UGCC Head His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) met with the supervisors of UGCC monastic orders and communities in Hoshiv

During this meeting, UGCC Head reviewed the key Church events of 2013.  He talked about the joint declaration of UGCC and RCC of Poland on the occasion of the 70^th anniversary of the Volyn tragedy, the blessing of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, the 50^th anniversary of the transfer of the relics of the priest martyr Josaphat (Kuntsevych) to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. “We have to newly rediscover for ourselves the figure of St. Josaphat.  The fact that his relics rest in Rome is a great gift for our Church,” he noted.

The Prelate emphasized that in 2014 there will be held a Ten Day Period of Missionary Work during the period between the feasts of the Ascension of the Lord and the Descent of the Holy Spirit.  During this period there will be a collection of donations for the purpose of missionary work, so that each eparchy and exarchate has its own missionary funds. These will fund catechization activities, various programs for youth, etc.  This will become an annual effort.  “For each moment of this, we need to express our gratitude to God and to you,” noted the Prelate.  

His Beatitude Sviatoslav announced that in Kyiv there has been established a monastery of the Congregation of the Salesian Fathers of Saint Don Bosco.  And in Obukhiv, near Kyiv, a monastery of the Studite Fathers has been blessed.  Soon in Chernihiv, a church will be blessed for the Sisters Missionary of the Most Holy Savior.

UGCC Head focused the attention of the gathered on the topic of the new evangelization.  It is his conviction that it is important that the evangelization become a sharing of personal experiences of meetings with God.  He informed that next year in the entire Catholic Church will be the Year of People Consecrated to God.  In UGCC this will coincide with the Year of Metropolitan Andrey (Sheptytsky) and the 25^th anniversary of the Legalization of the Church.  “It is important for us to preserve the memory of the Underground Church as such.  After all, unfortunately, today the new generation of clergy and members of monastic orders know next to nothing about this period in the Church.  Therefore we need to remind ourselves and others that we are not afraid of persecutions because we are the children of martyrs.  UGCC survived in the repressive skis of the soviet system.  Today it can provide a strong impulse for the preservation of our nation and people in complex circumstances,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

In conclusion, UGCC Prelate thanked the members of the monastic orders for their active participation in the life of the Church.

UGCC Department of Information