We pray for our Holy Universal Pontiff, Benedict XVI, Pope of Rome

In 2006, the Pope dropped the use of the Title of the "Patriarch of Rome and All West" to emphasized the very fact that he is not only the Head of the Latin Rite or the Western Church but the Catholic Church as a whole.

Pope: Eastern Churches embody "Spiritual richness"

Let me quote some words from His Holiness Pope Benedict, which like the other Popes, has served as the Protector of the Traditions been preserved by the Eastern Rite, here are some of his words as follows:

"In our day too, the Church in America is called to embrace, incorporate and cultivate the rich patrimony of faith and culture present in America’s many immigrant groups, including not only those of your own rites, but also the swelling numbers of Hispanic, Asian and African Catholics. The demanding pastoral task of fostering a communion of cultures within your local Churches must be considered of particular importance in the exercise of your ministry at the service of unity (cf. Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops, 63). This diaconia of communion entails more than simply respecting linguistic diversity, promoting sound traditions, and providing much-needed social programs and services. It also calls for a commitment to ongoing preaching, catechesis and pastoral activity aimed at inspiring in all the faithful a deeper sense of their communion in the apostolic faith and their responsibility for the Church’s mission in the United States. Nor can the significance of this challenge be underestimated: the immense promise and the vibrant energies of a new generation of Catholics are waiting to be tapped for the renewal of the Church’s life and the rebuilding of the fabric of American society."

_______________________________________________

For those who have noticed he have said it on the visiting Eastern Rite Catholic Bishops of the United States, at the same time it has coincided with a slight uproar because of the Comments of the Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Church on regards of Celibacy. Nevertheless it is important here that His Holiness Pope Benedict deeply stress the importance of Eastern Church on regards of Spirituality

May the Good lord grant His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI many years

Pope Benedict XVI with His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church 

Pope Benedict XVI with His Beatitude Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church

Pope Benedict XVI with His Beatitude Gregorios III Laham, Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church

Pope Benedict XVI with His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church

Pope Benedict XVI with His Beatitude Ignace Joseph III Younan, Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church

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HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV SHEVCHUK (1970) The Youngest Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

It;s been a Year since the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church elected His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who was the Apostolic Administrator of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Santa Maria de Patrociñio en Bueños Aires as the new Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych though he is entitled as Patriarch accorded to him by the Bishop. At the age of 40 He is the Youngest of all Hierarchs not just of the Catholic Church but at the same the Youngest head of a Sui Iuri Eastern Rite Catholic Church

Here is what Rev. Fr. Athanasius Mcvay of the Annales Ecclesiae Ucraiane Blog has observed as the very first with the Enthronement of His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk.

1. To be Enthroned in the Ancient City of Kyiv since the Eighteenth Century

2. To be Enhtroned in the yet In Complete Sobor (Arch Cathedral) of the Ressurection, the Seat of the Major Archiepiscopate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

3. To have other Eastern Catholic Patriarchs and Primate flanking him at the Ceremony, notably Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham and Slovak Greek Catholic Metropolitan Jan Babjak

4. To have present at his Enthronement Representatives from all Three Orthodox Churches of Ukraine, namely the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church

For more is the Autobiography of His Beatitude and the Commentray regarding his Election as Patriarch. May the Major Archbishop have more years, Нехай добрий Бог грант багато років Блаженніший нашої Пресвятої ПатріархСвятослав і пастви Української Греко-Католицької Церкви

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His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk Pastoral Letter for Great Lent

From the Website of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, A Excerpt from the Pastoral Letter for

His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk

Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

«Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!»
Mt. 4:17

Dear in Christ!

With these words of our Divine Savior, the Church of Christ is calling today each and every one of us to commence a blessed time of the Great Fast. The name “Great” of this fast is not accidental: it is caused by those God’s gifts and fruits for our spiritual life, which we can attain during this time, provided we spend it worthily. The greatness of this time is likewise determined by the depth of a spiritual change of our person and our life, which will be the result of the meeting with the merciful and loving Heavenly Father. 

Hence, how do we live out this period worthily, so as to transform and enrich our lives? First of all, dear in Christ, we need to remember that fasting does not only mean limiting ourselves in food and entertainment. Fasting is primarily to keep away from sin, from evil habits and passions. It is also a rejection of indifference, evil thoughts and selfishness. Lent is an invitation, addressed to each of us, wounded by sins, encumbered with infirmities and depleted with the daily chores, to surrender ourselves to the Lord’s embrace

The Fathers and spiritual teachers of the Church, urging Christians to live out the fast worthily, called it a time of spiritual awakening and renewal of man; they compared it with the spiritual spring, during which the divine life awakens in our souls: “…When winter ends and we start coming closer to the spring warmth, a seafarer takes his boat again out into the sea, a soldier cleans his weapons and trains his horse for a fight, a peasant sharpens his tools, a traveler, having felt a surge of strength, girds and embarks on a journey… And so let us also, at this time of the coming of the spiritual spring, similarly fix our spiritual weapons as soldiers, let us sharpen our tools as farmers, and, like the true leaders, let us take into our hands the boat of our spirit so as to be prepared to endure the heaps of the waves of senseless passions and, as the pilgrims heading towards our heavenly homeland, let us begin the fulfillment of our spiritual journey” (St. John Chrysostom, Word to the Antiochian People, 3). 

