“In favor of the Synodal Church”: UGCC Prepares for the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Synodal Path
As part of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on September 7, UGCC bishops from around the world delivered the results of continental Assemblies on the way to the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, called the Synodal Path.
“In favor of the Synodal Church: Communion, participation and mission” is the theme of the XVI Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the first round of which began on Saturday, October 9, 2021, in the Vatican.
“The Catholic Church is undergoing a process called the Synodal Path. It involves all the Catholic dioceses of the world, including the dioceses and exarchates of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. So at this Synod, our bishops shared how this process is taking place on different continents,” says Bishop Teodor Martynyuk, Auxiliary Bishop of Ternopil-Zboriv.
The process of the Synodal Path of the Catholic Church has been divided into different stages from the very beginning. After local consultations that ended in the summer of 2022, continental Synodal Assemblies began: In Oceania, on February 5 in Suva (Fiji Islands); in the Middle East, on February 12–18 in Beirut (Lebanon); in North America, on February 13–17 in Orlando (Florida); in Asia, on February 23–27 in Bangkok (Thailand); in Africa, on March 1–6 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); in Latin America, on March 17–23 in Bogota (Colombia). On the fourth day of the meetings of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in 2023 in Rome, participants of these continental meetings from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church shared their thoughts and experiences.
Bishop Teodor Martynyuk, Auxiliary Bishop of Ternopil-Zboriv Archeparchy
Bishop Mykola Bychok, our eparchial bishop in Australia, presented the process of the Synodal Path in Australia and Oceania. Bishop Myron Mazur from Brazil presented the Synodal Way process in Brazil and South America, and Bishop Bohdan Danylo — in North America. Metropolitan Archpriest Vasyl Hovera represented Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
“Our bishops and father spoke about how our Church participated in discussions and reflections on the continents where the Catholic Church is present. They noted that each continent has its peculiarities. Therefore, the participation of our Church was unique because our faithful, priests, and bishops could convey our view, the view of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,” Bishop Teodor continues.
“As for the European continent, the Continental Assembly of Europe was held in Prague, where our delegates participated. Particularly, I expressed the views and proposals of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from Ukraine and European countries where we have our structures or faithful. We outlined a number of challenges related to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. We spoke elaborately about the tragedy that Russia has brought to the Ukrainian people. In addition to the various reports, we also prayed specifically at this Assembly for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” the auxiliary bishop of Ternopil-Zboriv shares his memories.
This Synodal Way will be crowned by the Synod of Bishops of the entire Catholic Church, which will be held in October 2023, shortly after the end of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC. It will be attended by His Beatitude Sviatoslav and two delegates elected by our Synod. These are Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh and Bishop Teodor Martynyuk.
“During our discussions at the Synod, we also decided to illustrate the truth about the war in Ukraine and Russian aggression. We will also share the spiritual wealth in our Church and other Eastern Catholic Churches because we are one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. We will share our spirituality, prayer, and all the achievements that we, as a Church, have accumulated, especially in this period affected by Russian aggression,” the bishop said about the upcoming Synod of the Catholic Church.
According to him, it is about the pastoral care of healing the wounds of war. “We believe this problem affects many world countries because our faithful have traveled to different countries. Therefore, our task is to help our faithful who have left Ukraine, to accompany them, in particular, to cooperate with Roman Catholic bishops and priests so that they can better understand our faithful and help them in this regard,” said Bishop Theodor Martyniuk, one of the delegates to the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church from the UGCC.
Press service of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC
