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Patriarch Addresses
American Bishops

he general session of the United States Conference of

Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was held November 14-16, in
Baltimore, Maryland.
On the first day of its activity, the American bishops were
addressed by Ukrainian Greek Catholic Patriarch Sviatoslav, who
was on a pastoral visit to the Archeparchy of Philadelphia.
Over 300 bishops from all the dioceses and eparchies of the
country greeted His Beatitude.
After an introductory statement noting the recent travails of the
Ukrainian Catholic Church under the oppressive yoke of
Communismand the tenacity of the people to maintain the faith
in clandestine ways, His Beatitude was welcomed with the following words:
It is a great honor for us today to welcome here the head of the
largest Eastern Catholic Church, His Beatitude SvIATOSlAv
(Shevchuk), who was recently elected head of this Church, spoken
by the president of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, in his
His Beatitude
greeting address.
before an image
Patriarch Sviatoslav, on behalf of the UGCC, expressed his
of the Mystical
profound gratitude and recognition to the American bishops for
Supper
their substantial support in the development of the Church:
Approximately eight million of our faithful all over the world will always
remember the support of the American bishops and lay people for the Ukrainian
Greek Catholic Church at the hardest times of the persecution thereof by the
Soviet regime. In addition, since the emergence of our Church from the underground, the USCCB through the National Collection to Aid the Church in Eastern
and Central Europe has provided invaluable financial support for our physical
and pastoral revival.
According to the hierarch, the support has already yielded fruit as the Church
is now in the middle of a revival period: God is blessing us with vocations. In
some of our seminaries, three candidates compete for one place. The average age
of our priests is 35 years. It is wonderful to lead such a young and living church.
Truly the Church is undergoing a new evangelization, so much desired in the
universal Church throughout the world.
In his concluding remarks, Patriarch Sviatoslav expressed his support for the
American Bishops: I would like to express our solidarity with the American
bishops who are just about to make a loud statement on the protection of religious
freedom in public life. I can say that our church has a special understanding of
the importance of religious freedom and consequences of the lack thereof.
The leader of the UGCC wished the bishops to remain the moral authority not
only at home but all over the world.

Pictures from USCCB Internet broadcast

of His Beatitudes address and as bishops
applaud his presentation.

dated material~~deliver by december 10

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NEW STAR 11

December, 2011

Basilian Sisters Centennial

t the end of matins on Sunday, November 6,

2011, the bells at the monastery of the Sisters of
the order of Saint basil the Great in Fox Chase
rang one hundred times, beginning a day-long celebration commemorating 100 years of service in America.
That afternoon, basilian Sisters from around the world,
hierarchs, clergy, former students, friends, community
leaders, companions and supporters of their spiritual journey joined the Sisters of Jesus, Lover of Humanity
Province at a Divine Liturgy of Thanksgiving celebrated
at the ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception in Philadelphia, just a stones throw from the
building situated at the nearby corner of 7th and Poplar
Streets where the Sisters first began their ministry in the
united States.
Celebrants at the Divine Liturgy included metropolitan-Archbishop STeFAN (Soroka); bishop PAuL (Chomnycky, oSbm); bishop JoHN (bura); bishop bASIL
(Losten); present and former Chaplains and Spiritual
Directors, as well as many other clergy.
Among special guests attending and speaking were
General Superior Sr miriam Claire Kowal, oSbm, and
members of her Council; Sr mykolaya Romakh, oSbm,
Provincial Superior of the Holy Trinity Province,
ukraine; mother Georgianna Snihur, oSbm, Superior,
Contemplative Sisters, middletown, New York; Sr Seraphim olsafsky, oSbm, Superior, our Lady of Perpetual
Help Province, uniontown, Pennsylvania; and Sr Lucia
Salkovski, oSbm, Superior, St. macrina Delegature,

brazil.
other major Superiors from around the world were Sr
Anna Piecunko, Poland; Sr Josefa Simova, Presov,
Slovakia; Sr valentina Hadarau, Romania and Sr Anisia
Szewczuk, Australia. Representing the Generalate in
Rome were Sr Joanna Lickvar, Sr Ioana bota and Sr
Ihgnatiya Havrylyk.
In the evening, the festivities continued with a banquet
held at Savoys in Pennsauken, New Jersey, which was
attended by approximately 300 guests. Halyna Keller,
Ceo of the ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit union,
served as mistress of Ceremonies.
In her welcoming remarks, Provincial Superior Sr Dorothy Ann busowski, oSbm, provided an overview of the
work the Sisters accomplished since November, 1911,
the year the founding Sisters of the American Province
arrived in Philadelphia. During the evening, the Sisters
and their work were feted by numerous speakers and celebrated in an interesting and touching series of videotaped interviews with teachers, graduates of educational
institutions they had founded, and others whose lives they
had touched. In turn, the Sisters thanked the many individuals who had been an integral part of their incredible
journey over the past century.
before departing for home, each guest was presented a
special keepsakethe Sisters commemorative centennial book, which traces the spiritual journey of the Province
from its roots in ukraine to its many accomplishments in
the united States.

Videos from the centennial celebration may be viewed at www.thewayukrainian.blogspot.com Additional

information about Jesus, Lover of Humanity Province, is on the Sisters Website at www.stbasils.com

ECED Board Meets

in Indianapolis

embers of the eastern Conference of eparchial Directors of Religious education

(eCeD) have for forty years been meeting in
retreat houses, monasteries, convents, seminaries, or
other venues across the country chosen for proximity to
one or more of the members, who was responsible for
making arrangements.
This pattern allowed the eparchial representatives to
travel to other areas of the country so that a balance
could be found in time and expense involved in participating in the regular meetings.
While considering options, news arrived from the people who had been responsible for fulfilling orders of

God With us Publications. They announced the dissolution of the company on December 31, 2011. With all
our catechetical materials warehoused in Zionsville,
Indiana, it became obvious that a place for the meeting
had to be found near that facility.
It was determined that an on-site look at the facility
and in-person communication with the owner of the
storage site was the best method of addressing the
issue. There was no time to secure a retreat house, but
a motel was found just about two miles away, in Indianapolis.
We met october 31-November 3, discussing the
usual details of eCeD business, and included a visit to
the site of The order Fulfillment Group. even with
new arrangements most of the procedure of ordering
your catechetical material or supplies remains unchanged.

[TOP] The Treasury of Faith Museum depicted a century of history with habited mannequins; [MIDDLE]
Sisters celebrated with Divine Liturgy in the cathedral;
[BOTTOM] and were feted at the banquet hall.

Please note, the address for ordering material on line

is now: godwithusbooks.org
And, for further information, you may also visit:
eced-eca.org .

[LEFT] Dr Barbara Lutz explained many of the

business details. [CENTER] The Board made an
on-site visit to The Order Fulfillment Group warehouse. [TOP] SeATeD: Dr barbara Lutz (Passaic),
bishop NICHoLAS (Samra) (Liaison, ECA),
Fr Gregory Noga (Passaic). STANDING: Fr Paul
voida (Canton), Fr Leonard Korchinski (St
Nicholas), Dr Frances Colie (Newton), Fr vasile
Colopelnic (Stamford), Archpriest John Kachuba
(Parma), Fr elias Rafaj (Pittsburgh),
Fr John Lucas (St Nicholas), and Sr Jean marie
Cihota, oSbm (Phoenix) attended the meeting.

Deacon ordained in Denver

on october 23, in the Parish of the Transfiguration of our Lord, in Denver, Colorado,
bishop RICHARD (Seminack) ordained Joseph
Kashubowsky to the diaconate.
After the Hierarchical Liturgy, there was a
short concert of hymns performed by children of
the parish for His Grace and the parishioners and
guests in the parish hall.
Following the concert all were invited by the
pastor, Fr vasyl Hnatkivskyy to a meal prepared
by the Sisterhood of the parish.
The new deacon washes the hands of
the bishop during the Liturgy.

Fordham Honors Hierarchs

Fordham university in New York
honored two ukrainian hierarchs on
November 20.
The school is run by the Society of
Jesus, and is the alma mater of Patriarch
LubomYR (Husar) who was graduated in
1966. His coat of arms was permanently
installed in the university Church.
Additionally, His beatitude, SvIAToSLAv (Shevchuk) was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities by the
university.
The ceremony cluded choral presentations by three choirs and greetings from

His Beatitude displays the diploma.

university officials and Greek and
ukrainian orthodox Churches as well as
Archbishop Timothy m. Nolan, President of uSCCb, was broadcast live on
the Internet.

