“The Lord God Visits His People by Sending Us His Bishop” — Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church at the Consecration of Bishop Ihor Rantsya
“My word to you is: do not be afraid! For the Lord is with you. He chose you. He sanctified you. And He will give you all the strength you need to fulfill this calling, to which you have responded with faithful devotion.” With these words, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, addressed Bishop Ihor Rantsya during his episcopal consecration in Paris, France.
The Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with the Rite of Consecration was presided over by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, as the chief consecrator. The co-consecrators were Bishop Borys Gudziak, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Philadelphia and first bishop of the Eparchy of St. Volodymyr the Great in Paris, and Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, the current Apostolic Administrator of this eparchy. The Liturgy was attended by many bishops and priests of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church in France, as well as the Apostolic Nuncio to France.
Bishop Ihor Rantsya publicly professed his faith three times. This was followed by the rite of episcopal consecration. The newly ordained bishop was dressed in episcopal vestments. After the Liturgy, Bishop Ihor was solemnly installed, and the Head of the Church presented him with a bishop’s staff as a symbol of episcopal authority.
In his homily, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized the special significance of the event: “We are now experiencing a unique and remarkable historical moment, filled with God’s presence. For the first time in history, here in Paris, the episcopal ordination of a Ukrainian bishop has taken place.”
The Head of the UGCC noted that all previous bishops sent by the Church to serve in France were ordained in Canada, Rome, or Ukraine. “But today, for the first time, God has revealed the bearer of episcopal grace for the faithful of our Church right here in France,” emphasized His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Reflecting on the Gospel parable of the vineyard (Luke 20:9–18), the Primate drew a parallel with the history of the UGCC in France. “Today, this parable about God’s vineyard particularly recounts the history of our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in France. It was the Lord who planted this vineyard on these generous lands,” he said.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav explained the profound meaning of the episcopal ministry: “Today, the Lord God visits his people by sending us his bishop. A bishop is not just another religious bureaucrat appointed to a particular position. A bishop is the image of the Son of God, whom the Father sends, anointing him with the Holy Spirit.”
Addressing Bishop Ihor Rantsya, the Head of the UGCC shared his personal memories: “Your Excellency, the Lord made me a witness to how God’s grace came into your life. I was the one who accepted you into the Lviv Theological Seminary.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that he had witnessed Bishop Ihor’s spiritual growth during his ten years of service in France. “Looking at you, we did not understand that it was you whom the eparchy of St. Volodymyr had been waiting for seven years. Seven years is a symbolic number of maturation in the Holy Spirit,” he said.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also assured the new bishop of the support of the episcopate and the entire Church: “You will never be alone. Your Church will always be with you.”
Separately, the Primate thanked the Roman Catholic bishops of France for their fraternal acceptance of Bishop Ihor and appealed to the priests of the Paris eparchy to accept their former brethren as a bishop, “an evangelical son whom the Lord is sending to your vineyard today.”
Concluding his homily, His Beatitude Sviatoslav addressed the Ukrainian faithful in France, emphasizing that the Lord cares for them even in a foreign land, sending them a shepherd, and called on them to unite around the Church. He also emphasized the special mission of the Paris eparchy in the current circumstances: “Today, we desperately need someone in Paris who would be the voice of Ukraine and awaken the heart of Europe,” especially during this time of unjust war against Ukraine.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the Patriarch expressed his gratitude to Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, who for seven years has been the apostolic administrator of the Eparchy of St. Volodymyr the Great in Paris.
Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris also delivered a word of appreciation. He thanked, in particular, His Beatitude Sviatoslav for his presence and brotherhood, and also noted that “week after week we read your messages to the Ukrainian people, full of hope”: “It is a great joy that you have come here today to bring this message of hope, ordaining one of your brothers as bishop.”
The Archbishop of Paris then congratulated the newly ordained Bishop Ihor Rantsya: “I am happy to welcome you, of course, to the Ukrainian episcopate, but also to the French episcopate, where you rightfully belong.”
At the end of the celebrations, the newly ordained Bishop Ihor Rantsya addressed all those present—the Head of the Church, bishops, priests of the UGCC and the RCC in France, as well as relatives, friends, and faithful—with words of gratitude. He also noted: “I dream of a Church that is ahead of its time, that builds its present not from the perspective of the past, sometimes mythologized, but of a Church that looks at its present from the perspective of the future, which is more faithful to Christ’s Gospel than the Church of the past.”
Read also:
Nomitation of Father Ihor Rantsya to Episcopate Held in Paris
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