His Beatitude Sviatoslav proposed that the next Papal Synod consider the nature and mission of Christ’s Church

On June 13-14, His Beatitude Sviatoslav participated in the fourth meeting of the 13^th Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.  The goal of this session was to choose three possible topics for the next, 14^th General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, to be held in October 2015.  Its context will reflect the 50^th anniversary of the conclusion of the acts of the Second Vatican Council.

The central event of this meeting was the audience with Holy Father Francis, the Roman Pope.  Archbishop Mykola Eterovych, General Secretary of the Papal Synod of Bishops presented the proposals formulated by the Heads of 13 Eastern Catholic Churches sui juris, presidents of 114 Bishop Conferences, superiors of 26 offices of the Roman Curia as well as the President of the Council of General Superiors of Monastic Rites and Congregations.  Potential topics for the coming Papal Synod concerned ecology of a person, anthropology in a secularized world and the synodal Church.

In his presentation to the Holy Father, His Beatitude Sviatoslav proposed to focus on one of the most vital topics of the Second Vatican Council – its contemplations on the nature and mission of Christ’s Church, the fruit of which is the   Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Lumen gentium [Light of Nations]. UGCC Head noted that it was exactly this renewed view of the Church as God’s people and the universal sacrament of salvation that became the nucleus for understanding the nature and mission of Eastern Catholic Churches.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that a fresh look on this topic some 50 years later would have great significance for contemplating today the connection between eastern and western ecclesiology, understanding the primacy of the Roman pontificate and the bishop collegiality, the nature of local and  Churches sui juris regarding the universal character of the Catholic Church.

“This will also bear a significant ecumenical dimension, considering that the topic on which the Mixed Orthodox–Catholic Theological Commission is working on is precisely the relationship between the service of the Successor of Apostle Peter and the synodal nature of the Church,” emphasized UGCC Primate.

At the end of the meeting Pope Francis encouraged members of the Council to actively work since the service of the Successor of Apostle Peter should remain in constant union with the synodal character of church existence, an expression of which is the work of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church and its organs.

UGCC Department of Information