CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Slovakia: president met with representatives of ChurchesPresident of the Slovak republic, Ivan Gasparovic, met with representatives of Churches and religious associations on 10 January. Delegation of the Catholic Church to this traditional New Year’s meeting was led by Mons. Stanislav Zvolenský, president of the Bishops’conference of Slovakia. Head of the state spoke about the challenges on various levels of life of the society, including celebrations of the Jubilee Year of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in 2013. He said it is an event worth attention of "whole nation", as it "recalls the values of an immense importance", representing a "spiritual base" of autonomous Slovakia. Mons. Zvolenský thanked Ivan Gasparovic for his words in this regard, emphasizing that the Catholic Church realizes that the jubilee is a good time for us to "find new motivation for better and more just life" both on individual and common levels. Also present at the meeting there were general bishop of the Evangelical Church of Augsburg Confession, Milos Klátik, and president of the Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Slovakia, Pavel Traubner. A common ecumenical prayer for Slovakia was held at the end of the meeting in the Chapel of St. Barbara at the Presidential Palace. Ukraine: head of UGCC on the Year of FaithOn the occasion of proclamation of 2013 as the Year of the Faith, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, issued an address to clergy, religious and laity, emphasizing that "the faith is a gift of God and a response to His call inspired by the Holy Spirit". The address was read in all the churches of the UGCC on 14 January, announcing that the main theme of celebrations will be "One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism". "As for the Christian faith, we mean primarily the faith in the Triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", writes His Beatitude Sviatoslav, adding that "we trust God as the loving Father calling us to come to Him, inviting us to become participants of the community of God’s love, giving us the gift of His power and grace from above, and granting us true understanding of invisible things. To believe means to open up fully to the God’s gift of love sent to His creation", reads the address. As reported by the Information Department of the UGCC, according to the the primate, the Christians draw from their faith the boldness to live in accordance with God’s laws and to look to the future with hope. His Beatitude Sviatoslav called everyone to grow in faith by studying the Bible on daily basis.Belarus: jubilee of miraculous iconRepresentatives of the Catholic Church in Belarus met with state deputies on 12 January in Budslau to discuss preparations for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of preservation of a miraculous icon of the Mother of God in the national sanctuary in Budslau, falling on 2013. Archbishop-metropolitan of Minsk-Mahilyov, Mons. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, said that preparations for the jubilee don’t take place only in his archdiocese but in all the dioceses of the country and introduced the main schedule of the program. He appreciated the efforts of the representatives of the Minsk region under the guidance of its head Boris Baturo and expressed hope in "high level" of all the events due to take place on the occasion. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz announced the plans of the Belarussian Postal Service to issue a stamp with picture of the icon of the Mother of God, as well as the program of pilgrimages of the copy of the miraculous icon and the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux to the Catholic parishes of the country.
