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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

VATICAN CITY, 25 JAN 2010 (VIS) - The Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malankar Major Archiepiscopal Church, having duty consulted with the Holy See, has adopted the following provisions and, with the prior assent of the Holy Father, has proceeded with the following episcopal elections:

- Erected the new eparchy of Pathanamthitta, India, appointing Bishop Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom Kalloor of Marthandom, India, as first bishop of the new eparchy.

- Appointed Fr. K. M. Vincent Kulapuravilai, professor at St. Mary's Malankara Major Seminary, as bishop of the eparchy of Marthandom (area 1,684, population 1,977,000, Catholics 63,988, priests 39, religious 190), India. The bishop-elect was born in Anakkarai, India in 1964 and ordained a priest in 1991.

- Erected the new eparchy of Puthur, India, appointing Bishop Geevarghese Mar Divannasios Ottathengil of Battery, India, as first bishop of the new eparchy.

- Appointed Bishop Joseph Mar Thomas Konnath, auxiliary of Trivandrum, India, and apostolic visitor for North America and Europe, as bishop of the eparchy of Battery (area 75,000, population 1,767,000, Catholics 27,675, priests 88, religious 284), India.

- Appointed Fr. Samuel Kattuakallil, vicar of the archieparchy of Trivandrum, India, as auxiliary of the same archieparchy (area 4,636, population 5,935,000, Catholics 251,000, priests 257, religious 868). The bishop-elect was born in Kadamanitta, India in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1978.

- Appointed Fr. Stephen Thottathil, professor of moral theology and dean of theology at Malankara Seminary, as auxiliary of the archieparchy of Tiruvalla (area 11,120, population 5,435,000, Catholics 37,648, priests 132, religious 344), India. The bishop-elect was born in Ranni, India in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1979.

- Appointed Fr. Anthony Valiyavilayil O.I.C., chancellor of the Syro-Malankar Major Archiepiscopal Curia, as bishop of the Syro-Malankar Major Archiepiscopal Curia. The bishop-elect was born in Adoor, India in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1980.

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VATICAN CITY, 23 JAN 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a Message to His Holiness Irinej, Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, for his recent election to that office. In the English-language message he congratulates the new Patriarch and prays "that the Lord may grant you abundant gifts of grace and wisdom for the fulfilment of your high responsibilities in the service of the Church and the people entrusted to you.

"You succeed Patriarch Pavle, our brother of happy memory, who was a pastor both fervent and esteemed, and who bequeathed to you a spiritual inheritance that is rich and profound", the Pope adds. "As a great pastor and spiritual father, he effectively guided the Church and maintained its unity in the face of many challenges. I feel bound to express my appreciation of his example of fidelity to the Lord and of his many gestures of openness towards the Catholic Church.

"I therefore pray that the Lord will grant Your Holiness the inner strength to consolidate the unity and spiritual growth of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well to build up the fraternal bonds with other Churches and ecclesial communities. Let me assure you of the closeness of the Catholic Church and of her commitment to the promotion of fraternal relations and theological dialogue, in order that those obstacles which still impede full communion between us may be overcome. May the Lord bless our common efforts in this regard, so that the disciples of Christ may again be united witnesses before the whole world to His salvific love".
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KYIV (22 JAN 2010) — In answer to the question of a correspondent of Week information agency about a possible meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and the Moscow’s statements that the meeting is obstructed by problems connected with the situation between the Orthodox of the Moscow Patriarchate and Greek Catholics in Western Ukraine, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovich stressed that such a meeting is very important as it will be the first one in history. RISU's Ukrainian-language web site posted this story on January 22, 2010.

“The meeting of the Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow will be an event of special significance for both the Catholic Church and the Moscow Patriarchate. It never happened in history. Such a meeting could become an icon of the 21^st century.  One should note that at the official level, the Holy See and Russian Federation have recently established full diplomatic relations. Of no less importance is the fact that the Catholic Church and the Moscow Patriarchate promote identical positions as to firmness of moral and religious values and the support of the Christian identity of the European continent.”

As for whether it is worth while to sacrifice the interests and feelings of the five million Greek Catholics of Ukraine who have proven their loyalty to the Apostolic See during the years of persecutions, for the sake of such an icon, the nuncio believes that “this should be viewed from the viewpoint of the ecumenical context.”

“We should not even discuss the claims of the Moscow Patriarchate as to the return of Orthodox parishes to Greek Catholics in Western Ukraine, even though we consider them unjust. It is better not to discuss what, how, and why it happened. Someone can call it naïve optimism. But optimism is always wise,” answered the archbishop.

As for the unity of churches, the archbishop stressed that all popes in the 20^th century spoke in their spiritual testaments about the inevitability of Christian unity.

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Lviv - On January 24, 2010, in Kyiv, in the St. Basil the Great Church (Voznesenskyj Uzviz, 7, near the Lviv Square), the Institute of Church History of the Ukrainian Catholic University will present the exhibition “Toward the Light of Resurrection through the Terrains of Catacombs.” The exhibition is devoted to the 20^th anniversary of the emergence of the UGCC from the catacombs and its official legalization. The presentation of the exhibition will take place after the Divine Liturgy which will begin at 10:00 a.m. It is also possible to visit the exhibit after the prayer for Christian unity, which will begin the same day at 6:00 p.m. (An interdenominational prayer will take place as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity).

