Synod of UGCC to Be Held in Canada
The next Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is to be held in Canada to mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Greek Catholic bishop in Canada.
The bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church issued a special Address to the faithful of Canada stating that the bishops would like to get better aquainted with the life of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic community in Canada. “We look forward to the meeting, prayer and communication with the faithful of the UGCC living in Canada in order to assure them of our prayer for them, our respect and love,” reads the document.
“When Blessed Nykyta came to Canada in 1912, he saw the efforts of our people to get established in the land where they went through many difficulties and obstacles. These people knew well the traditions and customs of their native land, but here they found themselves as if in another world,” reads the address.
According to the hierarchs of the UGCC, Bishop Nykyta Budka in cooperation with the clergy, monastics and active lay people set about the work of strengthening and developing the Ukrainian Church and community life in Canada with a great evangelic commitment. Thanks to his efforts and the efforts of his followers, the UGCC in Canada achieved a lot during the last century.
“Our Church developed into the first metropolitanate outside Ukraine. It brought up many bishops, priests, monks and nuns for our Church not only in Canada but in all over the world. A large number of lay people achieved success in the Canadian society as teachers and lawyers, doctors and engineers, political figures and military officers,” reads the document.
The bishops also expressed gratitude to the faithful of the UGCC for “their commitment and faithfulness to the work of God which was felt by our Church especially strongly in the end of 1980s and early 1990s when the Lord granted its nation freedom after long centuries of persecutions.”
“We pray that this Synod should be used as an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to fill our Church afresh and lead us into the future,” reads the address published by the information Department of the UGCC.