12 NEW STAR

VANDALS PAINT SATANIC SYMBOLS ON UGCC

CHAPEL IN KHARKIV: An act of vandalism occurred
on the night of october 23-24. In the morning, the pastor of the community, Fr mykola Semenovych, saw
satanic symbols and inscriptions painted with red and
black paint on the chapel. According to the priest, it
happened unexpectedly--he had received no prior
threats.
but this is not the first problem that recently befell
the community. Recently, it was robbed--electrical
appliances (copper wires, insulators), four sections of
metal fencing and broken electric meter were stolen.
The community found itself without electricity.
According to Fr mykola, in 1997 the congregation
asked the local authorities to allocate land for the construction of a church. In 1999 the city government provided land, but already in 2001 the then head of the
Kharkiv Governor Yevhen Kushnaryov sought to abolish the decision. Through the publics efforts and the
media, the community managed to protect its rights. In
2003, it received permission to develop land. but it
never managed to get through all the red tape to start
construction. According to the priest, to start building,
they needed to get about 100 permits.
So two years ago a temporary chapel was built for
worship. It was this chapel that was vandalized.

December, 2011
Catholic Churches of europe, said bishop boHDAN
(Dziurakh), Secretary of the Synod of bishops, who
took part in this meeting.
Fr. borys Gudziak, Ph.D., rector of uCu, reported
on the state of the eastern Catholic Churches after the
fall of communism. The meeting was attended by
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the president of the
Pontifical Council to promote the new evangelization,
who presented the main topic of discussion, Cardinal
Peter erdo, Archbishop of esztergom-budapest, who
heads the Council of european bishops' Conferences,
and Archbishop CYRIL (vasil'), Secretary of the Congregation for eastern Churches. Patriarch SvIAToSLAv
(Shevchuk) was to speak.
The theme of the meeting, You Will be my
Witnesses: evangelization in the Catholic eastern
Churches in europe, is a kind of an appeal to the new
evangelization, which the pope spoke about a few years
ago. This poses before the bishops two tasks: on the
one hand, to cure, with the grace of God, the spiritual
emptiness that was left behind the Communist regime,
and, on the other, to mitigate the distortion of spiritual
values, caused by a wave of secularism, which is coming from the secular environment of Western europe,
said bishop bohdan.
According to the bishop, reflections on this topic
should help the Catholic bishops of europe to respond
to the call of the Holy Father and to contribute to the
evangelization of the european continent.

quality video archives, we have subscribed to the software GoToWebinar.

All interested in participating in future webinars,
please go to this link www3.gotomeeting.com/register/949870182() and fill out a special form. After registration you will receive in your email a confirmation
of registration and a link to connect. The link will be
active during the webinar. In addition, one hour before
the webinar all registered participants will receive a
reminder in their e-mails.

COME AND SEE WEEKEND: As the Sisters of St.

basil the Great Jesus Lover of Humanity Province
move and plan for the next 100 years of Service in the
united States, Sister Ann Laszok, oSbm and Sister
Joann Sosler, oSbm have been appointed as Covocation Directors. The ministry is vast and we invitematurewomen to join us in prayer, community and
ministry.

UGCC Information Department

Sisters Joann and Anninviteinterested single women
ORTHODOX, CATHOLICS TO REFLECT ON
to attend a "Come and See" weekend, a time to spend
COMMON ETHICS: Catholics and orthodox gathered

GREEK CATHOLICS IN ROMANIA ATTEND

with the Sisters in prayer, community and ministry,
SERVICES IN ORTHODOX AND ROMAN CATH- in minsk last month to discuss how their shared ethical
march 16-18, 2012 at the basilian Sisters motherOLIC CHURCHES: ukrainian priests of the Greek values can be a contribution to europe's social fabric.
housein Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. various other events
Catholic vicariate of Romania report that they lack
clergymen and many lay people attend services in the
orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. The

ukrainians also talked about the preservation of the

identity of uGCC in Romania and showed support for
closer connection with the Kyivan mother Church at
the hierarchy and pastoral level.
bishop Josef invited the faithful of uGCC of
Romania to participate in the consecration of the
Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv in 2013, and the
Secretary of the Pastoral missionary Department of
uGCC, Fr. vasyl Potochniak, who accompanied the
bishop, invited them to the summer pilgrimage to
Zarvanytsia next year.
uGCC of Romania includes 13 parishes and 7 smaller communities. Some of the priests studied in
ukrainian seminaries and then, studied for degrees in
Rome. The communities constitute two Greek Catholic
Deaneries: bukovyna and maramorsh (Zakarpatia)
ones led by the General vicar, Fr. Ivan voloshchuk.
Services are conducted in several churches, which were
returned to the Greek Catholics, and in newly-built
chapels and renovated buildings.

FOURTEEN UGCC BISHOPS PARTICIPATE IN

MEETING OF EUROPEAN BISHOPS OF EASTERN
CATHOLIC CHURCHES: This year's meeting of bishops of eastern Catholic Churches, held annually under
the auspices of the Council of european bishops'
Conferences, was November 3-6, in oradea, Romania.
Representatives from fourteen eastern Catholic
Churches, including fourteen bishops from ukraine,
will speak about the new evangelization in eastern

The November 13-15 international conference was

organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian unity, the Institute for Interreligious
Dialogue and the Synod of the orthodox Church of
belarus, and the international NGo Sts. Cyril and
methodius Christian educational Center of belarus. It
is supported by the Catholic Archdiocese of minskmogilev.
Topics included social ethics, the global economic
crisis and the crisis of faith, Christian values and the
modern legal system, and the issue of Church-state
relations.
on November 14, an interreligious concert included
orthodox and Catholic hymns, in addition to secular
musical from famous composers in keeping with the
spirit of the conference.

METROPOLITAN CONSTANTINE OF UKRAINIAN

ORTHODOX CHURCH, USA RECOVERING AFTER
SURGERY:metropolitan Constantine, the Primate of
ukrainian orthodox Church of
the uSA underwent a medical
procedure on monday october
31, 2011, which required heart
surgery. The procedure was successful and the metropolitan was
to remain in the hospital for a few
days of recovery.
The ukrainian orthodox
Church of the uSA included a
special petition for metropolitan Constantine's good
health during the Divine Liturgy.

UGCC HELD WEBINAR: on November. 3, the

uGCC continued its project of on-line seminars on the
history of the Church. The first webinar was dedicated
to The Historical background of the Development of
eastern Christian Churches: unity in multiplicity. Fr.
Dr. Andriy myhaleyko, director of the Institute of Church
History at the ukrainian
Catholic university, led the
webinar.
To properly conduct webinars, provide uninterrupted
connectivity and form high-

are being planned.

Sisters Ann and Joann will also be available to parishesfor talks and presentations on various topics.For additional information please check thevocations Tab on the
Sisters of St. basil the Great Jesus Lover of Humanity
Province website, www. stbasils.com or call Sr Joann
(215-379-3998 ext 16) orSr Ann (412-260-1607)

BISHOP RETIRES; SUCCESSOR NAMED: His beatitude SvIAToSLAv (Shevchuk), with the consent of the
Permanent Synod meeting in Curitiba, brazil, on
September 10, and having informed the Apostolic See,
has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of
the eparchy of Sambir-Drohobych, ukraine, presented
by bishop JuLIAN (voronovsky)
mSu in accordance with canon
210 para. 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. He
is succeeded by Coadjutor bishop JARoSLAv (Pryriz CSsR).
bishop Julian, who turned 74
in may, headed the Sambir-Drohobych eparchy since its establishment in 1993. Since march
2006, he was helped by Auxiliary
bishop JARoSLAv (Pryriz), named
in April 2010, bishop coadjutor of the eparchy.
Pastoral care of the faithful--around 400 thousand
people--is provided by nearly 300 priests in 220 parishes, united in 20 deaneries.
Ukrainian Service of Radio Vatican