Lent is a special time of repentance and penance. Just as in nature, a normal sign of an early spring is the awakening of all creatures to a new life, similarly the human soul, through repentance and penance, comes to life and, having been warmed by the warmness of God’s mercy and love, is freed from the dead stiffness and produces sprouts of a new life in the Holy Spirit. Whoever honestly admits his sins in the Holy Sacrament of Penance, feels the good-giving action of the warmth of God’s life-giving love. And just as spring wins over winter, so the power of the Lord’s forgiveness wins over fear, weakness and disbelief in us, proving that the Divine love is stronger than our sin and that there is no evil force, which would be able to resist the saving mercy of the Heavenly Father. That is why Prophet David, in repenting burst, sings to the Lord: “May Your compassion come to me that I may live, for Your law is my delight” (Ps. 119:77). Revived through repentance and penance and united with the Lord in the Holy Communion, a believer blossoms with God’s beauty of the righteous life and becomes the bearer of hope for his environs as well as for the entire society. For just as sin has a devastating impact not only on a sinner himself, but on all of his environs as well, conversion and repentance bring healing to our relationship with God, our neighbor and all of the creation.

Lent is a time of intensive prayer. Giving up during this period on entertainment, we concomitantly need to pay more attention to the communication with God: through participation in Lenten liturgical services in the church as well as through longer and more intense prayer in family circle and solitude. We cannot devoid of our attention a practice that has recently been introduced in our Church – the reading of God’s Word. Every day the faithful, whether alone or with the family or gathered in prayer groups in parishes, reflect upon and pray with some excerpts from the Sacred Scripture. In this way, the Word of God becomes for us a spiritual nourishment as well as recalls for us that “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4). I fervently entrust to continue and spread this pious practice. And for those who have not started doing this yet, may Lent become an opportunity to begin to get to know the Word of God as well as to live it out ever more. 

Charitable deeds are likewise a necessary condition of Lenten spiritual journey. The Lord, through the words of the Prophet Isaiah, directs to all of us a special call, showing the meaning of an authentic fast: “Is this not the fast that choose? … Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Is. 58:6-7). Just as in nature, the emergence of fresh green shoots in spring exposes the life of a plant, so the Christian almsgiving is a sign of the spiritual awakening of man, his openness to God and neighbor as well as a compelling witness of the living faith, “working through love” (Gal. 5:6). All Christians are called to do the almsgiving, regardless of wealth or financial capability. St. Pope Leo the Great teaches that “nothing can get into the way of our charity, with which we fulfill a vocation of the love of God and neighbor… Not only the rich and wealthy can perform the charity works vis-à-vis their neighbor, but also those that are poor and with the limited fortunes... Almsgiving transforms inequality in terms of the earthly goods into equality in obtaining the heavenly gifts” (Word on the occasion of Lent, 6, 1-2).

Dear in Christ! The time of Lent opens for us the way to Heaven. Let’s embark on it in the spirit of repentance, prayer and almsgiving. Let us walk it together, growing in the grace of the Holy Spirit. Let me remind you about the obligation to partake in this blessed time in the Holy Sacraments of Confession and Communion. May Lent grant us with the renewal of the spiritual life, the awakening of the Christian zeal and love of God and neighbor in our parish communities and monastery ambits! I implore our Father, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tm. 2:4), to lovingly bring all of you closer to His merciful paternal heart and, having forgiven your sins, make you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the partakers of the glory of the resurrection of His Divine Son.
 
The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

 † SVIATOSLAV

Given in Kyiv,
at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ,
on Cheesefare Saturday, 25^th February 2012 A. D.

__________________________________________________ 

 
Hoping that by this Pastoral Letter from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Patriarch, as it was accorded to him by the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, we learned that by Fasting and Abstinence is to avoid Sin as the summary of this letter, at the same time that we should focus on our Spiritual Life. Here Patriarch Sviatoslav exhort us by doing this great works: namely Penance, Prayer, Fasting and Alms giving, the same thing Latin Rite Roman Catholics must do in Lent


As we begin our Spiritual Journey, we begin by begging Forgiveness from everyone whom we have Conflicts with. Last Sunday Eastern Rite Catholics and Orthodox commemorated Cheesefare Sunday, or the Sunday of Forgiveness. We ask that our Sins and Shortcomings be Forgive on our own act. Below is a Video of the Service of Forgiveness Vesper celebrated that Evening and this part was the Recitation of the Prayer of St. Ephrem, courtesy from Saint Elias Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

 

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Ukrainian Greek Catholic Metropolitanate of Ternopil established

Source from Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU):

On December 22, during the hierarchical liturgy led by Patriarch Sviatoslav of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in concelebration with Greek and Roman Catholic clergy, the Ternopil-Zboriv Archeparchy of UGCC and the Ternopil Metropolitanate of UGCC were proclaimed.

The event was held in the ecumenical spirit with the participation of the clergy and hierarchs from Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, USA and the Vatican, including Archbishop Metropolitan Mieczyslav Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Roman Catholic Church and Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Thomas Edward Gullickson. The event was also attended by representatives of the Orthodox Churches, including Bishop Nestor (Pysyk) of Ternopil and Buchach of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate.

The proclamation of the metropolitanate took place on the patronal feast of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and on the day of the anniversary of the priestly ordination of Metropolitan Vasyl (Semeniuk) of the Ternopil Metropolitanate. Therefore, the events were held under the sign of the Virgin Mary, which fact was repeatedly mentioned by Patriarch Sviatoslav.

It was repeatedly stressed during the liturgy that the changes in the church are not only institutional.

“It is in the church where one can revive. Another very important center of the revival of the person and Ukrainian nation is opened,” said Patriarch Sviatoslav.

Metropolitan Vasyl (Semeniuk) of Ternopil explained that the activity of the metropolitanate will facilitate the improvement of the church cooperation not only at the general church level but also between the Ternopil-Zboriv Archeparchy and Buchach Eparchy of UGCC, which are now united under one jurisdiction.

“I encourage everyone to pray zealously for the good work of the newly established metropolitanates and fulfillment of dreams of our fellow-countryman Patriarch Josyf. To ensure that the success of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church should be crowned with the recognition of the patriarchate,” said the metropolitan.

 Video clip of the Enthronement of the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Ternopil, Vasyl Semeniuk, by the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk

Проповідь митрополита Василія Семенюкa 
Video clip Link of the Homily given by His Excellency Vasyl Semeniuk, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Ternopil 

Many years to His Excellency Vasyl, Mnohaya Lita!!!

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New Metropolitanate (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)

From the UGCC Information Department:

