On June 18 the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, saw the chirotony of the Most Reverend Yosyf (Milian). It is the first consecration of a bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Kyiv in the past 200 years!
It will be recalled that four centuries ago the Kyiv Metropolitan Mykhailo (Rogoza) initiated and decided, in conjunction with the Episcopal Synod of the Kyiv See, to restore unity of the Ukrainian Church with the Holy See, still keeping intact the Eastern Christian tradition and ethno-cultural identity.
In the 18th century, the government of Catherine II forced Eastern Rite Catholics to flee to Western Ukraine, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is there that the Galician (Greek Catholic) See was restored. It was not until 2005 that the UGCC primate’s residence was moved again to the capital. Unfortunately, due to ignorance of our own history, many still characterize the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church as one that originally existed in Western Ukraine only.
In his sermon, His Beatitude Liubomyr (Huzar) in fact spoke of the Divine providence in the life of an individual, a nation, or the entire Church: “300 years ago the Ukrainian people suffered a setback. Over these three centuries, they have been trying to eradicate our aspiration to be free, our desire to be ourselves. But, interestingly enough, whenever an occasion (even the slightest one) occurred, Ukrainians sought a chance to establish their own state. The same applies to the World War II times, when Western Ukraine attempted to manifest its aspiration to win independence.
“And almost two decades ago, with God’s help, our longtime dream came true. The same applies to the history of our Church. The most horrible instances of its destruction occurred in the 20th century, when, for example, the UGCC was abolished in 1946. But graceful God would send Sheptytsky and Slipy. And we survived. It would be very tempting to say that all this is the merit of strong personalities, heroes, and martyrs. On the other hand, it may seem that it is enough to rely on the Almighty, as if He and we were doing something half by half.
“However, a Ukrainian folk saying teaches us very well, I believe: God helps them that help themselves. The fact that we have not perished over the past centuries in spite of such difficult and critical circumstances means that this happened thanks to the Lord our God who acted via humans. That we have survived and have not surrendered is not our merit — it is a Divine gift. At a proper time, He sent generals, politicians, artists, church preachers, and saved our people through them. The Lord our God stands behind this historic success.”
The liturgy was headed by the Most Reverend Ivan (Martyniak), Metropolitan of Przemysl and Warsaw. He was also the chief consecrator of Bishop Yosyf (Milian), with His Excellency Yulian (Voronovsky), Eparch of Sambir and Drohobych, and His Excellency Petro (Stasiuk), Eparch for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, assisting. Also attending the chirotony were Archbishop Ivan Yurkovych, the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, 20 archpriests of the UGCC and the Roman Catholic Chuch in Ukraine, as well as the Most Reverend Yevstraty (Zoria), the Bishop of Vasylkiv (Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kyiv Patriarchate).
In the end, His Excellency Yosyf addressed the bishops, priests, monks, and the great number of the faithful. He noted in a speech of gratitude, among other things, that he considers it his main mission to help His Beatitude Liubomyr administer the Kyiv Archeprachy, contribute to the completion of the Patriarch’s Center in Kyiv, and seek ways to bring traditional Churches closer.