CATHOLIC AND ORTHODOX BISHOPS OF UKRAINE

ATTEND UNVEILING OF VATICAN CHRISTMAS
TREE: For the first time, a Christmas tree from
ukraine was raised in the vatican, delivered as a gift to
Pope benedict XvI from the Carpathian mountains.
Trees for the Apostolic Palace were delivered
December 5 from the Lviv region.
Not only ukrainian bishops of Latin and byzantine
rites but also representatives of the ukrainian orthodox
Church attended the unveiling of the vatican Christmas Tree. The agreement was made during a meeting
between Patriarch SvIAToSLAv (Shevchuk), and a representative of metropolitan voLoDYmYR (Sabodan),
continued on page 13

NEW STAR 13

December, 2011

Why?/Why:

By Fr Denny Molitvy

Some weeks ago some members of our family

requested a private Liturgy for a family member.
There were perhaps five or six people there, and I
offered to help Father with the incense, and opening
and closing doors.
As I stood while he was cutting the bread I noticed
he placed about twenty or more pieces of bread on
the diskos. I reminded him that we didn't need so
much bread, and asked why he wasted the whole little loaf, and he might want to save some for another
time. He just pointed to a big prayer card on the wall
above the table and said I have to do what the
prayers say. Why be so extravagant?
Your question is about one thingbut in getting to it
several other points were mentioned. First: There is no
such thing as a private Liturgy. The Liturgy is the
public prayer of the Churchand irrespective of how
many persons are physically in attendance, the whole
Church is praying. Also, if you made any donation to
the priest, the Liturgy is not bought or hired, as
some think. Father may have accepted whatever you
offered in order to place your petition(s) at the Throne
of Godthe Holy Table (or altar).
Second: It is commendable that your family gathered
together in the church for thiswhether you prayed for
someone living or deceased. Third: often people feel
that the Liturgy is the priests job and he should be
left to his own capability to handle the incense, carry
candles in procession, open and close the doors, chant
the proper prayers and read the Apostolic writings. To
help out shows you understand the role of others in the
services. Some seem to be shy or feel too old to
assist. There is no age limit for an altar server. most
assuredly your help was appreciated, and allowed

Posada

e are a world-wide Church in a globalized

world. Circumstances have spread our
membership far beyond the borders of
Galicia where my grandparents swore allegiance to
Franz Joseph and the Habsburgs, far beyond the
boundaries of Soviet ukraine where people groaned
under an oppressive yoke, far beyond the territories
most recently governed by two viktorsnamely,
Yuschenko and Yanukovych. We are no longer diaspora; rather, we are firmly rooted in such far-flung places
as Austria and Australia, Argentina and brazil, Detroit
and San Diego, Houston and Seattle, minneapolis and
minot and mishawaka. In these places, we encounter
and are enriched by cultures which we find strange
because they are so different from ours.
my priory in Chicago is located in a neighborhood
called Pilsen, which is basically a mexican barrio. In
this season, Pilsen will witness the re-enactment of an
ancient mexican tradition known as the posada. This
tradition recalls the Holy Familys wanderings through
the streets of bethlehem as Joseph desperately sought
a place where the virgin-mother could give birth to the
Savior of the world. In the posada, children dressed up
like the homeless mary and Joseph wander from house
to house in search of welcome.
ukrainians can relate: for over a century, our people
have found themselves far from their homes
strangers in strange lands, dependent on the hospitality
of others. Dominicans can relate: we are itinerant,
which means that we move from place to place, stopping wherever human interaction elicits the Gospel
from useither through our words, or through the witness of our lives. Faith-filled ukrainian refugees and
wandering preachers know instinctively the truth that
St. Augustine put into words: that our hearts are restless until they rest in God.
How far we are from this happy ending is seen in
our restlessness, in the frenetic mobility of our society:
like those on a merry-go-round reaching for the brass
ring, people whirl about in search of the illusive peace
which seems just beyond their fingertips. What of the
venerable institutions which resist the siren-song of
nanosecond popularity followed by instant obsoles-

Father to do what he was asked to do: pray attentively

for your intention without distraction or interruption.
Fourth: Cutting the bread is not done as if it were a
commodity to be rationed according to a consumer's
economic perspective. our ritual calls for the use of
five (or a minimum, one) small loaves of bread for the
Divine Liturgy. The bread (prosphora) is stamped with
the initials IC, XC and the word NIKA nestled in
the spaces formed by the intersection of the horizontal
and vertical bars of a cross.
A large section of the loafthe Lambwith that
inscription [Jesus Christ Conquers (the Cross)] is
removed from the loaf, eventually to become the body
and blood of Christ. From this the people partake of
the eucharist (Communion)--each receiving a portion
from the same loaf, a symbol of our togetherness as
part of the one body of Christ (the Church).
Further, the Lamb is pierced with a spear-like
lance just prior to adding wine and a bit of water to the
chalice. This imitates and symbolizes Christ's sacrifice
on the crossenacted now in an unbloody way for us,
as bread is sanctified to become Christs body.
The rest of the pieces the priest cuts from the loaf
commemorate the mother of God; the choirs of angels
and the ranks of saintsmartyrs, apostles, ascetics, for
example; and particles are placed in rows commemorating the living and the deceasedmentioning by
name those very ones you requested to be remembered
at the service. During the prayer he really did not have
the time to explain all this to you at that moment.
Perhaps you can look at the large prayer card Father
showed you (or find a copy of the prayers) and see that
there is no wastefulness involved. During the

cence? old neighborhoods are abandoned by people in

search of greener pastures elsewhere; long-established
parishes decline. Ancestral languages and traditions are
lost, rote-learning and old answers are abandoned or
forgotten. We seem destined to live out the words of
the book of ecclesiastes: There is an appointed time
for everything, a time for every affair under the heavens: a time to be born, a time to die ... a time to tear
down, a time to build a time to seek, a time to lose,
a time to keep, a time to cast away. (ecclesiastes 3: 16 passim)
All too often, we have put our faith in the earthly
rather than in the divinethat is, in the physical manifestation rather than the deeper reality to which we are
called. We have placed a greater reliance on buildings
and brocade and bank accounts than on God. These
trappings divert our attention from what is important:
since our superficial whims are satisfied by such passing splendors, we pay no attention to the deep hunger
that gnaws at us from within, which only God can satisfy. In the words of ecclesiastes, He has put the timeless into their hearts, without mens ever discovering,
from beginning to end, the work which God has done.
(ecclesiastes 3: 11b) Though covered with the ashes of
our lives, the spark of eternity remains buried within
us: the flame of the Spirit is ready to be kindled to light
the darkness of our lives, to warm the chill of our winter.
As the posadas make their way through the cold,
dark Chicago nights, looking for warmth and light, so
does the Word of God seek hearts where the divine
spark can be stirred to life. As our own ukrainian carolers go from house to house after Christmas, they will
carry a star illuminated from within by a candle. may
this ancient tradition be a sign for all the world that we
have indeed been open to the coming of the Lord, for He alone can
transform us into lanterns of Gods
light for the world. Perhaps then
people will praise God in the words
of the prophet Isaiah: The people
who walked in darkness have seen a
great light; upon those who dwell in
the land of gloom a light has shone.
(Isaiah 9:2)
Fr Jim Karepin, OP

Liturgy, part of that bread is given to those at the

Liturgy, the priest consumes the remainder, after all
have received.
Pieces left from the loaf which were not sanctified
are distributed to those in the church at the conclusion
of the Liturgy. This is a carry-over from earlier times
when people brought bread to the church as part of
their offeringa few loaves were chosen for the Liturgy and the surplus was used to feed the hungry.
As it stands today, the people's offerings are usually
in the form of currency, which is used to support the
parish and its property as well as to fund ministries to
those in need. These can be educational, or be devoted
to health care, supplying food, clothing or shelter, or
any number of needs of those around us, who are to be
served by the Church, in its effort to evangelize the
worldbring the good news (Gospel) to life in a
very real way.
We had a chance to visit relatives in another state. At
a panakhyda I noticed some difference: the priest and
the people included the persons name in some prayers our priest and people do not, and him in the
prayers where we say them. Can both be right?
It seems the best thing to do is to follow the text in
the booklet provided. Prayers of the troparia are purposely written for a general service, and omit mention
of the name or even gender, so as to be applicable to
all, thus causing less confusion when sung by a group.
This can be especially unwieldy if more than one name
is to be mentioned.
Litany prayers are written for specific mention (by the
priest) of the Christian name of the person(s) remembered. Surnames are typically not used. Here he/him/
his or she/her/hers are used as grammatically needed
(or they/them/their) and are included, as indicated by
the text. otherwise, dont change the way it is written.