On December 13, 2011, the day of St. Andrew, the primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) in Ivano-Frankivsk announced the formation of the Ivano-Frankivsk Metropolitanate of the UGCC and enthroned its first metropolitan – Bishop Volodymyr (Viytyshyn).
The metropolitan received powers and obligations under Canons 131-139 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. He will convoke the metropolitan synod and prepare useful questions on the activity of church in a particular territory to be discussed in it, will have the right to ordain and enthrone bishops in his metropolitanate, oversee that the faith and ecclesiastical discipline are accurately observed, conduct a canonical visitation, if the eparchial bishop neglected it, and also erect a metropolitan tribunal.
“The UGCC is heading toward the approval of the patriarchal system and opportuneness of these efforts is recognized by the Roman Pontiff,” Patriarch Sviatoslav said in the Decree on the Proclamation of Three New Metropolitanates of the UGCC. And to further strengthen the patriarchal structure of the Church of Kyiv and Halych, the Synod of Bishops resolved to establish on land of the Kyiv and Halych Church three new metropolitanates, namely, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Ternopil-Zboriv – and raise the Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil-Zboriv eparchies to the dignity of archeparchy. These decisions are blessed and approved by Pope Benedict XVI.
The decree on the proclamation also mentions the history of the UGCC, its difficult path, the legalization of the UGCC and the return of the see of UGCC head to Kyiv.
Archbishop Volodymyr (Viytyshyn), Metropolitan of Ivano-Frankivsk, thanks God and Pope Benedict XVI, Patriarch Sviatoslav, and the Synod of Bishops for the creation of Ivano-Frankivsk Metropolitanate and for their trust in him. The metropolitan also gave “special thanks” to his “dearest” people who were present in the church – his father and mother. “They gave me life, a Christian upbringing, and supported my choice to become a priest in the time of the underground,” said Bishop Volodymyr.
He also said that the creation of the Ivano-Frankivsk Metropolitanate was the “crowning of work of people of different generations, their vicissitudes, suffering and persecution for their commitment in serving God and His holy Church.”
To the newly created Ivano-Frankivsk Metropolitanate consists of the Ivano-Frankisk Archeparchy and the Kolomyia and Chernivtsi Eparchy. The cathedral of the metropolitanate is the Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection of Christ in Ivano-Frankivsk.
As we reported earlier, on November 29, 2011, the head of the UGCC Patriarch Sviatoslav raised the dignity of Lviv Archeparchy to a metropolitanate. The metropolitanate is headed by Archbishop Ihor (Vozniak). It consists of the Lviv Archeparchy, and the Sokal-Zhovkva, Sambir-Drohobych and Stryi eparchies.
On December 22 the creation of Ternopil-Zboriv Metropolitanate will be proclaimed. It will include the Ternopil-Zboriv Archeparchy and the Buchach Eparchy. The cathedral of the metropolitanate will become the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ternopil, and its archbishop will be Bishop Vasyl (Semeniuk).
Now the UGCC will have seven metropolitanates. In addition to the newly created ones, the other metropolitanate of the UGCC in Ukraine is the Kyiv and Halych Metropolitante, headed by His Beatitude Sviatoslav. It consists of Kyiv Archeparchy and the Donetsk-Kharkiv, Odesa-Crimea, and Lutsk exarchates. In addition, the UGCC has the Przemysl and Warsaw Metropolitanate in Poland, the Philadelphia Metropolitanate in the United States, and the Winnipeg Metropolitanate in Canada.
Historical Background
Since Kyivan Rus’ adopted Christianity in the Byzantine Rite, its church had the status of metropolitanate of the Constantinople Patriarchate with a See in Kyiv. The head of the church was given the title Metropolitan of Rus' (later Kyiv), with whom all the bishops of the Kyivan state concelebrated. In 1303, the Galician Metropolitanate appeared in the Galician-Volyn principality, and from 1401, the head of the Church of Kyiv received the title Metropolitan of Kyiv, Halych, and All Rus'.
Metropolitan Isydor, who participated in the Ferrara-Florence unification council in 1439, bore the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych. Metropolitan Mykhailo (Rahoza), who confirmed the unification of the Kyivan Church with the Roman Apostolic See in Brest in 1596, was also Metropolitan of Kyiv, Halych and all Rus’.
In view of the persecution the Uniate Kyiv-Halych Church under Tsar Peter I and Catherine II, Pope Pius VII in 1808 blessed the regular division of the Kyiv-Halych metropolitanate. The Greek Catholic eparchies of Galicia – Lviv, Przemysl and Kholm – were removed from under jurisdiction of the Uniate Metropolitan in Tsarist Russia, the Galician metropolitan was restored, and the titles of Galician Metropolitan, Archbishop of Lviv and the Bishop of Kamianets-Podilsk with the See in the Cathedral of St. George in Lviv were recognized.
In this way, through the recognition of all rights and powers which belonged to the Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych, the legal continuity of the UGCC was secured, which later gave grounds to Galician primates, in particular, Metropolitan Andrey (Sheptytsky), to regard themselves as administrators of the temporarily vacant throne of Kyiv and its episcopate, and St. Pope Pius X confirmed this right of the Galician Metropolitan in 1908.
In 1939-1941 Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky appointed exarchs for pastoral care of the faithful on the lands of Great Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, and worked in trying to return the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych. Similar requests were repeated by a UGCC delegation in December 1944. Unfortunately, all these efforts led to the imprisonment of the hierarchs and started the era of martyrdom, underground activity and the heroic confrontation with the wicked totalitarian regime, which lasted almost half a century.
Galician Metropolitan Josyf (Slipyj), after his release from 18 years in prisons and his arrival in Rome in 1963, was recognized as the Major Archbishop, equal to patriarch in rights based on powers that Kyivan metropolitans always had.
His successor Myroslav Ivan (Lubachivsky), having returned to Lviv in 1991, began restoring structures of the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate, which, on the basis of historical continuity and fairness, provided for the return of its leadership in Kyiv. The return of the See of the UGCC head to the capital of Ukraine took place in 2005 under His Beatitude Lubomyr (Husar). This decision of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC was blessed by Pope John Paul II.


Mитрополія УГКЦ у Івано-Франківську від 13.12.2011

Подяка Блаженнішого Cвятослава Шевчука

Hовий митрополит УГКЦ чин введення

MNOHAYA LITA! MAY GOD GRANT YEARS TO THE NEW METROPOLITAN!!

Подяка Mитрополита Bолодимира Війтишина

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Christmas Present from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

From RISU:

At the hierarchical liturgy in St. Yur’s Cathedral in Lviv, on 29 November, the establishment of the Lviv Metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) was proclaimed and Archbishop Ihor (Vozniak) of Lviv was enthroned as Metropolitan of Lviv. The ruling bishop of Lviv will now bear the title “Archbishop and Metropolitan of Lviv.” St. Yur’s Cathedral was proclaimed to be the cathedral of the Lviv Metropolitanate of UGCC.

