Patriarch Sviatoslav in Drohobych: ‘This enthronement completes a special year in the history of our church’

“This enthronement completes a special year in the history of our Church, which will forever be recognized by the many different introductions to the throne in Ukraine and abroad,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) said during the enthronement of the Bishop of Sambir-Drohobych Jaroslav Pryriz, which took place on December 24 in Drohobych, in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. His Beatitude Sviatoslav during the Divine Liturgy was in concelebration with Bishop Ihor Vozniak, Metropolitan of Lviv, and more than 20 bishops of the UGCC, as well as Archbishop of Lviv Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of the Roman Catholic Church. More than 300 clergy, monastics, and faithful from all the eparchy, as well as representatives of the state authorities participated in the solemn worship. “I sincerely thank Bishop Julian for the many years of his episcopal ministry in the Sambir-Drohobych Eparchy. In his pastoral service, the bishop united generations of the faithful of our Church from the times of persecution and the times of revival. He has put so much effort – mostly invisible to us – in his prayers, his work, his sacrifice and suffering so that to our Church and in particular the Sambir-Drohobych Eparchy, entrusted in his care, successfully fulfilled the Christian mission of consecration and salvation among the native Ukrainian people,” Bishop Jaroslav Pryriz said about the first bishop of the Sambir-Drohobych Eparchy. The newly enthroned hierarch expressed his gratitude to His Beatitude Sviatoslav for his humble pastoral care of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In addition, Bishop Jaroslav thanked the reverend bishop, the numerous clergy, faithful, and state authorities for participating in liturgy. As was reported on October 27, 2011, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, head of the UGCC, with the consent of the Permanent Synod of the UGCC accepted the resignation of Bishop Julian Voronovsky, the former eparch of Sambir-Drohobych. Bishop Julian Voronovsky was the first bishop of the eparchy from 1994 to 2011.  

Fr. Oleh Chupa,
press secretary of the Sambir-Drohobych Eparchy