continued from page 12

Archbishop ALeXANDeR (Drabynko), head of the
Department for external Relations of the uoC.
This is extremely important event because different countries have been waiting for years for this
opportunity. For ukraine it is another testament to its
european roots and belonging to the family of
european nations, said Patriarch Sviatoslav.
The tradition of installing Christmas tree on St.
Peters Square in the vatican began late last century
during the pontificate of John Paul II. Pope benedict
XvI continued this tradition, which brings trees to
the vatican from around the world.
Last year the 94-year-old Christmas spruce which
was one hundred feet tall and weighed 5 tons, was
delivered from the north Italian province of Alto
Adige. The vatican Christmas Tree has been brought
from Austria, Germany, belgium and elsewhere.
UGCC Information Department

UGCC CAteChism Presented in GermAny:

The Catechism of the uGCC Christ is Our Easter
was presented in the Apostolic exarchate for
ukrainian Catholics of byzantine Rite in Germany
and Scandinavia from october 24 to 27 in erfurt.
Apostolic exarch bishop PeTRo (Kryk) notedd the
importance of the Catechism, which will be a great
help to priests in preaching the Word of God.
According to the bishop, the Catechism will help the
faithful of the church understand the uGCC teachings and introduce the teachings to people of other
religions and nationalities.
The three-day presentation of the Catechism was
held under the leadership of one of the authors, Fr.
myron bendyk, Ph.D., who presented the history and
need for writing the Catechism, and introduced all
three of its parts. A discussion was held after his
presentation. one of the important topics raised was
the practical application of the Catechism in the
parishes of the uGCC in Germany and Scandinavia
and the need for a translation into German.
Roman Catholic bishop of erfurt Joachim Wanker
also attended.
RISU

December, 2011

14 NEW STAR

he question of God is central to our faith. There

will always be people who try to come to define
God using the limits of human experience.
Sometimes men of science because of a breakthrough
in their scientific work assume that God does not exist.
They proudly announce they are atheists.
others may look for a God who makes them happy
and believe that Gods purpose is to help them be successful. There are those who belong to a particular
church because of the social networking through which
one might obtain a successful position. This kind of
faith is devoid of our responsibility to our neighbor.
For many of us there is a yearning within us that cannot be satisfied and leads us to believe in God. It is
often deep human struggles that lead many people to
seek God. Some may have been addicted to drugs or
alcohol and have hit rock bottom. Some people realize

God became man

he preparation for the coming of

the messiah and the birth of
Christ has been historically
lengthy. According to matthew, the
genealogy of Christ extends from the
time of Abraham and Sarah, and it progresses through the ancestors of Christ
for forty-two generations. God who acted
in the lives of the patriarchs, judges, and
kings of Israel also acted in the lives of
Joseph and mary in preparing for the
messiahs arrival.
The Gospel accounts of the birth of
Jesus are divine revelations of the mystery of God becoming man. These are

that belief in God is the only way that they will find
meaning in their lives. Some may have faced serious
illness and reach out to God for help. others may face
economic catastrophe and see in the goodness of others, and the way they act, open the way to God. It is
indeed true, that we have within the human person a
yeaning can only be satisfied by an all-knowing and
all-loving God.
The Fathers of the Church lead us to believe that God
is incomprehensible. He is pre-eternal. He is beyond
space, time and gender. He is all-loving, all-wisdom,
and all-holy, and beyond all goodness. All creation is
eternally present to God. We believe in a God Who is
indeed indefinable and that He sent His Son begotten
from Him to save us. We believe that if we follow Him
we will live with Him forever. The early Fathers of the
Church through the study of Sacred Scripture came to
understand that God revealed Himself to Abraham, the
patriarchs and the prophets.
What we believe about God is essential for an understanding of our faith. At the Council of Nicea in 315,
the saintly hierarchs gathered and composed the Creed
that we proclaim during the Divine Liturgy. This Creed
is a statement of our belief of the All Holy one God,
who is Trinity. It is central to our faith. The Tradition
of the Creed was passed on to those who had offered
their names for the reception of the Sacred mysteries of
baptism, Chrismation and eucharist.
Pope benedict gave a series of reflections on the
eastern Fathers of the Church during his General
Audiences. on Wednesday, June 27, he spoke about
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386). He highlighted the
catechesis or teachings that Saint Cyril gave to the catechumens.
The Pope says, of Cyrils writings, twenty-four

not simply historical accounts. They proclaim the revelation of Christs identity
as united with the backgrounds of people
in the old Testament. These proclamations are related to similar conception
stories and birth announcements found in
the old Testament. Therefore, the New
Testament does not hesitate to include
questionable characters in the lineage of
Jesus ancestors, for Gods Son became
man fully and completely. Today, God
continues to tell the story of His Son,
which also includes persons who have
and do reject Him.
If we lose sight of this connection
between the old Testament and the New
Testament, then we will have misunder-

famous catecheses have been preserved, which he

delivered as bishop in 350. Introduced by a
Procatechesis of welcome, the first eighteen of these
are addressed to catechumens or candidates for Illumination (Photizomenoi) [candidates for the Sacred
mysteries]; they were delivered in the basilica of the
Holy Sepulcher. The first ones (nos. 1-5) explain how
those seeking illumination should live. The fourth catechesis specifically explains the Creed.
Catechesis marked an important moment in the
broader context of the whole lifeparticularly liturgicalof the Christian Community, in which the maternal
womb the gestation of the future faithful took place,
accompanied by prayer and the witness of the brethren.
Taken as a whole, Cyrils homilies form a systematic
catechesis on the Christians rebirth through baptism.
He tells the catechumen: You have been caught in the
nets of the Church (mt 13:47). be taken alive, therefore; do not escape, for it is Jesus who is fishing for
you, not in order to kill you, but to resurrect you after
death. Indeed, you must die and rise again (cf. Rom.
6:11,14) Die to your sins and live to righteousness from
this very day. (Procatechesis 5). (Church Fathers,
Pope benedict XvI, Ignatius Press)
Saint Cyril begins by instructing about God when he
says:
There is one God, who is unique, unbegotten, without beginning or change or alteration. He is not begotten by another, and has not one who will succeed to His
life. He did not begin His life in time, nor will He ever
end it. He is good and just. (The fourth catechesis) It
is this All-Holy God that we proclaim through our faith
to those who seek a loving and saving God.
Fr Deacon Michael Cook

stood how early Christians accepted

Scriptures good news. We should
accept it with the same faith they had, in
spite of our own failures. When we see
the victory of Gods grace in the face of
weak, immoral, unimportant persons, we
who are now entrusted to prepare for the
coming of Christ into our lives can have
a firm and deep hope in our own redemption and sanctification.
God has called us who are in the
Church to work together with both the
holy and the ungodly. Thus, those who
say they love Jesus, but leave or abandon
the Church because of some scandal have
not reflected upon the beginning story of
the coming of our Savior. They have

failed to see the total picture, that the

ancestry of Jesus had its flawed persons.
even the history of the Church has
included this same reality. We are not to
be discouaged by this. Rather, we are to
look forward with hope to the coming of
Christ. We can have such hope despite
our own failures, because our hope is
based on the power of Christ, and
because we are members of his body and
we work creatively with love in unity
with Him.