The Administrator of the Patriarchal Curia, Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of UGCC, Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh) read out a letter about the establishment of the Lviv Metropolitanate of UGCC. The document deals with the whole history of UGCC, its difficult path towards the establishment and then, restoration of the structures of the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate, legalization of UGCC after the totalitarian regime and return of UGCC to Kyiv.

According to the letter, the Lviv Metropolitanate includes the archeparchies of Lviv, Stryi, Sambir-Drohobych and Sokal-Zhovkva. The Ivano-Frankivsk Metropolitanate includes Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia-Chernivtsi eparchies. The Ternopil-Buchach Metropolitanate includes Ternopil-Zboriv and Buchach Eparchies.

Artchbishop Ihor (Vozniak) of Lviv, Eparch of Ivano-Frankivsk, Bishop Volodymyr (Viityshyn) and Eparch of Ternopil and Zboriv, Bishop Vasyl (Semeniuk) have been proclaimed the first metropolitans of the new metropolitanates.

Another existing metropolitanate of UGCC, the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate led by Patriarch Sviatoslav has been proclaimed the heir of all the property of UGCC.

The ceremony of the enthronement of Metropolitan of Lviv, Archbishop Ihor (Vozniak) was conducted by the head of UGCC, Patriarch Sviatoslav.

In his address, Patriarch Sviatoslav called the Lviv Metropolitanate the second most important one after the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate of UGCC and stressed that the will of all the previous heads of UGCC, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi, Patriarch Josef Slipyj, cardinal myroslav-Ivan Lubachivskyi and Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar) has been fulfilled.

The liturgy was attended by all the bishops of UGCC led by Patriarch Sviatoslav, the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Thomas Edward Gullickson, Apostolic Administrator of Mukachiv of the Greek Catholic Church, Bishop Milan (Shashik).

The metropolitanate in Ivano-Frankisvk will be proclaimed on 13 December. The metropolitanate in Ternopil will be proclaimed on 22 December.

The newly-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lviv and its Bishops welcome the Patriarch:

Decree on establishing Lviv Metropolitanate:

Enthronement of the new Metropolitan Ihor (Vozniak):

Patriarch's sermon:

Metropolitan Ihor's sermon:

From the ERCF Admin and its contributors, may the Metropolitan and his Metropolitanate last for many years!

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Year 2011

2011 was a year of joy and hope in the Eastern Churches with these new leaders:

- Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk (UGCC)

- Major Archbishop Mar George Alencherry (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)

- Patriarch Bechara Al Rahi (Maronite)

Let us pray for good health, for strength, and for the inspiration for them that they may fulfill their duties in the office as leaders of the Ukrainian, Syro-Malabar and Maronite Churches who are in communion with the Pope of Rome.

Let us pray for the Churches around the world that they may fulfill in their mission to spread the Good News to those who didn't hear it and strength to face challenges inside and outside the Church.

2011 for me is a year mixed with joys and sadness, a colorful year for the Catholics around the world. Let us pray that the year 2012 will be a year of getting started with plans, strategies and projects for the good of the Church and the people around the world.

Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior save us!

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Sermon of His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on his Enthronement

Your Beatitudes, Eminences, Excellencies,

Most Reverend Bishops, Members of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC,

Beloved Brothers in Priesthood, Venerable Monks and Nuns,

Very Honorable Representatives of the Ukrainian Government and the Diplomatic Corps,

Beloved in Christ Brothers and Sisters!

Glory to Jesus Christ!

“Before Your Cross we bow down in worship, O Master, and Your holy resurrection we glorify!”

With these words, the Church of Christ focuses today on the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. It is namely today, as we pass the halfway point of our Lenten journey, that this Life-Giving Tree is given to us that we may get strengthened by it, may find a source of strength therein as well as the courage to go on to Christ’s Resurrection in order to put this Sign of the Cross at the center of our lives.

St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Philippians, has left us a unique early Christian hymn, which the young, newly born through the Holy Spirit Church perhaps solemnly sang in its Liturgy. The Apostle of the Gentiles addresses us in this way:

“Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, something to be grasped. Rather, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (2:6-11).

In these words, the word about the Cross has a central meaning. On the one hand, we see here an icon of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, Who, having become man, was heading every day towards His death on the cross. The Cross is the moment of His greatest humiliation, extreme humility and divine descent. In the second part of this hymn, however, we see Christ, Who is glorified by the Father Himself. It is namely from the moment of the death on the Cross that we have the beginning of the ascent, glorification and triumphant discovery of His divine glory, which is the glory of the Father.

