Patriarch Sviatoslav proclaims Ternopil-Zboriv Metropolitanate

On December 22, during the hierarchical liturgy in Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), proclaimed the Ternopil-Zboriv Metropolitanate of UGCC. The first metropolitan of Ternopil-Zboriv became Bishop Vasyl (Semeniuk), Eparch of Ternopil-Zboriv. The event was attended by 25 archbishops, metropolitans, and bishops of Ukraine and abroad, including the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Thomas Edward Gullickson, and about 200 priests. The creation of the Ternopil-Zboriv Metropolitanate Bishop Vasyl called “an important event for the Podilskyi land and the city of Ternopil, which was elevated to the dignity of the Metropolitan Cathedra.” He stressed that the creation of new metropolitanates is an important stage of for the maturity of the UGCC. In his opinion, it shows above all the gradual and informed steps toward a patriarchate. “The metropolitanate exists so we could multiply our spiritual strength in a community. Metropolitanate status will facilitate better coordination and cooperation not only at the broad level but also between the Ternopil-Zboriv and Buchach eparchies, which jurisdictionally belong to the Ternpoil-Zboriv Metropolitanate. At the same time, we continue to watch over the Greek Catholic parishes in Khmelnytskyi Oblast,” said the bishop. The metropolitan of Ternopil-Zboriv also thanked all who made this even possible. “Today I would like to thank above all the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated in the Zarvanytsia wonderworking icon, and also the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC. I am grateful to Pope Benedict XVI for blessing the decision of the Synod in the person of the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine Archbishop Thomas Gullickson. And a special thanks I want to give the Head and Father of our Church – His Beatitude Sviatoslav,” said the metropolitan. Doctor of historical sciences Fr. Vitaliy Kozak recalls that in 1303, the Galician episcopate was first elevated to the rank of metropolitanate. It was the only eparchy other than Kyiv that received canonical status of metropolitanate. It existed during the fourteenth century and then was joined to the Metropolitanate of Kyiv and named the Kyiv-Halych Metropolitanate. In 1539, the See of the Galician Metropolitans was moved to Lviv. In the eighteenth century because of the Partitions of Poland, the Lviv Eparchy ceded to Austria, losing its Podilskyi part on the other side of the Zbruch River to Russia. At that time in the Ternopil region, Berezhany played a central role, which united the parishes on our terrains. In 1808 the Lviv Eparchy was again raised to the rank metropolitanate by Pope Pius VII, at the request of the Emperor Francis II. It existed until the late nineteenth century. In 1885 from the southern parishes of the Archeparchy of Lviv, the Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy was formed, which covered the south of Ternopil Oblast. During this period the Lviv archeparchy was divided into new districts (protopresbyterates): Halych, Zolochiv, Lviv, Ternopil and Stryi. The Protopresbyter See in Ternopil became Church of the Nativity (so-called Serednia). The issue of creating a Ternopil Eparchy was raised in the 1940s; however, this could not be realized. The Ternopil Eparchy was created in 1993. Her first eparch was Bishop Mykhailo (Sabryha). In 2000, the Ternopil Eparchy was reorganized into the Ternopil-Zboriv Eparchy. On December 22, 2011, the Ternopil-Zboriv metropolitanate was proclaimed. The Ternopil land is famous for sites of Marian miraculous, including Zarvanytsya and Pochayiv. Outstanding figures of the UGCC were born in the Ternopil region: Patriarch Josyf (Slipij), holy martyr Hryhoriy (Khomyshyn), Mykyta (Budka), Izydor (Boretsky), Ivan (Prashko) and many others.  

UGCC Information Department

Background Information The Synod of Bishops of the UGCC resolved to establish three new metropolitanates: of Lviv, of Ivano-Frankivsk, and of Ternopil-Zboriv. The Metropolitanate of Lviv comprises the Lviv Archeparchy, the Sokal-Zhovkva, Sambir-Drohobych and Stryi eparchies. The Ivano-Frankivsk Metropolitanate comprises the Ivano-Frankivsk Archeparchy and the Chernivtsi-Kolomyia Eparchy. The Ternopil-Zboriv Metropolitanate comprises the Ternopil-Zboriv Archeparchy and the Buchach Eparchy. The new metropolitanates are Archbishop Ihor (Voznyak) of Lviv, Bishop Volodymyr (Viytyshyn), Eparch of Ivano-Frankivsk, and Bishop Vasyl (Semeniuk). In addition to the newly created ones, the other metropolitanate of the UGCC in Ukraine is the Kyiv and Halych Metropolitanate, headed by His Beatitude Sviatoslav. It consists of Kyiv Archeparchy and the Donetsk-Kharkiv, Odesa-Crimea, and Lutsk exarchates. In addition, the UGCC has the Przemysl and Warsaw Metropolitanate in Poland, the Philadelphia Metropolitanate in the United States, and the Winnipeg Metropolitanate in Canada.   More photos: www.tze.org.ua