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On April 2, 2008, His Beatitude Lubomyr, Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych, signed a decree which, on the basis of the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC which last year was held in Philadelphia, proclaimed the convocation of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church 2008. The synod will take place in Lviv from September 2 to 9. His Beatitude Lubomyr calls the faithful of the Church to pray for the preparation and conduct of the synod so that its work will be fruitful for the life of the UGCC.

“Today numerous amounts of faithful live beyond the boundaries of Ukraine. The task to improve spiritual care for all our people and also to strengthen church structures stands before the Church. During the years of persecution these structures were destroyed and now for 15 years we have been trying to revive them according to canon law and the necessities of our Church,” – the Head of the UGCC said, talking about the aim of this year’s synod.

According to information from His Beatitude Lubomyr, the main theme of the synod in 2008 is evangelization. “Evangelization is sharing the faith with those who have not received it yet, and with those in whom it was weakened. In the post-Soviet period we see that for many people the knowledge and understanding of God is very superficial. The task of the Church, forcing no one to the divine word, is to present the truths of the faith. To help people to understand their own vocation is a vital task,” explained the Head of the UGCC.

In 2008, as in 2007 and first in 2006, clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church are invited to participate in the preparation of the next Synod of Bishops of the UGCC. About this the Head of the UGCC in particular said: “In past years we called priests, monks and laity desiring to express themselves about the theme of the Synod to send their thoughts to the Secretariat of the Synod. Many members of our Church did this, for which we are very thankful to them. The secretariat familiarized itself with their propositions, and on their basis made conclusions which later were given to all the bishops as part of the materials of the Synod. Particular ideas indeed enriched our discussion.

“This year we want to repeat such an attempt, considering its positive experience, in view of the fact that the Holy Spirit operates in various methods and through various people. That is why we invite the members of our Church, if they feel that they have ideas which could help to develop fruitfully the main theme of the Synod, to express them in writing.”

We ask all interested persons to send their reflections until June 30, 2008, to the address of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC (Riznytska, St. 11B/28-29, Kyiv, 01001) or by e-mail: synod@ugcc.org.ua with a note “About evangelization.”

Information Department of the UGCC