Metropolitan Borys Gudziak: Go and testify, listen to your hearts and help Church revive itself
At the end of the enthronement ceremony, the new Metropolitan of Philadelphia appealed to several thousand believers who arrived on 4 June to the Cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Philadelphia, PA not only from the USA but also from Ukraine, France, Belgium, Germany, Canada, to congratulate Archbishop Borys Gudziak.
"I want to express my gratitude to Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops of the UGCC for their trust. Thank you all. I am grateful for everything that was done in my life, to my parents, my teachers... Thanks to all the bishops, priests and faithful for starting together. Thank you, Lord, the Holy Spirit and the Church who have called me to the Ministry," Metropolitan Borys addressed those present at the enthronement ceremony.
His speech was sincere and simple. The Metropolitan came up to a little girl in a wheelchair: "Andriana, know that this is your Church, you are always welcome here." He singled out a young nun among the thousands of faithful and expressed hope for new vocations because then the Church will be alive and effective.
Bishop Borys noted that the slogan "from heart to heart" is what unites all of us because when we are together and open our hearts to each other a miracle will happen."
"The children of this Church, we have no right not to testify our faith. Go and testify, listen to your hearts, and help the Church revive itself. We will revive all of us, without complaints, without jealousy. Pray every morning and evening - and it will change your life. Prayer will renew your life with hope," Metropolitan Borys called on the faithful.
The Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Valery Chaly, who attended the ceremony of enthronement called it "the greatest of all, which he visited: "a great delegation of politicians and public figures know about your activities around the world. I want to thank you for the common cause of cherishing the Ukrainian language and culture, Ukraine, which is in every heart. I am proud of all the Churches that bring faith to Ukrainians in America. I am happy that, as an Ambassador, I have the honor to help as a diplomat in a common cause – it is peace, a normal life based on the right values. This is important now that Ukraine is under attack by those who are now going the wrong way. I hope that together we will make Ukrainians feel that faith helps them to overcome all the differences that are between them now, and together we come to the dream that we all have. I have attended nine presidential inaugurations, but this enthronement ceremony is the greatest.»
