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Ukraine: Pastoral care of refugees is the main topic of the UGCC Synod's session

01. Dezember 2022
On November 18-19, 2022, the ninety-second session of the UGCC Episcopal Synod in Ukraine was held in Bryukhovichi, near Lviv, under the chairmanship of Patriarch Sviatoslav. Its main theme is "pastoral care of refugees".This is reported by the UGCC Information Department. For the first time, the following bishops took part in the Synodal Sessions: Fr. Maksym Ryabukha, nominee for the assistant of the Donetsk Exarchate of the UGCC; Fr. Mykola Semenyshyn, nominee for the assistant of the UGCC Archdiocese of Ivano-Frankivsk; Fr. Andriy Khimyak, nominee for the assistant of the UGCC Archdiocese of Kyiv.

"Pastoral care of war refugees" is the main topic of this session of the Synod. The pastoral and Migration Department of the patriarchal Curia of the UGCC, under the leadership of Bishop Stepan Sus, was engaged in its processing. Presentations on the main topic were made by Oksana Mikheeva, DAAD professor at the European University of Viadrina (Germany), professor of the Department of sociology at the Ukrainian Catholic University; Tatiana Stavnicha, president of Caritas-Ukraine; Yuriy Tikhovlis, an employee of the section of migrants and refugees of the Dicastery of service to Integral Human Development of the Catholic Church and employees of the pastoral and Migration Department of the UGCC.

The Synod considered in the second reading and approved the strategy of the UGCC's activities to establish family values, support families and prevent and counteract domestic violence. This document was presented by Yuriy Pidlisny, chairman of the UGCC Commission for Family and Laity. The bishops also considered and approved the pastoral message on patriotism as love for their own people and homeland, which was represented by Vladyka Yaroslav Pryriz.

In the topics for a discussion section, the issue of academic events to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Holy Great Martyr Josaphat Kuntsevich was considered, as reported by Dr. Ivan Almes, senior lecturer of the Department of history of the Ukrainian Catholic University, director of the Igor Skochilyas Center for Religious Culture. The mission and activities of the Ukrainian Catholic University in modern conditions of war were reported by Fr. Bogdan Prakh, rector of UCU, and Fr. Pavlo Khud, deputy dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of UCU.

In addition to these issues, the Synod members heard a report on the activities of the commission for the pastoral care of the UGCC. Patriarchal economist of the UGCC, Fr. Lubomyr Yavorsky, reported to the Synod on the state of affairs of the UGCC in Ukraine in the financial and economic sphere and presented to the bishops a report on the activities of the Mudra Sprava Foundation and the Pokrova open non-state pension fund founded by the Church, which is successfully functioning and demonstrates positive results despite the challenges of wartime.

The Synod of Bishops heard the report on the activities of Patriarch Lubomyr Husar Foundation, which was presented by Fr. Oleksa Petriv, chairman of the Board of this foundation, and about the activities and state of affairs of the Rehabilitation Center "House of Transfiguration", which was prepared by Mr Yuri Tarnavsky, administrator of this Rehabilitation Center. The Synod members had a discussion on calendar reform and unanimously agreed to continue discussing this topic.

The ninety-second session of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine was decided to be held in the fourth quarter of 2022. (Quelle: www.risu.ua, 22. November 2022)