attempt to remove Fr. Borys from active social and religious life in Ukraine. What do you have to say about this?

— Taras Dobko. We are not looking for a black cat in a dark room where there is none. The UGCC has repeatedly proved the futility of applying to its activities conspiracy theories. Judge for yourself: how can the two years of Bishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk’s pastoral ministry in Argentina before his election as patriarch be interpreted now? By this logic, he was also “removed”? We must understand that like that time in Argentina and now in the Apostolic Exarchate in France, Switzerland and Benelux, Greek Catholics need the attention of young and active hierarchs. By divine providence today Fr. Boris is called to this ministry, and we are sincerely glad for our fellow believers in these countries!

— Let’s get back to UCU. How will the university continue to operate?

— Taras Dobko. We do not anticipate any disasters (laughs). Why does change always have to mean crisis? The system is established and will continue to operate. UCU has developed a strategic plan until 2015, which was approved by the Senate in late June of this year. If necessary, some adjustments will be made, but no radical changes will be needed. As for Fr. Borys’s participation in fundraising for UCU, it is possible that the change of his status may even strengthen it.

Fr. Borys’s ideas and visions are embodied in many structural, procedural and personnel decisions that will determine UCU’s livelihood for a longtime. But in addition to that, we believe that the possibilities of our community to benefit from the spiritual and strategic potential of the new bishop will be guaranteed. The format and procedure we will discuss in detail in the coming months.

Myroslav Marynovych. Without a doubt it is difficult to replace Fr. Borys’s charisma with someone or something else. But UCU has already “released” essential people, found new solutions for personnel management. We will miss him as we did before when he traveled abroad for a long periods of time in search of funds for the activities of UCU. However, today before the University is a healthy challenge, or an important test of whether we are mature enough to continue Fr. Borys’s work with him near us less than before. Today our whole Church is taking a similar test, combining the energy of the young leader with the wisdom of the older one. Why would UCU be afraid of such a challenge?

— Sooner or later, UCU will have to elect a new rector. Who can succeed Fr. Borys? Have some candidates already been discussed?

— Myroslav Marynovych. We only just learned about the appointment, and it is too early to talk about specific individuals. Although the question of how the UCU leadership should look in the coming years has been considered by UCU for two years. The University's strategic plans in the construction of a modern campus and the launching of new training programs are secured by the structure of UCU, which is made up of experienced rectors, professors and priests. The year 2012 ends Fr. Borys’s second term as rector of UCU. According to UCU’s constitution, the rector can serve for more than two terms: the rector of UCU is not the president of Ukraine. Therefore, we seriously considered Fr. Borys’ third term. However, we also discussed alternatives where the preservation of the established course of UCU was combined with changes in leadership. The appointment of Fr. Borys animates this process; we are now actively consulting with the Senate and the Grand Chancellor His Beatitude Sviatoslav about our future.

— Tell us about the procedure for such elections. Who chooses and according to what criteria? Does it have to be a priest?

— Taras Dobko. The rector is elected by the Senate and approved by the Grand Chancellor (who is head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church). But the decision will be agreed upon – Blessed Sviatoslav assured our community that he “does not want to hurt it” and will “coordinate decisions with it.” It logically follows his formula: “I can not imagine the UGCC without UCU and UCU without UGCC.”

The candidate can be someone who has significant academic achievements, managerial experience and understanding of church life; knows foreign languages​​, has extensive international experience, knows how to fundraise, is a public leader and has a reputation in the UCU community.

Taking into account the current state of religious thought and the influence of tradition, one can quite confidently say that the new rector will be a priest who has completed doctoral studies. But it is not necessary to see in it some old clericalism. People’s faith in the Church and desire to have a priest head the Catholic University is only one argument. There is also a very important argument, which stems from UCU’s mission. After all, this is a University, which aims to promote the combination of faith and reason, spiritual and academic components of learning. In the current social circumstances, this is probably easiest for a priest who has also received a degree. But priesthood is not a necessary criterion for the right to be elected rector of UCU.

— Often it seems that many things at the university are tied to Fr. Borys. Was he able to prepare a good team?

— Myroslav Marynovych. Yes, without a doubt. Unlike modern Ukrainian nomenclature, Fr. Borys has never been afraid to surround himself with strong leaders who in some areas have even greater competence than he. This is precisely the wisdom of teamwork – the members of a good team share their gifts and carry one another's burdens. The bishop-nominee knows how to form such a team. Fr. Borys has repeatedly expressed confidence in the professionalism and cohesion of the team, which he carefully selected and cultivated.

— When will the ordination take place?

— Taras Dobko. This will be announced separately, but the ordination will take place no later than two months after the announcement. We hope that this will happen on August 26 during the dedication of the Josyf Slipyj Student College. It is symbolic because in recent years this project has had Fr. Borys’s special attention and care.

— How often will Fr. Borys visit Ukraine?

— Myroslav Marynovych. We hope often, and we will have to recommend the airlines to introduce a direct flight “Lviv – Paris” (laughs). And French language courses will have to be organized by the Apostolic Exarchate urgently, because, I assume, the newly appointed Bishop Borys will be ready to involve all of Ukraine in the service to his all faithful!

Interviewed by Taras Antoshevskyy and Lilia Kovalyk-Vasiuta