Every Christian, who, as a disciple of Christ, follows his Lord, must discover also in his personal life the effectiveness of His paschal mystery. There is only one door through which one can enter into the heavenly glory of the Resurrection – His Precious and Life-Giving Cross. Our vocation is to follow the Savior to the end, even unto death on the cross. The mystery of His Life-Giving Cross lies in the fact that this lowest degree of humility and obedient disgrace is exactly the place, from which the Heavenly Father proceeds to raise, lift up and exalt us by His divine glory, before which will bend a knee everything that is in heaven, on earth and under the earth.

“Before Your Cross, we bow down in worship, O Master, and Your holy resurrection we glorify!”

These words sound in a special way to us today – to us, the martyr Church, which, as a true heir of the faith of the apostles, sings them in this Patriarchal Cathedral of the Lord’s Resurrection! Is this not an eloquent sign of God for all of us, who today, when bowing down before the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, are doing it in the Resurrection Cathedral?

Our Church in the twentieth century has walked with our Savior to the end – until the total destruction on its native land and a seeming death. However, this death of hundreds of thousands of our laity, priests, monks and nuns, led by our bishops, was the death on the cross and therefore the life-giving one! Our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents thus made known to us, their descendants, and through us – to free Ukraine – the strength and invincibility of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. In its disgrace, humiliation and descent, our Church has stood on this place – the place of resurrection, when the Heavenly Father glorifies it risen with His imperishable glory, before which every knee will bend, and every tongue, through the power of this Church’s testimony in the Holy Spirit, will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father.

“Before Your Cross, we bow down in worship, O Master, and Your holy resurrection we glorify!”

For me, the young Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, these words are the result of its past, the meaning of its present and the guidance for its future.

Today, we, the heirs of Volodymyr’s Baptism, feel the unity and continuity with our history and tradition, adopting the precious heritage of our great predecessors: Servant of God Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytskyi, Patriarch Josyf [Slipyi], Myroslav Ivan [Lubachivskyi] and Lubomyr [Husar]. Today, these men, through the warm hand of [His Beatitude] Lubomyr, bless us and make this treasure an alive, eloquent and illuminating one for a modern Ukrainian. “Holiness of the united People of God" is and will be the development strategy of our Church. She lives and acts as one body in the whole world as the Church on a universal scale, she is and will be the soul of the Ukrainian people in order to sanctify it, to open its heart to its brother and neighbor to preserve our nation as the people of God and lead it to salvation and life eternal.

Today we are experiencing the spring of our Church, which in her resurrection is beginning to get younger by the Holy Spirit and smile to the world with the light of Christ’s Gospel. It is about her, ancient and eternally new, the psalmist sings, saying: she “fills your days with good things and renews your youth as the eagle’s” (Ps. 102:5). Today, especially on this festive day, we realize that we are the renewed and rejuvenated Church. Hence, I want to make a special appeal to our, mostly still young clergy, religious, and to all of the Ukrainian youth! Today Christ calls us, the young, to take responsibility for His Church! Let us get preoccupied with her, let us put the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of our Savior in the center of our lives and He will sweeten it as Moses’ rod had sweetened the sour waters of Marah in the desert! Let us accept and courageously carry out our Christian vocation in the contemporary world, for together we can renew the face of our people and its nation.

“We praise Your passion, O Christ! Reveal also to us Your glorious resurrection!”

Amen.

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GREETINGS OF HIS BEATITUDE GREGORIOS III LAHAM, PATRIARCH OF THE MELKITE GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR THE ENTHRONEMENT OF THE NEW MAJOR ARCHBISHOP OF KYIV-GALICIA OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH, HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV SHEVCHUK KYIV, UKRAINE - MARCH 27, 2011

Prot. 173/2011D Damascus, 23/3/2011

Your Beatitude, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč of Ukraine!