The Challenges
of Discipleship
Office of Faith Formation

Elderlya Blessing and not a Burden Is Aging Sacred?

hen the 20th Century came to a close, the

united Nations celebrated the International
Year of older Persons, announcing the
vision of A Society for All Ages. Today the 21st
Century multigenerational population represents the
longest-living, healthiest, most educated, affluent and
spiritually challenging generation of older adults.
The National Center for Health Statics reports that
more than twenty-five percent of our nations frail elderly live alone, trapped in loneliness and poverty. This
is not the society for all ages envisioned by the united
Nations.
Rather than looking upon the growing numbers of
older persons as a burden, Pope benedict XvI, following his predecessor blessed John Paul IIs example, has
called them a blessing for mankind.
Aging is potentially a stage in life that allows people
to unwrap the gifts of life given by God. every generation can learn tfrom the experience and wisdom of the
generation that preceded it, Pope benedict affirmed in
speaking to elderly persons at St Peters Residence in
London last September. The Pope insisted that the pro-

vision of care for the elderly should be considered not

so much as an act of generosity, but as repayment of a
debt of gratitude.
The Popes message should help us recall some biblical Wisdom. With your whole heart honor your father;
your mothers birth pangs do not forget. (when she is
old (Sir 7: 27:). Then again: my son, be steadfast in
honoring your father; do not grieve him as long as he
lives. even if his mind fails, be considerate of him; do
not revile him because you are in your prime. Kindness
to a father will not be forgotten; it will serve as a sin
offeringit will take lasting root. (Sir. 3:12-14) Also,
we read that Jacob summoned his sons saying to
them,Gather around, that I may tell you what is to happen to you in days to come. (Gen 49: 1).
We need to recognize the blessing elderly are in society and to honor them as icons of God. Pope benedict
asks us to see the elderly as persons imbued withj inviable dignity and thus worthy of our respect and care,
simply because they have been made in the image and
likeness of God and are sustained by His Providence.
Pope benedict said in his first homily as pope that

each person is willed, loved and necessary in Gods eyes. Life itself is a gift
given by God. Therefore, at every stage
from conception until natural death, we
must respect and treat each
person with dignity. The
uSCCb published a statement. To Live each Day with
Dignity found at http/www.
usccb.org/toliveeachday.
The story of every
older person is Gods
story, shaped by Gods
presence in and through that persons experiences. The
components usually are family, love, sufferings work,
and prayer.
The stories of most aging populations reveal a spirituality of those aged persons lives not as burdens or
problems but as blessings to be cherished and celebrated.
Sister Jonathan Wachko, OSBM

NEW STAR 15

December, 2011

Greek and Roman Catholics of

Ukraine to Issue Joint Statement
on Pseudo Catholics

n october 26, 2011, in Lviv-briukhovychi, a

joint meeting of the members of the Synod of
bishops of the Kyiv-Halych Supreme
Archbishopric of the ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church (uGCC) and Conference of bishops of the
Roman Catholic Church (RCC) in ukraine was held.
The meetings were attended by Catholic bishops of
ukraine and the new Apostolic Nuncio in ukraine,
Archbishop Thomas Gullickson.
on october 24-25, the bishops attended joint spiritual exercises (recollections) conducted by a known
theologian and artist, Fr. marko Ivan Rupnik.

The purpose of the brotherly meeting is dual: to support and develop friendly
relations between the bishops and discuss questions
which are common for everyone. This time we concentrate on the question of
evangelization. We would
like to meditate on it and
give an answer to ourselves
as to how we should provide
pastoral care to meet the
spiritual needs of our faithful
and the ukrainians who do
not identify themselves with
any Church. Also, we would
like to analyze the activity of
various pseudo church structures who claim to be members of the Catholic Church.
There are several of them in ukraine and we would
like to publish our joint statement as to their activity,
said the Head of uGCC, Patriarch Sviatoslav in a
commentary to the http://risu.org.ua/ugcc.org.ua\n
_blank Information Department of uGCC.
on october 27-28, after the brotherly meeting, both
bishoprics held separate sessions. The bishops of
uGCC held the 54th session of the Synod of bishops
of Kyiv-Halych bishops of RCC the 36th session of
the Conference of bishops of the Roman Catholic
Church.

Archbishop of Lviv: It used to be

difficult to think that Pope John Paul II
could come to Ukraine

n october 21, Patriarch

Sviatoslav, attended the
oratorio Totus Tuus in
honor of the 10th anniversary of
the papal visit to ukraine in June
2001. Archbishop of Lviv bishop
IHoR (vozniak) welcomed the
guests in the Lviv Regional Philharmonic, reports the press service
of the Lviv Archeparchy.
myroslav volynskyi composed
the oratorio for soloists, a chorus,
orchestra and reader. Anna
volyonksa was the author of the
piece, which was based on texts of
Pope John Paul II.
In the dictionary, oratorio is de-

fined as a composition with a dramatic plot and intended for concert

performance, said the archbishop.
What is dramatic about the arrival
of blessed John Paul II to
ukraine? asks the archbishop of
Lviv. maybe the fact that it had
been so difficult to think that such
a time would come when the Holy
Father would visit ukraine.
The strong influence of past
communist ideology, enslavement
of the people, people's fear, unbelievers resistance, and many politicians objections greatly diminished the chance for a papal visit.
Despite these adverse and unfortu-

nate circumstances, everything

came out differently and the visit
took place. God's will was positive. This oratorio, in my humble
opinion, fully complies with the
requirements of such a respected
work, said Archbishop Ihor.
The uGCC Lviv Archeparchy
together with the Andrey Foundation and the Lviv branch of the
ukrainian National music union
organized the oratorio. mykhailo
Perun thought of the idea.
UGCC Information Department

Fr. marko rupnik Conducteds retreat

for Catholic Bishops in Ukraine

he famous modern artist and theologian Father

marko Ivan Rupnik conducted a retreat for the
bishops of the Roman Catholic and ukrainian
Greeek Catholic churches october 24-26 in Lvivbriukhovychi. According to Patriarch Sviatoslav, one
of the most interesting contemporary Catholic theologians was invited to the retreat. In europe, Fr. Rupnik
is famous for his mosaics. In particular, he installed the
mosaic in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace in the

vatican, in the basilica, where Padre Pio and other

famous Christians in europe are buried.
Annual retreats with members of the episcopal
Conference of the Roman Catholic Church in ukraine
and the uGCC Synod of bishops are held in response
to the desire of Pope benedict XvI. He wants the representatives of the episcopates of the Latin and
byzantine Churches to hold meetings and create internal unity in the Catholic Church between them in

Monument of Blessed
John Paul II Unveiled
in Zhytomyr

undreds of Zhytomyr residents as well as the

Polish Consul General in vinnytsia.
Krzysztof Swiderek and other distinguished
guests came together at the Castle Square of the city
in front of the Roman Catholic St. Sophia Cathedral.
The monument, showing the Pope standing on a high
pedestal, was erected to commemorate the 10th
anniversary of his apostolic visit to ukraine, informs
www.day.kiev.ua The Day newspaper.
The mayor volodymyr Deboy saw the construction
of a monument as a sign and a step in that direction.
Assistant priest of the cathedral, Father Yaroslav
Hizhytsky said that the date of the unveiling, october
22, was chosen due to the fact that the Roman
Catholic Church first honored John Paul II as blessed
on that day (the current Pope benedict XvI officially
beatified his predecessor, that is, recognized him to be
one of the blessed, on may 1 this year), so Zhytomyr
participated in the worldwide celebration of his memory. on this day 33 years ago, having been elected the
Pope, John Paul II entered St. Peters basilica in
Rome.
Zhytomyr parishioners were supported in their
desire to erect a monument to blessed John Paul II by
Archbishop Petro malchuk, ordinary of the KyivZhytomyr Diocese, while the parish priest of the St.
Sophia Cathedral Father Hryhorii put much effort into
it, too. The Zhytomyr Catholics also appreciated help
from the city council and city architects who assisted
them in dealing with various issues, including legal
ones, related to the monuments erection.
We should also add that another monument to
blessed John Paul II was erected in moscow, in the
courtyard of the All-Russian State Library for Foreign
Literature almost simultaneously with the Zhytomyr
one. before Zhytomyr, monuments to the late pontiff
appeared in a number of ukrainian cities, including
Kyiv, Lviv, and odesa.

ukraine, explained the patriarch.

