Meetings of Permanent Synod of Bishops held in Wroclaw

Meetings of the Permanent Synod of Bishops of the UGCC are being held in Wroclaw, Poland. In addition to Patriarch Sviatoslav, the head of the UGCC, bishops from Ukraine and from abroad are taking part. The first day of the Permanent Synod, May 24, was devoted to the preparation for the 2012 Synod of Bishops, which will be held September 9-16 in Winnipeg, Canada. In particular, much attention was paid to the methodology of presenting the main theme of this year's Synod – the role of laity in the life and mission of the Church. In accordance with the decisions of the Permanent Synod, the position of the Catholic Church on the role of the laity in general should be taken into consideration, experience of UGCC lay movements over the centuries should be presented, and the current state of the believing laity of the UGCC in Ukraine and the diaspora should be analyzed. In addition, members of the Permanent Synod heard a report on the implementation of the Strategy for Development of the UGCC for the period until 2020, adopted the first reading the Charter of the Patriarchal Commission for Monastics, and considered part of the canons of the Particular Law to be submitted for approval of the Synod of Bishops in 2012. As the meeting of the Permanent Synod was held in Wroclaw for the first time, the city government invited the bishops together with Patriarch Sviatoslav and Bishop Volodymyr Juszczak of Wroclaw-Gdansk to visit the City Council. The head of the Church and members of the Synod of Bishops also had the opportunity to meet with representatives of academic circles of the city. Jerzy Langer, professor at Wroclaw and Warsaw Universities, presented to the bishops the city administration’s vision of the importance of university education. The speaker noted that the lack of knowledge among the people inevitably allows uneducated people who do not care about the welfare of the people to usurp power over the people. Universities, according to Professor Langer, should become a place of deep reflection on human nature and a place to plan the future of states and peoples. The professor, remembering his visit to the Ukrainian Catholic University, noted the critical role of the university in "relations of Ukrainian land." The head of the UGCC on behalf of the bishops sincerely thanked the city authorities for their hospitality and for the opportunity to jointly reflect on the past, present and future of Europe. On May 25, a meeting between His Beatitude Sviatoslav and the Archbishop of Wroclaw of the Polish Roman Catholic Church Marian Golebiewski and Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz is planned. At the end of the day head of the UGCC will meet with representatives of the media. On Saturday, May 26, in one of the largest Greek Catholic parishes in Poland, in Legnica, Patriarch Sviatoslav will speak with the clergy and lead the Divine Liturgy. The last day of the Permanent Synod of Bishops, on Sunday, the head of the UGCC will lead the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Wroclaw. Sunday evening Patriarch Sviatoslav with the bishops will visit Mayor of Wroclaw Rafał Dutkiewicz.  

UGCC Information Department