www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News New apostolic administrator for Eparchy of Mukachevo

SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU!
SLAVA NA VIKI BOHU!

The Adminstrator wrote: "...1) Would the number of eligible candidates to become bishop be fairly small since the vast majority of priests in this eparchy are probably married?

2) Since the Vatican requires all potential bishops to have at least a Master's degree in Theology how may priests would qualify (how many of the priests ordained in the days of the underground Church are well educated)? ..."

Well, since most of the best and brightest of the seminarians have studied in Rome or are still studying in Rome, Fr. Taras Lovska and his brother Fr.Jozef for example, they have relatively little experience as parish priests. Does this have anything to do with it??

It was such a joy to have Fr.Taras here when he was studying English at Catholic Univeristy in DC!! He's a FANTASTIC person and a truly HOLY priest!!

the least servant
mark

Dear Administrator,

You said that "Since the Vatican requires all potential bishops to have at least a Master's degree in Theology how may priests would qualify (how many of the priests ordained in the days of the underground Church are well educated)?". According to the Code of Canon Law of the Eastern Catholic Churches candidates to the bishopcric must be "doctor" or "licenciate" or to have an "excellent knoledge" of some of the holy sciences". So that, that is not neccesary to have a Master Degree in Theology to become bishop.

YoArt. I DE ELECTIONE EPISCOPORUM

Can. 180 - Ut quis idoneus ad episcopatum habeatur, requiritur, ut sit: 1� firma fide, bonis moribus, pietate, animarum zelo et prudentia praestans; 2� bona existimatione gaudens; 3� vinculo matrimonii non ligatus; 4� annos natus saltem triginta quinque; 5� a quinquennio saltem in ordine presbyteratus constitutus; 6� in aliqua scientia sacra doctor vel licentiatus vel saltem peritus.

Yours in Christ,
Francisco

Francisco,

You are correct. A few of my priest friends have noticed, however, that virtually all those priests who have been named bishops have had a formal Masters Degree in Theology. It is not in the canons but it does appear to be an unwritten rule.

Admin

I've always thought that seminaries bestowed M.Div's on candidates for the priesthood. Furthermore, I remember reading in James-Charles Noonan's The Church Visible that priests chosen to become bishops who do not have a D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) automatically assume it with the office, as a sort of honourary doctorate. But that book dealt mostly with the Latin Church, I don't know if the Eastern Catholic Canons have something similar.

Which master's degree are we talking about? Because there is the Master's of Divinity, normally a 3 year program, and then there is a Master's of Theology, which is a 1-2 year program to be done AFTER the MDiv. Plus, in Rome, there are totally different ways of reckoning the degrees as well!

In Christ,

anastasios

Well, my understanding from my reading is that seminarians who are priestly candidates go to seminary and get the Master's in Divinity, this being the "ordination" degree...my impression is that this is an across the board thing, whether you are Catholic or Orthodox. I know that at Dunwoodie (Saint Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers), the Latin seminarians graduate with the M.Div and the S.T.B. from the Angelicum (there's some kind of arrangement they've got going on).

The book I referred to (a really nice book if you're interested in that sort of stuff) goes on to say that bishops are required to have a Doctorate in Divinity. Presumably, most priests do not go this far, so if they haven't, they get to style themselves as D.D. as a type of honourary since technically it is necessary to be a bishop. Do priests who have earned this degree get priority for bishop? I would think so, although I have no way of knowing.

I have a thought about this Doctor of Divinity thing, i hope i can articulate it well.

The doctorate is a sign of one who has an initimate knowledge of something, this case is of things Divine. In theoretical fields, one must display an academic knowledge, usually in the form of a dissertation. In practical fields, one need not have a such a document to be a doctor, but display intense knowledge gained through experience. Allow me to illustrate: in the music department, where i study, the professors in theory & composition and in history must have a piece of paper from an accredited institution that says they hold a doctorate. Their work must also be published. By comparison, the applied faculty do not have to have that piece of paper (in fact none of the string faculty do, save one violin prof). No one doubts their ability and their expertise regardless, as they had more than enough experience in the performance field prior to teaching.

The D.D., to my mind, is like the applied music specialty. It is something gained through the experience of prayer, pastorship, sprirtual direction, and (again and again) prayer. These are all necessary requisites for a hierarch, and if he be worthy, then the bestowal of a DD is only a de facto recognisation .

The Doctor of Divinty Degree was once granted by one of the pontifical universities by decree of the pontiff. This is no longer done and new bishops simply assume the title. More recently various fly-by night bible colleges have started granting (selling) this degree. So it is pretty much an empty title.

Master of Divinity is the degree one is supposed to get graduating from seminary, but in the US a seminary may not simply just grant this degree, it must be accredited. Our own Byzantine Seminary is working on this accredation right now. Master of (Sacred) Theology is, as Dustin points out, earned after MDiv. The pontifical universities grant Licentiates between Bachelors and Doctorate Degrees, but it is generally held as higher than a master degree.

As the administrator points out, appointees to the episcopacy are generally reserved for those with a masters, even though it is not strictly required. Also, my parish is currently being served by a Ukrainian priest from the Eparchy of Ivano-Franskiv. He related to me that there are indeed plenty of priests in the Ukraine, but the majority of them are not well educated and generally only able to serve Liturgy and the Mysteries. So there may indeed be a problem in finding suitable and unmarried candidates.

In Christ,
Lance

It all sounds like hyper-Latin scholastic requirements to me...which shouldn't necessarily have to apply to our bishops. Some of the best priests, monks, nuns and deacons I have known made it beautifully without theology degrees.

We know from the Fathers that some of the best shepherds would not stand up to Rome's academic standards very well today but are legendary in their charisma and lives.

Dear Friends,

There are many cases where a Bishop is appointed from "out of town". The Metropolitan in Philadelphia is Canadian, Patriarch Lubomyr is a native Ukrainian, but ordained Priest in America, and one of his Bishops in Ukraine was born in Ohio.

Indeed, I don't think the Ukrainian Church in America has ever had a US born Metropolitan.

John
Pilgrim and Odd Duck

SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU!
SLAVA NA VIKI BOHU!

Lance wrote: "...my parish is currently being served by a Ukrainian priest from the Eparchy of Ivano-Franskiv..."

Lance, is this Fr. Innokenty??

the least servant

mark

Mark,

No, Fr. Vasyl, sorry I can't remember his last name. He is married.

In Christ,
Lance

I wonder if we are seeing the beginnings of the intergration of the Eparchy of Mukachevo with the Ukrainian Catholic Patriarchate?

Actually, Fr. Sasik is as bi-ritual priest from Western Slovakia. He is not from the historical regions associated with Greek Catholics. I would guestimate that the Vatican is trying to maintain distance from the Ukrainian 'Patriarchate'...why else would you nominate a Slovak for the main post and his auxiliary is a Yugoslav??? think about it....

With actions by Rome such as this appointment of a "foriegn" bishop, is it any wonder why 60% of the Eastern Christians in Transcarpathia are in parishes under the Moscow Patriachate and only 40% in parishes administered by the
"Sui juris" Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo??

Ung-Certez

"... administered by the "Sui juris" Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo??"

I'm beginning to get a sense that the term 'sui juris' is becoming a pejorative as 'uniate' used to be rather than descriptive.

What are your thoughts?

If Rome approves and appoints bishops for the Greek Catholics, does this add meaning or subtract meaning from what 'sui juris' means?

What exactly does 'sui juris' mean and how is it found in the Eastern Church tradition?