Young and resurrected Church

“We are an Oriental, Synodal and Catholic Church”, and “today we have come to the Holy Father to manifest our ecclesial nature” and “confirm our full, visible and real communion with the Successor of Peter”, declared Mgr. Sviatoslav Schevchuk, newly elected Archbishop Major of Kyiv-Halyc of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC). The archbishop met journalists in the press room of the Holy See on 31 March after having been received in private audience by Benedict XVI, together with the permanent Synod of the UGCC. The new Archbishop was officially enthroned, after the confirmation of his election by the Pope, in the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Kyiv on Sunday 27 March. On Sunday 3 April he will celebrate a mass in the Roman church of Santa Sofia, “spiritual heart” of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in the Italian capital.A strategic alliance. Questioned by journalists, Mgr. Schevchuk, 40 years’ old, declared that the Pope “will be welcome whenever he comes to Ukraine” but that “there was no talk of his imminent visit” during the audience”. He expressed gratitude to the Pope for the “confirmation of the election of so young an archbishop: an expression of his trust in me; I now feel strengthened for the performance of my ministry”. Recalling the presence of representatives of the three Orthodox Churches in Ukraine at the ceremony of his enthronement, the archbishop spoke of “an important sign of opening and hope” for the future of mutual relations and for “the progress of ecumenical dialogue”. “From John Paul II – he added – I learned that it’s important in ecumenism to cultivate personal relations to help remove fears and prejudices and overcome divisions”. In this sphere Mgr. Schevchuk hopes for “constructive dialogue, cooperation and coexistence” between the Greek-Catholic Church and the three Ukrainian Orthodox Churches (Patriarchate of Moscow, Patriarchate of Kyiv and autocephalous) with a view to “a strategic alliance in defence of Christian values, in Ukraine and in Europe, and an ecumenical and truly evangelizing witness. We don’t want to be ‘against’ the Orthodox but ‘with’ them: as John XXIII maintained, the things that unite us are more than those that divide us”.Three pastoral priorities. The pastoral priorities of the UGCC, he explained to SIR Europe, are three in particular: “new evangelization, inculturation and social presence in society”. “Our Church – he said – is present in Ukraine, but also in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Australia. In Ukraine we must counter the wave of secularization sweeping in from Europe, but also in other countries our treasury of faith, consolidated by the blood of our martyrs, must not be lost, but transmitted to the new generations that represent our future”. As for inculturation, “we must translate our liturgical books from Old Slavic to Ukrainian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian because translating them means incarnating Christian values in present-day culture and bringing them closer to people”. In Schevchuk’s view, the Church’s commitment must also be expressed in terms of “presence and service in post-Communist Ukrainian society; it must be inspired by the principles of the social doctrine of the Church”, in other words contribute to the “reconstruction of the moral fabric of society”. There are many signs of hope for the future of the Church and of the country: the high number of vocations to the priesthood and to religious life and “the new generation of young and able politicians”, with whom, he said, “I intend to enter into contact, without entering into the specifics of their respective political convictions”. The archbishop is also conscious of the importance of the media: “I recognize and underline the role they can play in the new evangelization”.A young Church. Pointing out that the average age of priests in his Church is around 35, Mgr. Schevchuk said: “We are a young Church, which discovered it own identity after its ‘resurrection'”. There were a hundred or so candidates to the priesthood and religious life between 1991 and 1992, “a real explosion, then the trend declined a bit, but still some 40 students enter seminary each year”. To the question about a possible “transformation” of the “archbishopric major” of Kyiv-Halyc into a “patriarchate”, the archbishop replied: “Our Church is growing throughout the world, but the decision on a patriarchate is up to the Holy Father with whom we live in full communion and obedience”. “The archbishopric major – he explained – enjoys the same rights and presents the same characteristics as a patriarchate. The only difference recognized in oriental canon law consists in the fact that in the archbishopric major the election of the Synod must be approved by the Holy Father, whereas for the patriarchate it is sufficient to announce it to him”. Mgr. Schevchuk stressed the important contribution the Oriental Churches can make to the “ecumenical vision”. “It’s essential – he concluded – to support them, especially in the Middle East”.