Speaking about the retreat leader, His beatitude
noted that he is God's blessing for us and that his teaching is very constructive for us.
The main topic of Rupniks teachings are the basic
principles of spiritual life. According to the priest,
humanity is valuable only when it is filled with the
Holy Spirit, when it lives a spiritual life.
on Wednesday, october 26, after the retreat, the
ninth meeting between the Catholic bishops of the
byzantine and the Latin Churches was held.
UGCC Information Department

16 NEW STAR

December, 2011

Primate Calls "All Ukrainian People of God to Join

Pilgrimage to Rome"

"m

y great predecessor of blessed memory

Patriarch JoSYF (Slipyj), having arrived in Italy
after 18 years in prison and hard labor and
being witness to the destruction of churches on his native land,
decided to donate to our faithful and bring to the capital of the
Christian world, ancient Rome, near the ukrainian Catholic
university, a church of Gods Wisdom as a visible sign of the
deeply rooted Christian faith of our nation, Patriarch
SvIAToSLAv (Shevchuk) said in a message to the clergy and
laity of the ukrainian Greek Catholic Church about the nationwide pilgrimage to Rome,to be held from october 12 to 14,
2012.
The pilgrimage will take place on the occasion of the blessing of the restored Cathedral of St. Sophia at the feast of the
Protection of the virgin mary, october 14, 2012. Also, it will
celebrate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Patriarch JoSYF
(Slipyj).
on September 3, renovation began which is to be completed
by the end of September of next year. The religious society for
ukrainian Catholics Hagia Sophia is responsible for coordinating the work.
According to the leader of the Greek Catholics, for the real-

ization of these ideas, a lot of money is needed. Although we

have already collected many donations, its not enough to bring
St. Sophia to the proper condition to enable it to adequately represent our church in Italy and around the world, reads the message.
In addition, the primate said that the Wisdom of God Church
and the ukrainian Catholic university gathered all ukrainians
abroad. Synods of bishops, conferences, summer academic and
diaconal courses, lectures were held here. Thousands of pilgrims have visited this church since it was consecrated in 1969.
Patriarch Sviatoslav stressed that St. Sophia was especially
symbolic for those faithful of our church, who found themselves
outside their homeland after the councils in St. Sophia Cathedral
in Kyiv and St. George Cathedral in Lviv.
St. Sophia serves many thousands of ukrainian migrant
workers who came to Italy in the last two decades, said the
leader of the uGCC. In conclusion, the Patriarch urged all the
eparchies, exarchates, and parishes to send representatives on
this pilgrimage and expressed hope in the generosity of our
people.

Three New Metropolitanates Established in UGCC

n November 29 in Lviv, December 13

be improved. Therefore, in order to
uGCC structures are constantly
in Ivano-Frankivsk, December 22 in
provide better pastoral care for our
After the union of brest, the Kyiv faithful, according to the decision of
changing.
undoubtedly,
some
Ternopil Hierarchical Liturgies will
changes were caused by political rea- metropolitan had all the rights he had the Synod of bishops of the uGCC
be held, during which the decrees on the
sons. but what is important, a constant before. These rights were recognized and with the blessing of the Apostolic
establishment of the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk
in two papal bulls of Pope Clement See, we created three new metropolisuccession always remained.
and Ternopil-Zboriv metropolitanates of the
uGCC. Patriarch SvIAToSLAv (Shevchuk),
Since the union with Rome was vIII: Magnus Dominus (December tanates.
announced on November 8, during a web
In addition, the primate of the
signed in compliance with all provi- 23, 1595) and Decet Romanum Pontifconference on tochka.net.
uGCC said that every metropolitan
sions of the law, and the Kyiv met- icem (February 23, 1596).
The Synod of bishops decided to create
ropolitan and the bishops had the right
In the bull restoring the Halych will have the right to convene a
three new metropolitans. The Lviv metroand authority to sign, these hierarchs metropolitanate, In universalis Ec- metropolitanates Synod, but for the
politanate will include the Lviv Archeparchy
remained the only legitimate heirs of clesiae regimini of 1807, the Halych decisions of synod to be valid, they
and the Stryi, Sambir-Drohobych, and Sokalthe previous church.
metropolitan was given the same need approval from the major ArchZhovkva eparchies; the Ivano-Frankivsk
Restoration of the orthodox hierar- rights, prerogatives and privileges that bishop.
metropolitanate, Ivano-Frankivsk and KoloIt should be noted that now the
chy (1620) was legally a new cre- the metropolitans of Kyiv had; the
myia-Chernivtsi eparchies; Ternopil-Zboriv,
uGCC will have seven metropoliationit introduced a new church metropolitans of Kyiv also retained
Ternopil-Zboriv and buchach eparchies. The
tanates. In addition to the newly-creatstructure, which may claim to be a his- their powers. Thus, through the Halfirst metropolitans of the newly-established
ed ones, another metropolitanate in
torical or spiritual continuity, but not a ych metropolitan comes the legal con- ukraine is the Kyiv and Halych
metropolitanates will be Archbishop IHoR
succession. The successor of the tinuity of the uGCC from the times of metropolitanate, headed by His
(voznyak), Archbishop of Lviv, bishop
ancient Kyivan Church is the Kyiv Kyivan Rus.
voLoDYmYR (viytyshyn), eparch of Ivanobeatitude Sviatoslav. It consists of
and Halych metropolitanate.
Frankivsk, and bishop vASYL (Semeniuk)
Kyiv Archeparchy, Donetsk-Kharkiv,
eparch of Ternopil-Zborowski.
odesa-Crimea and Lutsk exarchates.
According to His beatitude, the establishment of had at the time of Kyivan Rus. There was one metro- In addition, the uGCC has the Przemysl and Warsaw
new metropolitanates is a very important step in the politan, the de facto head of the national church, who metropolitanate in Poland, the Philadelphia metronatural development of the uGCC toward patriarchy. had, respectively, authority over the bishops on his ter- politanate in the united States, and the Winnipeg
Today in ukraine there is a single metropolitanate of ritory. For more than a thousand years our church has metropolitanate in Canada.
Kyiv and Halych based in Kyiv. With such a structure, developed, particularly in ukraine. Today this natural
UGCC Information Department
our metropolitanate reflects the state of church that we state of development of the church structure needs to

Patriarch Consecrates
Church in Sambir

n october 23, 2011, Patriarch

SvIAToSLAv (Shevchuk) consecrated a Greek Catholic Church
in honor of the Protection of the Holy
virgin. In the past there was a city cemetery, and in Soviet times a park. The 64feet-tall church can hold three thousand
believers. Catechism classes will be held
in the basement of the church. There is
also an assembly hall and parish rooms.
After the consecration, the Church of the
Protection of the Holy virgin in Sambir
was declared pro-cathedral.
The history of the construction of the
Cathedral of the Protection of the Holy
virgin is closely associated with the

emergence of the uGCC from the underground. on July 2, 1989, underground

uGCC priests, headed by hiermonk
mykola Kuts, and believers erected a
cross here, which began the worship of the
Greek Catholic community, reports the
press service of Sambir-Drohobych
eparchy.
At the end of 1989, a liturgical chapel
was erected on this place. In 1991, metropolitan voLoDYmYR (Sterniuk) blessed
the construction of the Cathedral of the
Protection of the Holy virgin, because at
that time the Sambir Greek Catholic congregation had no church. on April 27,
1991, bishop JuLIAN (voronovskyi), who

The Holy Table is consecrated by being washed with water, anointed with oil
and bathed with wine--elements of the Mysteries of Initiation.

was then auxiliary bishop of Lviv

Archeparchy, blessed the cornerstone of
the church.
on october 14, 2009, the 20th anniversary of the emergence of the uGCC from
the underground was celebrated in
Sambir. on this occasion the first Divine

Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Protection

of the Holy virgin, which was then in its
final stages of construction, was celebrated. The Hierarchal Liturgy was led by
bishop boHDAN (Dziurakh), the secretary
of the Synod of bishops.
UGCC Information Department

NEW STAR 17

December, 2011

reflection of eastern Catholic Churches on new evangelization

14th meeting of the Bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches; Oradea, Romania, November 3-6, 2011

he annual meeting of the eastern

Catholic bishops in europe has
gathered in oradea (Romania)
about 70 participants, including bishops
and experts, at the invitation of the
bishop virgil bercea of oradea-mare.
The theme of the meeting was the contribution of the eastern Catholic
Churches in europe to the new evangelization. The meeting was a moment of
community discernment aimed at identifying adequate elements to meet the
challenge of proclaiming Christ in the
current socio-cultural context. Its results
will be summarized in a report that will
be delivered to the Secretary of the
Synod of bishops in view of the 13th
ordinary General Assembly of the
Synod of bishops (Rome, 7-28 october
2012).
The meeting was also attended by the
bishops of Latin rite of the Catholic
bishops Conference of Romania.
During this the bishops thanked the
Holy Father for his initiative to include
the eastern Catholic Churches in the
general intention for the apostolate of
prayer, "so that their venerable tradition
be known and respected as a spiritual
treasure for the whole Church."
In his opening remarks, Cardinal Pter
erdo, President of the Council of
european Catholic bishops Conferences (CCee), the continental organism
of Catholic bishops which sponsored the
meeting, stressed the importance of the
meetings of the eastern and Roman
Catholic bishops and reaffirmed that the
new evangelization is
an opportunity through
which "we are all
called to awaken our
faith and build a Christian community rooted
in the Lord and with
an intense missionary
enthusiasm." For his
part, the President of
the Synod of the Greek
Catholic Church and of
the Catholic bishops
Conference
of
Romania, His beatitude Lucian murecan,
Archbishop major of
Fagaras and Alba Julia
of the Romanians, has
put into context the
meeting by noting that twenty years
after the fall of totalitarian regimes,
"also the eastern Catholic Churches are
facing a rapidly-changing society in
which secularization, relativism, and
migration have changed paradigms and
methods not only in matter of belonging
to the Church and religious practice, but
also as far as the transmission and proclamation of the Gospel is concerned."
The eastern Catholic Churches of
europe share a common history, made
of marginalization, suffering and martyrdom, especially under the totalitarian
regimes during which they were legally
banned and suppressed. "There is no
other Church in Romania that might be
called "Church of martyrdom, except the
Greek Catholic Church," said bishop
Francisco Javier Lozano, Apostolic

