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The fact that today the Greek Catholics are still facing the most
difficult task – to build a patriarchate – was mentioned by the head of
the UGCC on May 11 in Philadelphia, PA where these days he is on an
official visit.
Patriarch Sviatoslav took part in the celebration of the
45th anniversary of the "St Sophia" Society of Ukrainian Catholics in
the United States. This partnership is doing a great job in restoring
the Patriarchal Fund which should become the foundation for the building
of the Patriarchate of the UGCC.
“It is important that we all join the setup of patriarchal structures
because without this it will not be possible to fully comply with the
will of Patriarch Iosyp,” the Primate emphasized.
“I ask myself and God: what does it mean for us to fulfill our
mission? I look at the actions of Patriarch Iosyp Slipyi and I see that
when he was released from Stalin’s concentration camps he set three
goals for himself, that is, three types of incarnation of God's wisdom
in the mission of his patriarchal ministry,” said the Primate. “The
first task was the creation of an intellectual center, in particular the
Ukrainian Catholic University in the name of St. Clement, the Pope of
Rome; the re-establishment of the Studite monasticism; and the struggle
for the patriarchy ... This is a peculiar spiritual testament of
Patriarch Iosyp for us, his descendants. And this is in line with the
goal and mission that the Lord entrusts to our Church while speaking
through us to our people.”
Patriarch Sviatoslav recalled the efforts of his predecessor, His
Beatitude Lubomyr (Husar), in constructing the Patriarchate of the UGCC.
"His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar said that the Patriarchate is not an end
in itself, but is primarily a tool (means) that we should be an united
and powerful Church which feels itself as a united community and gathers
in the scattering of the existing," said the Greek Catholic spiritual
leader and added, "In order for us to successfully build a patriarchate,
we need to bring our Church to a new level of its life and existence, -
the level of communication, mutual respect and understanding, a shared
responsibility for the fate of the Church and the people.”
In addition, in his speech, the Head of the UGCC also mentioned the
current challenges in Ukraine. He believes that “we should build the
patriarchate and extend our hand to the Orthodox brethren for unity.”
