Life of the parishes of UGCC in MASS-MEDIA of Brussels

The Belgian Christian magazine “B-CITY,” published 4 times a year (with a wide circulation of over 50 000 copies each time) by the General Vicariate of Archbishopric Malian-Brussels, recently released its fall 2009 issue. In the opening article, editor-in-chief Philippe Mawet, described the way in which various stages in our life reflect the changing seasons of the year. This latest issue of the magazine reports on some of the important events that effect the lives of Christians in Belgium both in the autumn and the first few months of the New Year. For example, the canonization of a very important spiritual figure in Belgium, Father Damien, is quickly approaching. His Holiness is above all a reflection of great humanity, which continues to inspire sincere admiration and reverence among the faithful from other religions.  The General Vicariate asked monk-priest Oleh Zymak, CSSR, a delegate from the Belgian Episcopal Commission of “Pro Migrantibus” from the Catholic Association of Non Latin Rite Churches of Belgium, to provide information about the life of the UGCC clergy in Brussels. A picture of a UGCC parish in Brussels was placed on the cover of the magazine and the articles are found at the beginning, right after the article by the editor-in-chief.  This magazine has already published information about the clergy in 2007, when the parish of UGCC was working alongside the Embassy of Ukraine in Belgium and with the Mission of Ukraine in the EU, to organize prayers for the souls of the innocent victims of the Holodomor-genocide in 1932-1933 in the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Gudula as well as in the Belgian National Basilica of the Holiest Heart. In this most recent issue, however, the article on the UGCC parishes occupies four times more space (a total of 2 pages) than the previous article. The Ukrainian priest, in particular, serves the UGCC parish belonging to the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians of France, Benelux and Switzerland, which is an important part of UGCC. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the biggest Eastern Catholic Church in the world, is one of the traditional Churches of modern Ukraine. The history of UGCC begins from the baptizing of Ukraine by St. Volodymyr in 988, when the Universal Church was unified and the Constantinople Patriarch was in complete Eucharistic unity with the Pope. Father-redemptionist is in Ukraine due to reasons associated with Ukrainian historical emigration many generations ago. “Prayer and parochial joint work as well as sincere and mutual respect help to create an honest community that supports itself and its own unity. The Ukrainian parish of UGCC is located outside of its ancestral homeland and that is why we should make an effort to find a niche for it. In this way, we can let it grow and address all its needs. This is something that is not just given, we must work towards it,” as was explained in the article. The magazine is written in three languages: French, Dutch and, for the first time for this magazine, in Ukrainian.

Secretariat of UGCC Clergy in Brussels