Nuncio in Romania and the Republic of

moldova.
This function of having preserved the
faith at the cost of ones life, was then
widely remembered by the various political authorities of the region and the city,
who have highlighted the role of the
Greek Catholic Church in Romania, in
particular the role of the exarchate of
oradea, in the reconstruction of the
social and moral fabric of the population,
in being a point of reference and a sign of
hope and understanding for many.
During the meeting, the participants had
the opportunity to visit some of the places
that bear witness to the love of those two
local Catholic churches.
In his address, mr. Adrian Lemeni,
Secretary of State for the Religious
Affairs of the Romanian Government,
welcomed the initiative and encouraged
the work of the Church in europe for the
defense of the values which Christianity
brought in it.
The New Evangelization and the
Eastern Catholic Churches
on the issue of new evangelization,
two orders of reflections have been the
focus of our work. on the one hand, the
fact that the eastern Catholic Churches
in europe have a specific and unique
contribution to make to the current
debate in the Catholic Church and to the
whole process, already underway, of the
new evangelization. on the other hand,
we have seen that they must also be
aware of the challenges that the modern

world brings to our mission. The crisis

the world is living today is essentially
anthropological in its nature, partly as a
result of secularism, which led to the
unjustified exclusion of God, both in the
public and in the private sphere, thereby
leading to a serious confusion in terms of
personal identity, so that modern man
often becomes unable to justify himself
and find an orientation to his existence. In
addition, the eastern Catholic Churches
feel confronted with these problems and,
after having demonstrated the vitality of a
newfound freedom, about two decades
ago, now they feel challenged by these
global phenomena, especially as they
affect many of their faithful migrants,
thus placing their respective Churches in
front of new pastoral problems that
require original and appropriate solu-

tions.
In his address, bishop Salvatore
Fischella, President of the Pontifical
Council for the Promotion of the New
evangelization, highlighted some of the
tasks facing the new evangelization:
strengthening the sense of belonging
which generates a strong identity; having attention to our terminology and to
have a special care for what is beautiful, for the liturgy, but also for catechesis and permanent formation. Finally,
in the face of different forms of selfishness that now seem to have the upper
hand, the new evangelization should
encourage witnesses of solidarity and
generosity, i.e. charity, through which
we can express God's love for all.
The new evangelization is not made
up only of words, but it implies the creation of visible signs that be able to testify and put into practice in a tangible
way the presence and mission of the
Church in history. An example of this
dynamic mediation of the Christian message was offered by Fr. borys Gudziak,
Rector of the ukrainian Catholic
university who explained to the participants the very original project of the
construction of the new Catholic university. The basic idea is to create a
campus where theology is translated into
architecture, spirituality is lived out in
the community and evangelization is
implemented as in a pilgrimage.
Jesuit Fr. marko Rupnik, a worldfamous artist and Director of the Aletti
Center, presented the contribution of
byzantine art in the
context of the new
evangelization. For
this Slovenian artist,
it is very important to
understand the reality
in which the art
inserts and the function it has assumed.
unfortunately, "The
art has migrated from
the shrine to the
palace ending up in
the art galleries; it
does not generate
devotion but only
admiration of the
artist. At the same
time, the art has lost
its function as a symbol, putting forward the idea of concept
but totally disconnected from the reality
of daily life." According to the Jesuit,
also the art should be able to transmit the
faith, life and love. In short, what happened to the art reflects what happened
to the Christian faithful, who do not
know how to live their baptism in everyday life, how to live their being regenerated as sons and daughters of God, how
to show a humanity inhabited by God, in
short, how to show what it means to be
redeemed.
Prof. Cesare Alzati, a professor at the
Catholic university of the Sacred Heart
of milan, in the light of the history and
nature of the eastern Catholic Churches,
has identified some aspects that could be
a stimulus to the rest of the Christian
world. First, going beyond ones confes-

sional frontiers, not losing ones identity, but open a dialogue with the other
denominations that share the same challenges of secularization, i.e. the separation between the supernatural and present life.
A particularly important aspect is the
liturgy of the eastern Catholic Churches.
In this sense, the new evangelization of
europe "has as its inevitable stage the
reaffirmation of the centrality of the
experience of mystery, through which
man can live in history his encounter
with God." In this way, even witness has
a sort of "cultic teaching" as its point of
departure, which gives rise to "a specific
anthropology, constitutionally religious
and rooted in the mystery of Christ." It
has its origin in the living experience of
worship and brings with it a specific
way of being Christian in history: being
witnesses of the mystery.
Faced with a growing secularism and
consumerism in eastern european societies, the task of the Church is, according to bishop Cyril vasil', Secretary of
the Congregation of eastern Churches,
to offer to civil society, to limit the disastrous effects of a wild capitalism, the
experience of the Social Doctrine of the
Church "as an antidote to the poisonous
effects of market economy." He also
recalled that many faithful of the eastern
Catholic Churches have migrated for economic reasons, and this leads to the need
to review our pastoral action in a missionary key and in the light of the current
social context. In short, the pastoral contact with the faithful immigrants "should
not be limited only to the service of
divine worship", but should cover their
living conditions. They should not feel
abandoned by their own Church.
Another challenge is the "practical
atheism" which is spreading out. Those
to whom the Church is called to bring
the Good News are people who are basically ignorant from a religious point of
view, and a lack of solid points of cultural reference. The question then is: how
to arouse their interest in things that
exceed their limited material and utilitarian horizon? Like other speakers, the
Secretary of the Congregation of eastern
Churches noted the human research of
joy, beauty, decorum and solemnity. For
this very reason, "the deep and mystical
beauty of our liturgical celebrations can
be a boost to the profound search for
truth."
At the conclusion of the meeting, Fr.
Alexandru buzalic, Professor of
Theology at the university of ClujNapoca, focused on the presence of lay
realities in the eastern Catholic
Churches. This presence is not new, but
in the dark years of communism, these
realities had suffered the same fate of
their pastors. Today, however, along
with the revival of old associations as
ASTRu (the local Catholic Action),
other associations have been created. All
of them want to be actively involved in
the field of pastoral care, and integrate
the work carried out by the clergy in various areas, particularly in the teaching of
religion and in the area of diaconate.
continued on page 18

18 NEW STAR

December, 2011

Christmas Pastoral of the Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

in the United States of America
To Our Reverend Clergy, Reverend Religious, Seminarians, and Faithful,
Christ is Born!

nce again, we ukrainian

Catholics recall with affection
and devotion the birth of our
Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
"The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us: and we have seen His
Glory, the Glory of the only Son coming from the Father" (Jn, 1,14). once
again, our merciful Lord brings us to
the Feast of the Nativity giving us
another occasion to greet one another
with His praises. once again we give
thanks for you to the Lord God and
rejoice with you on this solemn Day.
Christmas is a very visible sign of
God's love for us. The cave, the
manger, the swaddling clothes--all
these are signs which underline that
great love. And the angels sang: "Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth
peace among men of good will" (Lk
2,14).
Within the bosom of each believer
Jesus Christ, the God-man, seeks a
modern-day manger where--if we
allow Him--He brings the radiance of
His Presence and an assurance of His
peace that surpasses all understanding.
even in the midst of our hectic lives

and troublesome world, we recall the

tender compassion of our Father: "God
so loved the World that He sent His
only begotten Son" to share in our
human situation in every way possible,
save sin. Not for us, a God who
"watches from a distance!" He is our
Emmanuel--"God-with-us"--who enlightens the world and brings rays of
healing for those who receive Him into
the manger of their hearts.
The mystery and the miracle of
Christmas are unfathomable. ChristGod became also human like us out of
love for us. St. Paul the Apostle says
"God's grace appeared for the salvation
of all people" (Ti 2,11). Jesus Christ is
God's great gift to us. God gives
Himself and becomes like us. In His
public ministry, Jesus taught very
clearly that His love is for everyone.
As He loved us, so we must love one
another, says Jesus.
Christ was born for each and every
one of us, so we acknowledge this
great grace personally. but Christmas
is also for everyone, so we celebrate it
communally. our ukrainian Church
and nation have developed such mean-

