12.05.2008, [14:18] // UGCC // RISU.ORG.UA
Lviv - 20080512 - On May 1-2, 2008 in Lviv-Briukhovychi, the Thirty-ninth Session of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv and Halych Major Archbishopric of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church took place. After the introductory procedures, the status of implementing the decisions of the last session of the Metropolitan Synod was assessed. Consequently His Beatitude Lubomyr talked about the planned visits to Ukraine of Cardinal Tarcissio Bertone and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, presented the status of preparation for the Meeting of Bishops of Eastern Catholic Churches in Mariapoch (Hungary), and told of the status of the campaign "For sobriety of life." Also, the Head of the UGCC shared his opinions regarding the meeting of the All Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations with Ukrainian Prime-minister Yulia Tymoshenko on April 11, 2008.
Among the greater themes the Metropolitan Synod reviewed were the following questions: the status of implementation of decision № 7 of the Extraordinary (16.01.06) Session of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv and Halych Metropolitan of the UGCC about the prohibition for priests to be engaged in financial operations and trading and financial activity in the industry of the insurance business; the first reading of the project of the position "About the status of the medical chaplain in the UGCC," and about the position of the Church in relation to the study of religion.
In addition, questions of the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the baptism of Rus’-Ukraine were discussed. The report of the organizing committee for the pilgrimage to Lourdes and the interim report of the Commission on the Restitution of Church Property was heard. Bishop Bohdan (Dzyurakh), auxiliary bishop of the Kyiv Archeparchy and head of the Supervisory Council on the Building of the Patriarchal Cathedral, told about the status of building the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, and Bishop Dionisiy (Lyakhovych), curial bishop and head of the Patriarchal Administration, told about his visit to the Holy Land. At the same time, the situation with monk-priests from the Pidhoretskyi monastery who on their own proclaimed themselves bishops was discussed. For the improvement of spiritual care of faithful of the UGCC in post-Soviet countries it was decided to conduct on July 2, 2008, a meeting of clergy of the eastern diaspora ( the Baltics, Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Romania) with the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv and Halych Major Archbishopric of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.
At the completion of the synod the presentation of all 14 church commissions, which was prepared by the Department of Church Commissions of the Patriarchal Curia of the UGCC, was held. Heads of the commissions or their authorized representatives were in a position to present before the synod the fruits of their work, to tell about future plans and to communicate with the bishops.
It was decided to conduct the next, Fortieth Session of the Synod of the Kyiv and Halych Major Archbishopric of the UGCC, in July 2008.
Secretariate of the Synod of Bishops
of the Kyiv and Halych Major Archbishopric of the UGCC