Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr the Great of Paris

About

The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr the Great of Paris is a part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It was formed on January 19, 2013 by Pope decree Benedict XVI following the initiative of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The eparchy is an extraterritorial province of the Kyiv-Halych Supreme Archeparchy and subordinates to the Roman Apostolic See. Its ruling Archbishop is a member of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and a member of the Conference of the Episcopate of France.

The eparchy embraces five countries that are the French Republic, the Kingdom of Belgium, The Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Swiss Confederation. In total, it is 666 thousand km² and 100 million of the population which is 1/6 of the territory and 1/5 of the European Union’s population.

On the territory of the countries that belong to the Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr the Great, there are six official languages: French, Dutch, German, Italian, Luxembourgish, and Romansh. Also, about a dozen of languages have a regional official status.

Coat of arms of the eparchy of Saint Volodymyr the Great of Paris

On the territory of the eparchy, all the main structures of the EU are located in particular European Parliament in Strasbourg and European Commission in Brussels. Also, on the territory of the Eparchy, there are headquarters of many other international institutions such as the Council of Europe (Strasbourg), European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg), International Court of Justice (The Hague), World Trade Organization (Geneva), International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Geneva), NATO (Brussels), UNESCO (Paris) and more.

Embracing five countries, the territory of the Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr the Great of Paris covers the territory of 122 eparchies of the Roman Catholic Church and within the territory of France it coincides with the territories of the Paris eparchy of the Holy Cross of the Armenian Catholic Church and the Paris eparchy of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Maronite Catholic Church.

In addition, in the above-mentioned five countries where the eparchy of St. Volodymyr the Great of the UGCC operates, the Western European Russian Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (Paris) and the Western European eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Constantinople in Constantinople carries out their mission among Ukrainians, as well as four eparchies of the Moscow Patriarchate: with headquarters in Paris, Brussels, The Hague, and Geneva.

In the eparchy, parish communities are established in the following cities:

The Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr the Great of Paris for Ukrainians of France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland counts more than 20 thousand faithful for whom 30 priests carry out their pastoral ministry.

Location

Bishop

Since February the 18^th 2019, His Eminence Bishop Hlib Lonchyna has been the Apostolic Administrator.

The cathedral of the Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr the Great is the Cathedral of Saint Volodymyr the Great in Paris (France).

The patron saint of the Paris eparchy is an equal-to-the-apostles Saint Volodymyr the Great.

History

The history of the eparchy of St. Volodymyr the Great in Paris begins in 1937 when the UGCC began its mission in France.

At the same time, in agreement with Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, the Congregation for the Eastern Churches granted the Ukrainian Church in France official status: “Mission of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in France.” That year, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky appointed Fr. Jacques Perridon as an Abbot of the Mission.

Later, the church structure of the UGCC in France became part of the Western European Apostolic Visitation of the UGCC.

In 1939, Holy See appointed Bishop Ivan Buchko as Apostolic Visitor for Ukrainians in the whole of Western Europe. The bishop divided the territory into four general vicariates: Italy, Germany, France, and England.

Auxiliary Bishop of the Archbishop of Paris Monsignor Emmanuel Chantal, the Ukrainian community got a building for the church. Before that, the building belonged to the Medical Faculty of the University of Paris.

On January 7, 1943, the first official Holy Liturgy was celebrated in the Ukrainian Church in Paris.

And already in May of the same year the liturgical consecration of this church took place in the capital of France. The patron of the church was chosen, St. Volodymyr. The consecration ceremony was presided over by Monsignor Emmanuel Chantal in the Eastern Rite.

On July 28, 1946, the consecration of the Ukrainian House in Paris was held. The community got it thanks to the efforts of the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee.

Later, Bishop Ivan Buchko bought a dormitory for Greek Catholics in Leuven (Belgium), as well as a settlement in Sarsel, where Ukrainian scholars published the Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies under the direction of Professor Volodymyr Kubiyovych.

On June 29, 1952, there was the consecration of the Small Seminary founded by Bishop Ivan Buchko. It took place in Lura near Orleans. Cardinal Eugene Tisserant, Secretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Apostolic Nuncio Angelo Roncalli, and many other church dignitaries attended the consecration.

On June 16, 1954, an ordinariate for Catholics of the Eastern Rites was established in France, which subordinated Ukrainian Catholics to itself.

On July 22, 1960, Pope John XXIII established the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians in France and appointed an archpriest of the Redemptorist Fathers in Canada, Hieromonk Volodymyr Malanczuk as an exarch.

A year later, the Apostolic Exarchate, through the efforts of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, received a house in Vincennes for the exarch’s residence and office.

Bishop Volodymyr Malanchuk became the first Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainians in France His episcopal ordination took place on February 19, 1961, in Winnipeg, Canada.

In a month, Archbishop Paolo Bertoli, papal nuncio to France, enthroned Bishop Volodymyr Malanchuk as exarch of the Apostolic Exarchate of Ukrainian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in France in the Cathedral of St. Volodymyr.

In 1982, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg, and Switzerland joined Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians in France.

On November 27, 1982, Pope John Paul II appointed an abbot of the Redemptorist Fathers in Canada, Fr. Mykhailo Hrynchyshyn Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainians in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.

The episcopal ordination of Fr. Mykhailo Hrynchyshyn was carried out by His Beatitude Patriarch Josyf Slipyi on January 30, 1983, in the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Rome.

In the same year, Archbishop Angelo Felici, the papal nuncio in France, in the Roman Catholic Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, enthroned Bishop Mykhailo Hrynchyshyn as Exarch of the Apostolic Exarchate of Ukrainian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in France.

On July 21, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI blessed the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC and appointed Fr. Borys Gudziak, Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainians in France. On August 26 of the same year, His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Father and Head of the UGCC, ordained Bishop Borys Gudziak in the St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv. And on December 2, 2012, in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris, His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav performed the Enthronement of Bishop Borys Gudziak as Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainians in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland in Paris.

On January 19, 2013, on the feast of the Epiphany, Pope Benedict XVI elevated the Apostolic Exarchate of Ukrainian Catholics in France to the status of an eparchy with the title eparchy of St. Volodymyr the Great in Paris, nominating Bishop Borys Gudziak as an eparch.

The solemn proclamation of the newly formed eparchy took place on March 10, 2013, during the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of St. Volodymyr the Great with the participation of representatives of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC.

On September 27, 2013, the eparchy purchased a church in Sanlis (45 km from Paris) next to the Abbey of St. Vincent, founded by Queen Anne Yaroslavna of France in 1060.

On November 18, 2013, the first protosyncellus of the eparchy was named Fr. Mykhailo Romanyuk.

From January 29 to February 1, 2015, the first session of the Eparchial Council took place.

On May 9, 2015, during a pastoral visit to the Eparchy of Paris, His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav consecrated the chapel of St. Borys and Glib in the residence of the bishop and decided to call the residence the eparchial House.

During 2015–2018, the II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII sessions of the Eparchial Councils and the first meetings of the Presbyterian Council and the chairmen of the eparchial commissions took place.

On February 18, 2019, His Holiness Pope Francis blessed the recommendation of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and appointed Bishop of the Eparchy of St. Volodymyr the Great of Paris Borys Gudziak as the Metropolitan and Archbishop of the Philadelphia Metropolis of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the United States of America. The Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy of Paris became Hlib Lonchyna, the Bishop of the eparchy of the Holy Family in Great Britain and Ireland, based in London.

Contacts

Address: 27, av. Foch, 94300 Vincennes, France

Phone/fax: +33 (0) 1 4328–4239

Email: [email protected]

Website: ugcc.fr