The exhibition includes materials from the institute, including memoirs of eyewitnesses and active participants of the underground which were collected during 1992-2009, documents of the state’s archives, and pictures from private collections. In the exhibition are shown the histories of representatives of Greek Catholic clergy, monasticism, and the laity – each of which had a unique human fate. All together they are the witnesses of deep Christian faith and unshakable loyalty to the Church and nation. The exhibition covers the period from 1939 to 1991 and represents the three important stages of the tragic, yet heroic, history of the UGCC of the 20^th century: the violent liquidation, underground activity, and legalization in 1989.

The creators of the project hope the materials of the photo exhibit will summarize and present the position of the whole Church in the conditions of the persecution and expose the forms of resistance and underground activity of clergy and laity and their methods of struggle for the recognition of their rights.

“With this exhibition the Institute of Church History aims to express gratitude to the known and unknown martyrs and confessors of faith, who with their great deeds make it possible for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to regenerate on Ukrainian soil renewed and enriched,” remarked Fr. Andrey Mykhaleyko, PhD, director of the Institute of Church History, for the Information Department.

Information Department of the UGCC

Background information

In the 20^th century millions of Ukrainians became victims not only of wars and armed conflicts but also totalitarian systems and the misanthropic ideas propagated by them. A victim of intentional religious persecution and conscious implantation of atheism became the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). Violence against the rebellious church organized by the Soviet authority and its repressive organs was completed by the so-called Lviv “council” in 1946, where the church officially stopped to exist and “joined” the Russian Orthodox Church. Liquidated and forbidden by Stalin’s regime, the UGCC began a new page of history – the history of brave and heroic resistance, of unshakable spirit and greatness of faith for Christ and His final victory over the forces of darkness. The fight of Greek Catholics to protect their civil rights became not only a component of opposition again the totalitarian regime, but also the process of democratization and the Ukrainian national revival in the late 1980s.

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Belgrade - In accordance with the Statute of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the office of enthronement of His Holiness Irinej, the newly elected Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, took place after the hierarchal liturgy at the Cathedral of the Holy Archangels in Belgrade on 23 January 2010, the next day after the election.

His Holiness Patriarch Irinej officiated in concelebration with the hierarchs and clerics of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Also concelebrating were Bishop Peter of Cleveland, administrator of the Chicago and Mid-America diocese of the Russian Church Abroad, and archpriest Vitaly Tarasjev, representative of the Moscow Patriarchate and rector of the Russian Orthodox Church metochion in Belgrade.

At the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Amphilohije of Crna Gora and Primorje, who was elected locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne after the demise of His Holiness Patriarch Pavle, presented His Holiness Patriarch Irinej with patriarchal insignia: the panagia of St. Sabbas of Serbia, the 18^th century staff of Archbishop of Krusedol and Metropolitan Maxim of Karlovci, and placed a white klobuk on the Patriarch’s head. Metropolitan Amphilohije recollected the life, exploits and selfless ministry of the former Serbian primates and wished His Holiness to be a worthy successor of St. Sabbas of Serbia, other saints, and his esteemed predecessors.

His Holiness Patriarch Irinej emphasized in his address that the day of Patriarchal enthronement was a great day for him, for the Serbian Orthodox Church and people of Serbia. The Serbian Patriarchs have always presented the entire life of his people before God and history, while sharing the people’s destiny, their tragedies and joys. His Holiness said, “my heart trembles as a leaf in the wind, when I ponder over my worthiness of so high a title, such honour and responsibility.”

“Therefore I am thinking of God, our Saviour, the Archpastor of the Church Who rewarded my by His kindness and mercy,” His Holiness added.

His Holiness Irinej paid a particular attention to the importance of Kosovo to the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian people. Having reminded the worshippers of the words from the Psalms, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither!” (137:5), he said that his second and the major enthronement would take place at the Patriarchate of Peć, Kosovo and Metochia, the ancient seat of the Serbian Primates.

The enthronement at Peć is expected to take place after Holy Pascha.

Attending the divine service were President of the National Assembly of Serbia Slavica Đukić Dejanović; Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković; Prime Minister of the Republika of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Milorad Dodik, successor to the throne Alexander Karageorgievich with his wife; minister of religions of the Serbian government Prof. Bogoljub Šijaković; Serbian minister of internal affairs Ivica Dačić; Belgrade Mayor Dragan Đilas; diplomatic representatives of some countries, as well as representatives of churches and religious associations of Serbia, including apostolic nuncio Archbishop Orlando Antonini and Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislaw Hočevar (Roman Catholic  Church); reis-ul-ulema of the Islamic community of Serbia Adem Zilkić; Supreme Mufti of the Muslims of Serbia Muhamed Jusufspahić, and other officials.

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Crestwood, NY - The Publishing House of St. Vladimir’s Theological seminary, New York, USA, released an audiodisc with “The Divine Liturgy” by Archbishop Hilarion (Alfeyev).

“The Divine Liturgy” was composed by Archbishop Hilarion in the first decade of June 2006. It was performed for the first time at the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi, Moscow, on 6 July the same year, the feast day of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. The first concert performance of several pieces took place at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire in December 2006.

The recording released by St. Vladimir’s seminary was made not in a studio or a concert hall, but at the divine service celebrated by Archbishop Hilarion (Alfeyev) at the Church of St. Nicholas on-the-Three-Hills in Moscow.

The choir of the State Tretyakov gallery conducted by the honoured artist of Russia Alexei Puzakov performed the hymns.

The album that includes twenty-six pieces was released with a booklet telling about the composition and its author, Archbishop Hilarion (Alfeyev), and the choir of the Tretyakov gallery.