Working Sessions of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Commence in Rome
The 12th (83rd) session of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church began on May 6 with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Pontifical Ukrainian College of St. Josaphat.
The meetings are chaired by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, with Bishop Andriy Khimyak, Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archdiocese of the UGCC, serving as secretary.
Participants in the working sessions include Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Philadelphia; Bishop Yosafat Moschych, Bishop of the Eparchy of Chernivtsi; Bishop Bohdan Dzurakh, Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainians of the Byzantine Rite in Germany and Scandinavia; and Bishop Mykhailo Bubniy, Exarch of Odessa.
The sessions opened with a review of the progress made in implementing the decisions of the previous session of the Permanent Synod and the 2024 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC.
The Synod members then turned their attention to the central theme of the 2025 Synod of Bishops: pastoral care for families in times of war. At the beginning of July, UGCC bishops from around the world will gather in the Eternal City to reflect on this issue. The preparation of this theme was entrusted to Bishop Arkadiusz Trochanowski, head of the Patriarchal Commission for the Family and Laity, who presented a report on the latest developments and challenges.
The Bishop of Olsztyn-Gdańsk also presented an overview of the Commission’s recent work, which includes initiatives to support families during wartime, foster lay leadership, and develop Christian education programs. He highlighted formation meetings and training courses for families and laypeople, as well as collaboration with eparchial structures to enhance lay involvement in the life of the Church. Particular emphasis was placed on spiritual guidance and cultivating a strong family culture amid contemporary challenges.
In 2024–2025, the Commission implemented key formation activities and supported secular initiatives in strategically important areas: developing a network of lay leaders, strengthening communication, supporting projects, implementing a formation program on the Church’s social doctrine and wartime leadership, and preparing methodological materials for retreats and thematic seminars. Recognizing the spiritual calling of laypeople to take an active role in Church and society, the Commission focused on strengthening the lay apostolate, supporting lay movements, and forming responsible Christian leaders.
Indeed, “there is nothing more valuable to a people than a conscious and zealous layperson who carries the faith into the world,” as the righteous Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky once said, Bishop Arkadiusz Trochanowski concluded in his report.
The working sessions of the Permanent Synod of the UGCC continue through May 9.
The UGCC Department for Information
