Head of the UGCC: the Law should help to a person to go strait to God and to serve others justly

The canonists of twelve Greek Catholic eparchies of Ukraine discussed the state of the modern legal system in the UGCC, the prospects of developing its particular law, and the problems of Ukrainian canonical terminology. On November 26, 2010, a conference was held at the Ukrainian Catholic University on the occasion of 20th anniversary since the issuing of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEC). Analyzing the legal aspect of Parish Joseph Slipyj’s legal service, the head of the UGCC called him "an artist in the application of laws, who seriously treated the laws, never used them in vain and did not allow others to use them in vain.” Then Patriarch Lubomyr reminded the workers of the church tribunals that “the law should help a person go straight to God and to serve others justly." "Four reports were delivered at the conference,” said Fr. Roman Saffran, Ph.D., head of the Society of Ukrainian Canonists. “Bishop Sofron (Mydryj) talked about how to shape the CCEC and its first edition in Rome in 1993. Hieromonk Theodore Martyniuk focused on the problems and prospects of particular law of the UGCC.” In the second part of the conference Fr. Roman Dutchak spoke about the authority of the eparchial bishop as a judge and moderator of proceedings within the territory of his own particular church. Fr. Oleh Hortyk presented the problems and proposals for the development of Ukrainian canonical terminology.

Department of Information and External Relations of the UGCC