Blessed be the new Pastor whom the Holy Spirit has given to the Church of Christ in this holy land of Ukraine!
Dear brother, Sviatoslav, I have the joy and honour of offering you, Your Beatitude, my fraternal good wishes on the occasion of your consecration as Major Archbishop, Head and Father of the beloved sister Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
I offer you these good wishes in my own name and in that of the Holy Synod of our Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem. With me on this auspicious occasion, are two bishops from our Holy Synod (Archbishop Michael Abras and Metropolitan Emeritus John Haddad) and our Patriarchate’s Economos General, the Secretary of the Liturgical Commission, Rev. Fr. Elias Shatawi.
Today these greetings and good wishes reach you, through us, from Jerusalem, the Mother Church of all Churches, and from the Holy Land, where our Lord Jesus Christ was born and from the Middle East, cradle of Christianity.
I greet you in the name of the Church of the East, Church of the Arabs, and in the name of my colleagues, the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches, who constitute the Council of Eastern Catholic Patriarchs.
Personally, I am very happy at how the ecclesial, brotherly communion between our two (Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Melkite Greek Catholic) Churches has developed, largely due to a long-standing friendship (of more than twenty years) with our dear brother and friend, His Most Eminent Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, that great hero of the Christian East, its tradition, heritage and ecumenical mission! He will always be known as a Father of this Church of yours and a great defender of the ecumenical mission of the Eastern Catholic Churches, that are in full communion with the Church of Rome that presides in charity and with the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, (who showed his love for the Christian East by holding the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops), while remaining faithful to the Eastern tradition and maintaining cordial relations with the Orthodox Churches that are our sisters, ever present in all ecumenical work.
We have come to strengthen our brotherly communion with this Church that we love and respect, through you, dear brother, Your Beatitude, Sviatoslav! I think that the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church are both called to play a very significant role in ecumenical work, since they are the two largest Churches of the Byzantine rite (Greek and Slavonic) in communion with Rome.
We shall remain in contact with each other, since we ought to integrate our efforts for that greatest service to the Church and to the world, which is to realise Christ’s prayer, “That they may be one...that the world may believe.”
Axios! Eis polla eti, Sevasmiotate! Makariotate, mnohaya lita!

Gregorios III
Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
Of Alexandria and of Jerusalem

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CURRENT EASTERN CATHOLIC MAJOR ARCHBISHOPS

HIS BEATITUDE GEORGE ALENCHERRY, MAJOR ARCHBISHOP OF ERNAKULAM-ANGAMALY OF THE SYRO-MALABAR CATHOLIC CHURCH

HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV SHEVCHUK, MAJOR ARCHBISHOP OF KYIV-HALYCH OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH

HIS BEATITUDE LUCIAN MURESAN, MAJOR ARCHBISHOP OF FAGARAS SI ALBA IULIA OF THE ROMANIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH

HIS BEATITUDE CATHOLICOS MORAN MOR BASELIOS CLEEMIS THOTTUNKAL, MAJOR ARCHBISHOP CATHOLICOS OF TRIVANDRUM OF THE SYRO-MALANKARA CATHOLIC CHURCH

"In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop is a title for an hierarch to whose archiepiscopal see is granted the same jurisdiction in his autonomous (sui iuris) particular Church that an Eastern Patriarch has in his. The title is used archbishop of episcopal sees that were founded more recently than the patriarchal sees and are therefore less prestigious. Consequently, there are differences between the two offices. Major archbishops rank immediately below patriarchs in the order of precedence of the Catholic Church. Like patriarchs, major archbishops are elected by the synod of the sui iuris Church, but their election requires confirmation by the Pope, not mere notification and granting of communion required of patriarch" 

And 2 of the Largest Major Archeparchy are petitioning to the Holy See on their Elevation as Patriarchate, and until now they are not considered due to some "Ecumenical" situations, though the Ukrainian Greek Catholics named their Major Archeparch Patriarch and the way they addressed him.

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To be a Patriarchate or To remain a Major Archiepiscopate??!!!

Actually not just His Beatitude Sviatoslav, but His Predecessor beginning to His Beatitude Cardinal Josyf Slipyj who insist of elevating it to one, but the Popes beginning to Blessed Pope John XXIII to Pope Benedict XVI refused to do so, creating this Structure of Major Archbishopric being first in the Catholic Church Hierarchy and until today it is still petitioned of being elevated in such!!!!!!

Everyone knows, Kyiv is the original seat of Rusyn Christendom, extending not just to the Rusyn and Ukrainians but the Russians as wells.

To be honest, out of some Bribery done in the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1589 they just granted Moscow as a separate Autonomous Patriarchate in Eastern Orthodox, and it is the reason why in 1595 the Union of Brest came to finality, making Ukrainian Hierachs lead by Mikhail Rogoza united once more and in Communion with the Catholic Church, and the birth of the modern day Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Yes it is right and just to say, He is the True and Only Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, with or without the approval of Rome itself, Everyone knows there is a Patriarchate existing and it is not recognized cause of some "Ecumenical Tactics!!!"

Everything will be heated up soon i have my commentaries here Hehehehe regarding this issue, i am just warming up ^_^

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A PASTORAL LETTER OF HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV MAJOR ARCHBISHOP OF KYIV-HALYCH

“...therefore, like children, we also carry signs of victory and cry out to You the conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Tropar of Palm Sunday) 


Dear Beloved Youth in Christ!

