The Catholic World Report ran this story on Patriarch Sviatoslav the other day.
“Ten years ago last month, the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church took a striking decision: it elected its youngest member, 40-year old Bishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, as leader of the largest of the eastern Catholic Churches, a choice confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI, writes George Weigel. He has more than ably filled very large shoes.”
The article “Light from the East.”
Vladyka Mykola (Bychok), the newest bishop of the UGCC consecrated today on the Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit to be Bishop of the Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand.
May God grant many years.
Dear Parishioners of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church:
It is apparent that parishioners will not be able to attend the Divine Liturgies in our church at least until April 30. Realizing that this is a very extraordinary and difficult time in all aspects of our life today, we humbly ask for your continued financial support by mailing in your donations until such time that the physical presence of our parishioners in church is restored. These weekly donations are the main source of income for our parish and are needed to meet our mission and our budget. Thank you for your generosity.
Please be so kind as to place your donation into your weekly donation envelope and enclose that into an envelope addressed to:
St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church
569 George Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Let us pray for the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary so that she may cover the whole world with her Spiritual Veil and guide us through this turbulent time. And please be assured of my continued prayers for the spiritual needs of all our parishioners.
Very truly yours in Christ,
Fr. Iura Godenciuc
For those parishioners in need of food or other groceries, Father Iura is offering to purchase. We are looking to respond to this need for our parish elderly and shut-ins need.
If you are need, or are able to assist Father, please call 203-865-0388.
“Whatever you did for one of these least ones of mine, you did for me.” (Jesus Christ)
VATICAN – Holy Father Francis has appointed Bishop George Demetrio Gallaro as the new Secretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches. Published on Tuesday February 25, 2020, at noon Italian time in the Sala Stampa, the former Bishop of the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi di Sicilia was appointed to the rank of titular Archbishop as well.
George Demetrio Gallaro was born on January 16, 1948 in Sizilien Pozzallo, Italy. After his seminarian studies at the seminary of Noto, he moved to the United States and was ordained a priest in 1972 in Los Angeles. He worked as a parish priest in various parishes of the Eastern Rite in the United States, and in 1987 he was incardinated in the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton.
Archbishop Gallaro taught Canon Law at the Melkite Seminary in Massachusetts and he also served as a professor of Canon Law at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Pittsburgh, PA. On March 31, 2015 he was named by Pope Francis as a bishop of the Italo-Albanian Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi. He was consecrated a bishop on June 28 by the bishop of Lungro Donato Oliverio as principal consecrator, and the bishops Dimitrios Salachas and Nicholas James Samra as co-consecrators.
Axios!
Abbot Nicholas (Zachariadis) of the Holy Resurrection Monastery (Wisconsin) gave a non-scholarly talk on celibacy, marriage and priesthood. It is relevant to Byzantine Catholics (…and others).A 3 minute video on the US Eastern Bishops making the Ad Limina Apostolorum this week.
Be familiar with a venerable tradition of the church of bishops praying at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, meeting with the successor of Saint Peter and meeting with the heads of the important offices at the Holy See and the Vatican.
The Eastern Catholic Bishops in the USA have been in Rome this week for their every 5 year pilgrimage to the Shrines of Saints Peter and Paul, meetings with the various offices at the Holy See and a meeting with the Pope. 
As we celebrate both the mystery of baptism and the search for Christian unity through dialogue, we see the unity of the two in the sacramental mystery of our baptism: “The fact that our churches share and practice this same faith and teaching requires that we recognize in each other the same baptism and thus also recognize in each other, however “imperfectly,” the present reality of the same Church. By God’s gift we are each, in St. Basil’s words, “of the Church.” (Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, “Baptism and ‘Sacramental Economy’: An Agreed Statement, 1999). Ecumenism is the search for unity among all Christians. Unity must be established on truth, but we know that God is Truth (John 14:6).
The Truth that is God, we as human beings must state in human words. No human word can grasp the whole truth that is the Word. There are many different words and formularies, and even that which is certainly true can be expressed in different ways. Even very basically, that which was expressed in Greek, must for most of us be translated into English words! To express the truth requires hard work, understanding and discernment. The way of ecumenism is through dialogue, to strive to see in our limited human formularies what is the unchanging truth and what is not genuine. We see this especially in the dialogues between Catholics and the Oriental Orthodox Church, and also between the Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, where the differences in formulary have been recognized to be semantic and not essential.
The opposition to ecumenism, however, is fundamentalism. Fundamentalism rises from an underlying human need to be certain of one’s own self-righteousness. How I believe is right and everyone else is wrong. Deep-seated fundamentalism leads eventually to intolerance, ideology imposed on people, hatred and eventually violence. The world today is soaked through with hatred ideology and violence, with the dehumanization of “the other.” It is not a good atmosphere for the gospel of ecumenism. But as St. Paul said, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). If two people disagree, but have a good heart, they can find the common truth through dialogue. Sometimes we point to history as the taking of a strong stand, of condemning those who have the wrong “formularies,” as the righteous rejection of “heresies.”
Unity, Communion (Koinonia) Fostering the spiritual unity of Christ’s church And Promoting the Unity of all Christians (ecumenism)
From the Pastoral Letter of His Beatitude Sviatoslav Fostering and Serving Unity
The Acts of the Apostles convey a sense of profound unity which existed among the members of the first community of Christ’s disciples: “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common”.(Act 4:32). This spiritual state of being of the first Christian community can be expressed with the term koinonia (communion) which conveys unity, harmony and common life. To be Church is to abide in the communion of the Holy Spirit, the grace of our Lord Jesus, and the love of God the Father. Thus, the unity of the church is an icon of the unity of Persons of the Holy Trinity. This unity can be seen on different levels: on the level of the Universal and Particular Church, the eparchy, and the individual parish. It may happen that through our weakness and sinfulness we do not reflect this unity. Ever aware of this, we all must cherish and foster unity, preserving full communion with the successor of the apostle Peter, the Holy Father, with the hierarchy of our Church, with the local bishops and pastors who act in their name.
The parish is a community of communities. In a parish there will be various prayer groups, brotherhoods, and youth organizations. All of these are called to strengthen unity and love among the members of the parish community. By supporting one another through prayer, by sharing God’s gifts and working together in a Christ-like spirit of service, we will be able to bring to life our synodal program: “Holiness of a united people of God.” We cannot be indifferent to the fact that the descendants of the Baptism under St. Volodymyr today are divided and estranged from one another. At the Last Supper, Christ prayed to His Heavenly Father for His disciples, “that all may be one” (John 17:21). Bearing in mind these words of Christ, I sincerely ask you all today – let us pray for the unity of the Church, let us pray for the restoration of unity of all the churches of the Kyivan tradition. And above all, in the spirit of the love of Christ, let us make every effort to avoid any words or actions which could damage our brothers and sisters in Christ or offend them. Even though at times we may be subjected to mockery and pressure, let us not give in to the temptation to respond to evil with evil. May Christ’s prayer for his wrong-doers and the teaching of the Apostle of the Nations become a testament for us: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21).
