August 11 marked the beginning of the Synod of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Bishops. The head of the UGCC His Beatitude Sviatoslav announced its beginning during the Liturgy in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, which was attended by the bishops of the Church from around the world. The UGCC operates on all continents.
The central issue of the Synod of 2013 is how to spread the faith and how should the believers of the 21st century preach the Word of God in today’s culture. “Let us pray to the Holy Spirit that it would be present at this gathering of bishops, in spite of our sins and infirmities, so that we were be able to make good synodal decisions,” said His Beatitude Sviatosav during his sermon. Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine Thomas Edward Gullickson will also attend the Synod. He blessed the assembly of bishops on behalf of Pope Francis.
The subject of this year’s Synod is “Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and new evangelization” – it coincides with the general trend in the Catholic Church aimed at seeking answers to the challenges posed by the modern world. The Synod of Bishops will be open until August 18.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will celebrate the 1,025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’ on August 17-18. His Beatitude Sviatoslav explained why the Church celebrates this event in August saying that “it is a tradition of the Moscow church to celebrate two events together: paying tribute to Prince Volodymyr and the anniversary of Baptism of Rus’-Ukraine. We are heirs of Volodymyr’s Baptism and Church of Kyiv. In our Church we retained the ancient Kyivan tradition, according to which the baptism of Rus’-Ukraine is celebrated every year on August 14 – the day of Holy Maccabees that marks the beginning of the Dormition Fast and the day of the so-called August Water Blessing.”
Within the framework of the celebration of the 1,025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’ all-Church Pilgrimage to the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv and its sanctification will be held.