Christ is Born!

ingful services and traditions to help us

celebrate. How sad it would be to miss
them. Remember Christmas is always
special because on Christmas eve everyone is involved. The Christmas eve
Holy Supper includes everyone, the
traveler is seated with the family, the
absent are remembered, even the animals are paid special attention, and in
church the "God-is-with-us" lingers
with us and soothes our soul. "Today,
let us rejoice together."
Let us all rejoice on this great Feast
of Christmas. Let us show Jesus our
love for being born for our salvation.
make of your life a holy hymn--a
"psalm of thanks" to God for all things
by your every word and deed. Do this
day by day and you will be able to say
ever more sincerely: "Christ is born, let
us glorify Him!"
We, your bishops, extend our best
wishes to you and to our sisters and
brothers in ukraine and the world over.
may the Infant of bethlehem raise His
hands over you and bless you. may the
goodness and kindness of the Christ
Child fill your souls with new-born
love and joy now and in the New Year.

Let us glorify Him!

+Stefan Soroka
Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia
+Richard Seminack
Eparch of St. Nicholas in Chicago
+Paul Chomnycky, OSBM
Eparch of Stamford
+John Bura
Apostolic Administrator
of St. Josaphat in Parma

Christmas, 2011

continued from page 17

The works were carried out in an
atmosphere of cordiality and friendship,
and enriched by moments of prayer and
the daily celebration of the eucharist
together with the local community,
including the faithful of Greek Catholics

and those of Latin Rite. The liturgical

celebrations, always very well cared for
and intensely participated, have shown
that the words exchanged in the meeting
were also an expression of a lived experience. Particularly appreciated was the
presence and contribution of the bishops

of Latin Rite of the Romanian bishops'

Conference, and the hospitality of the
Latin Rite bishop of oradea, Laszlo
bocskei.
The 2012 meeting will be held in
Zagreb from the 8th to the 11th of
November, to mark the fourth centenary

of the union of the byzantine Rite

Croatian Catholic Church with the
Church of Rome, at the invitation of
bishop Nikola Kekic, of Krievci.
Thierry Bonaventura,
CCEE Media Officer

NEW STAR 19

December, 2011

A sacred concert was held at st

Constantine Parish in minneapolis,
minnesota.
Participating in the musical program were
five choirs.
Besides the host parish, hymns were sung
by St Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Parish;
the Byzantine Catholic Parish of St John; St
Mary Russian Orthodox Parish and the
Maronite Parish of St Maron.

Among the events at St Josaphat

Parish in Warren, Michigan is the
celebration of the fiftieth anniversary
of the founding of the parish.
In conjunction with this celebration,
the parish has a Jubilee Icon of the
mother of Perpetual Help which is
scheduled to visit the individual
homes of the parishioners.

T
members of Holy Wisdom in
Citrus Heights, California, participated in a two-day workshop
given by Fr Deacon Alexander
Wroblicky. Parishioners learned
how to sing and use official liturgical musical
settings for the
Divine Liturgy
in english, using
The Divine
Liturgy: An Anthology for Worship.
The event
Deacon
proved worthAlexander at
while for those
the keyboard
who attended
and gained a deeper familiarity
with the liturgy and other services.

Now available on DVD

the Enthronement Ceremony of
Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk
followed by
the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy
may now be viewed in your own home
and shared with your family and friends.
To Purchase this beautiful DVD
send $14.95 + $4.95 postage and handling
to
Basileos Press
14 Pervil Road
Stamford, CT 06902-3019

hrockmorton was a Chihuahua, always eager to go for a walk. even if

walk was whispered, in a flash he'd
be at someone's feet with his leash in his
mouth.
Imagine the family's reaction when 17year-old Felicia opened up a present from
under the Christmas Tree, shrieking in delight at the Chinese cooking bowl.
Without hesitation Throckmorton scampered out of the room, came back and
dropped his leash--in the wok on her lap.
o~0~o

r Gregory answered the rectory door.

Standing on the porch was a middleage couple he didn't recognize.
We've just moved into the neighborhood,
and want to join the parish.
Welcome! Fr Gregory said, ushering
them in, gesturing to the chairs, and retrieving the pad of membership forms all in one
smooth motion.
I'm Fr Gregory, and you are....?
oh, replied the gentleman, We're the
Wrights. She's Always, and I'm Never.

God Wih Us
Publications

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What shall we offer You, o Christ,

Who for our sakes have appeared
on earth as human?
every creature made by You offers You thanks:
The angels offer You a hymn; the heavens, a star;
the magi, gifts; the shepherds, their wonder;
the earth, its cave, the wilderness, the manger;
and, we offer You a virgin mother.
Vespers, Feast of the Nativity

The Staff of New Star extends greetings to

the hierarchs, clergy, religious,
faithful and readers
on the occasion of the
Nativity in the Flesh of our Lord,
God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christ Is Born! Glorify Him!

20

New Star

December, 2011

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"L'itiya" another New word

n the eve of certain special feast days, we often see in our bulletins that the
vespers will be celebrated with Litiya. most of us might wonder what
Litiya is.
The word means fervent and intensified prayer, usually known as a litany. This
special litany is rich with meaning and grace, and is included toward the end of
vespers. Litiya begins with special stichera in honor of the feast or saint of the
day. When the singing begins, the clergy process through the north deacon door,
led by a candle bearer and followed by the faithful, to the narthex of the church.
The Holy Doors remain closed.
The deacon recites the Prayer Save, o God Your
People and in the name of our ancestors in faith
adds petitions for the salvation of all people, the church
and civil authorities; the souls of all Christians; for our
cities and our land; that we may be protected from war;
and for those who have fallen asleep in the Lord.
Throughout the recitation of these petitions we reply
Lord have mercy retaining the original Greek, Kurie
eleison (Kyrie, eleison) for one of the petitions.
After the deacon has read the prayer o master
abundant in mercy and during the singing of the
Aposticha, verses of the feast or saint of the day, the
priest returns to the tetrapod, upon which is set a special tray adorned with candles. There are five loaves of
bread in memory of the Lords feeding the multitude,
as well as wine, wheat and oil. As the Troparion of the
feast is sung the table is censed on all four sides three
times.
Can you see in the picture where all these are placed
on the Litiya Tray?
In ancient times various offerings of food including
bread and wine (today we normally offer money) were
brought to Church to be set aside to be used during
Divine Liturgy. The bread was offered by the faithful
as a sign of devotion and was the only sustenance the
people had for the all-night vigil, which ended with the
celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the early morning. Any other food was distributed among the poor, the sick, orphans and widows. The church reached out to the
helpless, which is a good reminder that our life in the Church does not exist only
within the doors of the physical building, but in the world where we should proclaim
His word and where we are called by our Lord to help those in need.
The bread is then taken to be cut up for distribution to the people, reminding us
that bread is not only a basic food, but the highest symbol of the body of Christ, the
same bread that is sanctified during the Divine Liturgy and becomes the body of
Christ, our salvation.
our participation in the blessing of wheat, wine and oil at L'itiya is shown by
the custom we keep to come forward on the great feasts to kiss the cross and
receive a piece of the blessed bread and an oil anointing. Then we go out to the
world to live the Gospel in the care we give to others.
Phyllis Muryn Zaparaniuk

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EDITORIAL BOARD AND CONTRIBUTORS:

Fr John Lucas, Managing Editor
Petro Rudka, ukrainian editor
Fr James Karepin, oP
Fr Leonard Korchinski
Fr Denny molitvy
Fr Deacon michael Cook
George matwyshyn
Serge michaluk
olenka Pryma
Nazar Sloboda
Pani barbara Wroblicky
Phyllis muryn Zaparaniuk

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December 13