Head of the UGCC with the Bishops of the Permanent Synod Visit Universities in Chernivtsi
On December 12, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, and members of the Permanent Synod of Bishops of the UGCC — Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, Bishop Volodymyr Yushchak, Bishop Josaphat Moschych, and Bishop Andriy Khimyak — visited Bukovinian State Medical University and Yuriy Fedkovych National University of Chernivtsi, where they met with the administration and students.
Members of the Permanent Synod of the UGCC at the Yuriy Fedkovych National University of Chernivtsi
Bukovinian State Medical University
At the Bukovinian Medical University, the hierarchs met with the rector, Mr. Ihor Gerush, to express their gratitude to the institution where future doctors are trained and raised. His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that he himself is a physician by education and emphasized that nowadays, doctors are vital for all of us for the proper functioning of society, as they heal the sick. Yet sometimes, healthcare workers themselves need the resource of healing.
At the meeting, the UGCC bishops and the university administration discussed the importance of mental health among the clergy and medical professionals. Bukovinian State Medical University is one of the few universities that offers medical psychology. The participants then discussed the prospects for medical chaplaincy in Ukraine and exchanged gifts.
Yuriy Fedkovych National University of Chernivtsi
The Patriarch and the bishops also visited Yuriy Fedkovych National University of Chernivtsi, where the rector, Roman Petryshyn, welcomed them. The members of the Permanent Synod attended a students’ celebration, where His Beatitude Sviatoslav delivered a speech. The Primate introduced the bishops to the students and emphasized that they arrived from different countries. Then, he congratulated them on the upcoming holidays. “We are all together this Christmas, and as we enter the new year, we will pray and fight for victory so that you can truly feel that the world does not forget about us. Each bishop can testify that Germany, the United States of America, and Poland are all standing in solidarity with Ukraine. May we resist any insinuations from evil spirits that someone has grown tired of us. It is not true! The world is looking at Ukraine today because the future is being forged in Ukraine, not only of our homeland, not only of Europe but of the world as a whole,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The participants of the Synod also visited the University Chapel of St. John of New Suceava and the Church of the Three Saints at the University.
photo by the press service of the Chernivtsi Eparchy of the UGCC
