“Collegium Orientale has become a place of a vibrant spiritual exchange” — Head of the UGCC congratulates the Collegium Orientale in Eichstätt on its 25th anniversary
On June 30, the Eastern College in Eichstätt, Germany, celebrates 25 years since its foundation. The Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, congratulated all its faculty and students on this special occasion and wished them God’s blessing and strength for their ministry and education.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav with the rector and students of the Collegium Orientale, November 2019
“First of all, we express our gratitude to the Lord for guiding, blessing, and sending good pastors and teachers to this spiritual institution,” said the Primate, “because it is here that students from the neighboring Eastern churches have the opportunity to study, pray, and, living in community, grow in the spirit of mutual sharing and willingness to cooperate.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav remembered in prayer the founders of the Eastern College — Bishop Walter Mixa, Bishop of Eichstätt, and His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar of blessed memory.
The Head of the Church also expressed special gratitude to Father Archimandrite Dr. Andreas Tiermeyer, who became the founder rector of this institution and made great efforts for its formation and development: “On this occasion, we would like to commend Father Andreas for his great responsiveness to the various needs of our Church. May the Lord reward him a hundredfold!”
Блаженніший Святослав і о. Олександр Петринко
His Beatitude Sviatoslav and Fr. Oleksandr Petrynko
Special thanks were extended to Canon Archpriest Paul Schmidt, rector of the College from 2008 to 2014, Father Dr. Oleksandr Petrynko, a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and its current leader, and Bishop Dr. Gregor Maria Hanke, Diocese of Eichstätt, who has been in charge of the College, where seminarians of our Church have been studying and forming for 25 years.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that the Church, having emerged from the underground, needed well-prepared, qualified pastors and theology specialists who could serve the Church, which was revitalizing its churches and building church structures. It was the College that became the place where future pastors were formed.
“Today, we can say that during this time, the Eastern Collegium has become a place of vibrant spiritual exchange. Seminarians from various Eastern Catholic Churches and the Orthodox and ancient Churches of the East study here,” the Primate emphasized.
The Father and Head of the Church gave all the students, professors, and teachers of the Eastern College of Eichstätt his bishop’s blessing and wished them fresh inspiration for new scientific achievements.
The UGCC Department for Information
