Bishop Bryan Bayda leads the clergy of the Philadelphia Archeparchy in a wonderful retreat! Head of the UGCC at the meeting of Pope Francis with the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC We came here because we aspire to be a Synod, – Head of the UGCC at the meeting of Pope Francis with the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC Tuesday, 03 September 2019 On September 2 at 11:30 the bishops of the Synod of the UGCC met with Holy Father Francis at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican (Sala del Concistoro). On behalf of the Synod of Bishops, the Blessed Svyatoslav, the Head and Father of the UGCC, addressed the Holy Father. “Every time our bishops gather for synodal work, we are aware that our work, our reflections and pastoral ministry are carried out in full and visible unity with the Holy Father,” said His Beatitude to the Pope at the beginning of his speech. “Usually our communion is expressed in the so-called” letters of communion, “said the Head of the UGCC,” but this time we are experiencing it in the context of a personal meeting, thus proving that this communion is not a dead letter, but a breath of the Holy Spirit, living and living. ; hearing the Word of the Father; the personal experience of the Pope’s parental concern for the Ukrainian Church. ” His Beatitude Sviatoslav introduced to Pope Francis the members of the Synod who “came from all over the world” and the guests who took part in the work of the Synod. He also thanked the Holy Father for the creation of an Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Italy. Quoting the words of the Holy Father that “it is not enough to have a Synod, but to be a Synod,” which the Bishop of Rome said at a meeting with metropolitans and members of the Permanent Synod on July 5, His Beatitude said: “We came here for this.” “Each bishop and our community members brought with them to Rome the pain and hope of the people of God entrusted to our pastoral care. We want to be a Synod not only during our working meetings, but also when we return to our communities! ”- said the Head of the UGCC. This desire to “be a Synod” is blessed by His Beatitude Svyatoslav in “a synodal walk with the clergy, our faithful, men and women, children and youth, who live in different cultures and countries, speak different languages ​​and belong to different peoples.” “Walking together, however, as the Eastern Catholic Church of its own right, the Church is global, alive and open to all,” – said His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the theme of this year’s Synod: “Communion and unity in the life and testimony of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church today” . The head of the UGCC assured Pope Francis that our Church is aware that “it is not enough to have a good and rich tradition that preserves the millennial memory of the Church of Kiev, the undivided Church of the first millennium in communion with the Roman Church. It is necessary to live this tradition in an authentic way and to be able to convey to modern man its essence, the heart of the Apostolic tradition is the possibility of a personal meeting with the living Christ, who through the action of the Holy Spirit is still present in the Church today and walks with us the paths of the modern world. ” His Beatitude Sviatoslav also assured the Holy Father that our Church throughout the world prays for him, supports him, listens to him and awaits his visit to Ukraine. It is also worth noting that after the meeting with the Holy Father Pope Francis, members of the Synod of Bishops visited the altar of St. Basil the Great, which holds the relics of the Holy Martyr Josaphat Kuntsevich, Archbishop of Polotsk. There, the bishops jointly prayed “God, the Great One” for peace in Ukraine and the end of the war, which continues to continue and bring suffering to the Ukrainian people. Photo by synod.ugcc.ua Secretariat of the Head of the UGCC in Rome http://news.ugcc.ua/en/photo/we_came_here_because_we_aspire_to_be_a_synod__head_of _the_ugcc_at_the_meeting_of_pope_francis_with_the_synod_of_bishops_of_the_ugcc_8718 1.html?fbclid=IwAR2SXjZvUPGW0aMVF0SxOWdN7QScS- h1BCdx8bMxJHp7JuawNgDBNA79D9k Pope Francis meets with bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Pope: A Synod is not a survey. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit Pope Francis meets with bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and speaks about the role of the Holy Spirit in synodality. By Vatican News Meeting with bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, who are here in Rome for their Synod, Pope Francis referred to an article published this past weekend in “l’Osservatore Romano”. The Pope said he was not trying to “make publicity” for the Vatican newspaper, but that he liked the article which dealt with “the presence of the Holy Spirit in the synodal journey”. What a Synod is not Pope Francis said that today we are in danger of believing that “to make a synodal journey, or to have an attitude of synodality,” means taking a survey of opinions and then coming to some sort of agreement. “A synod is not a Parliament”, he said, “you must say things, discuss them as you normally do, but it is not a Parliament”. Unlike politics, the Pope continued, a synod is not a series of agreements: “I give you this, you give me that”. It is not a question of conducting “sociological investigations” regarding what needs to change, and how to go about changing it. What a Synod is A Synod is only a Synod, said Pope Francis, if the Holy Spirit is present. “If the Holy Spirit is not present, there is no synodality”, he added. “Indeed, if there is no Church, there is no identity of the Church”, the Pope continued. “And what is the identity of the Church? Saint Pope Paul VI said it clearly: the vocation of the Church is to evangelize. Its identity is to evangelize”. Pope Francis concluded by inviting the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church to enter their Synod together with the Holy Spirit, even if it means “fighting among yourselves!”. In the end, however, it must be the Spirit that leads them. “This, he said, “is the way to proceed”. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-09/pope-ukraine-synod-bishops.html (Photo by Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk) His Beatitude Sviatoslav on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Saint Sophia Patriarch Josyf wished to glorify the Wisdom of God in the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Rome, His Beatitude Sviatoslav on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Saint Sophia Monday, 02 September 2019, 16:42 I urge all of us to find our own personal place in God’s plan for Ukraine and the world, and to find our part in establishing God’s Wisdom in the modern world. The Father and Head of the UGCC emphasized this during his sermon to the faithful on Sunday, September 1, 2019, at the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Rome. This year, the UGCC celebrates the 50th anniversary of the consecration of this temple, which was built by Patriarch Josyf Slipyj. On this occasion, this year’s Synod of Bishops of the UGCC is held in the Eternal City. Among the guests of the feast were Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and Cardinal Emeritus Domenico Calcagno. The fifth President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko with his wife Maryna and Ukrainian Ambassador to the Vatican Mrs. Tetiana Izhevska also attended the Liturgy. In his word to the believers, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that human life, not material goods, is extremely valuable to God. Today, from the pages of Scripture, we learn that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who wanted to make accounts with his servants. So when he was brought in by one who was guilty of ten thousand talents, he forgave him his debt. In a sermon, the Head of the Church explained this episode from the Gospel and said that people should seek first the wisdom of God, and then we will have both money and glory, and our descendants will bless us. “Every Christian feels like a forgiven debtor. At his last meeting with our Metropolitans, Pope Francis said the words that should be the slogan of our Christian life: act like a wise, merciful and forgiving God, and then you will receive everything,”said the preacher. The bishops mentioned the figure of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj, who made a great contribution to the development of the Church and the Ukrainian people, despite great and difficult trials. Thanks to him the UGCC is now a global and united Church. “In constructing this cathedral, Patriarch Josyf in his wisdom, as a reflection of the Wisdom of God, left a manifesto of identity for every Ukrainian. At one time, he said that this cathedral is a mirror of Sophia of Kyiv. Josyf Slipyj wanted to show God’s Wisdom and wanted to glorify it in this cathedral.” The Head of the UGCC is convinced that over the half century of its existence, the temple has become an important center of spiritual, cultural and national life of the Ukrainian people. Before the end of the Liturgy, Cardinal Sandri addressed the audience. He congratulated the members of the UGCC on this important anniversary. Pointing to the historical path of the UGCC, the Cardinal noted: “Your story teaches us that the Lord is the master of history: He gives bread to the hungry.