On the Feast of the triumphant entry of our Lord to the capital city of Jerusalem, I address you with my first pastoral letter after my installation as the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
A tradition has developed in the Catholic Church that on Palm Sunday special attention is given to youth. On this day in St. Peter's Square in Rome hundreds of your peers from around the world gather to pray together with the Holy father. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to appeal to you, by means of this letter, to reassure you my personal concern and to invite you to dialogue with the Word of God, which the Holy Church preaches.

Palm Sunday — this is a day that makes us participants of an extraordinary event. Jesus Christ comes to the culmination of his salvific mission. His crucifixion, death and resurrection are drawing near. And here, on the eve of His passion, the God of Israel in human flesh comes to His people. This advent was prefigured by King David, ceremoniously carrying into Jerusalem the Ark of the Covenant adorned with the images of the cherubim that signalled the presence of the One Who is enthroned upon the Cherubim. A visible sign of the presence of the Almighty was for the Israelites an assurance of their invincibility, because God Himself dwelt among them.

Today, Almighty God meets His People, albeit, without the assistance of some inanimate object. Today He, Son of the Heavenly Father, filled with the Holy Spirit, comes personally and in a visible form! Jesus Christ opens to us the possibility of a personal encounter with Him. It is exactly to this meeting that the Church of Christ prepares us and invites us by the words of Saint Andrew of Crete: “Come let us ascend together to the Garden of Olives to meet Christ, Who today ... freely approaches His holy and blessed suffering in order to complete the mystery of our salvation (Discourse 9 on Palm Sunday)

Venerable Andrew points out the spontaneity of such a meeting from both sides. From the side of God — this movement of love of the Creator toward His creation... a love that leads Him to suffering, a total sacrifice of the Son of God for each one of us. From the human side — this spontaneous response of young to God's approach. It is particularly the young people of Jerusalem that felt this movement of love toward them. Their reaction was spur-of-the-moment, unplanned and even unthinkable for the religious and political elite of that day. The Evangelist Luke tells us that, “some of the Pharisees, who were present in the crowd, told Him, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”. He answers them, “I tell you that if these were silenced, the very stones would cry out!”(Lk 19:39-40). It was the children and the youth that recognized in Christ the incarnate God of Israel and began to shout, “Hosanna!” - which means “save us!” The desire of a young person to love and to be loved opened them to Divine Love, because to save means to give one's life in love — life eternal.

Dear Young people! Christ today approaches you too! He enters His city — Jerusalem, which is each one of our communities, each of our groups and the heart of each one of us. Today the Church needs your spontaneity and your intuitive openness to the reality of God Who is present among us. It is you are the voices by which the Church welcomes its King singing: “Blessed is He, Who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Jn 12:13).

In our day, unfortunately, this innate youthful devoutness and the search for that eternal Love, which is God - are both often wounded and purloined. It is difficult for us to allow ourselves to love, because we are afraid of being deceived or used. Moreover, sometimes we are incapable of loving. We give more value to things, virtual amusement and communication in social networks, rather than real living persons who are near to us. These characteristics of today's culture isolate us, close us into ourselves and render us incapable of meeting others. That is why the contemporary young person often feels deeply lonely even in a noisy and cheerful crowd of friends. Not having encountered the Lord, one cannot encounter oneself.

Nevertheless, today the Lord victoriously approaches Jerusalem. Let us boldly go out to meet Him! The green branches, with which we welcome Him, are a symbol of a person's victory over isolation and loneliness in relation to God and our neighbour. Oh how much we need in our day this green sign of awakening, this fresh air of spring that shatters stereotypes and prejudices, that overcomes doubts and suspicions and recognizes Him who comes to each of us. On this day, it is to us - the young Church (which the Prophets often referred to as the bride of the Lord) that the words of the Prophet Zachariah are addressed as he calls upon us not to fear, “Rejoice O Daughter of Zion, ... lo, your King comes to you, ...riding on a colt!” (Zach 9:9)
On this festal day, that brings us closer to Easter, do not be afraid to meet with Christ and do not be embarrassed to identify yourselves as Christians even before those that may want to forbid you from doing this. If you remain silent, then the stones will shout out. Regardless of how strange this may sound in the modern culture of the young, let us not fear to shout to Him, “Hosanna in the highest!” Today we do not simply take into our hands blessed branches with symbols of the springtime renewal of nature — we take into our hands symbols of victory over sin and death, and through them we receive the strength of Him, Who goes to the Resurrection. Let us experience this encounter together today — and let us become inspired with the strength of Love, with which we build our future together.

Blessed is He, who comes in the name of the Lord!”

+Sviatoslav

Issued in Kyiv at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of our Lord, Palm Sunday, 17 April 2011 AD

<a href="http://risu.org.ua">Джерело публікації: risu.org.ua</a>

<a href="http://risu.org.ua">Джерело публікації: risu.org.ua</a>

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