Source and Photo credits: https://synod.ugcc.ua/data/postiynyy-synod-ugkts-rozpochavsya-iz-oznayomlennya-z-dushpastyrskoyu-sytuatsieyu-v-kanadi-16604/
On February 22, 2025, the meetings of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church began in Toronto.
This time, the following bishops are participating in the meetings of the Permanent Synod: Bishop Borys Gudziak, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Philadelphia from the USA, Bishop Włodzimierz Juszczak, O.S.B.M., Bishop of Wroclaw-Koszalin from Poland, Bishop Josaphat Moshchych, Bishop of Chernivtsi from Ukraine, and Bishop Bohdan Dzyurakh, Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainians of the Byzantine Rite in Germany and Scandinavia. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, presides over the meetings, and Bishop Andriy Khim’yak, Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archeparchy, serves as secretary.
Traditionally, the working day began with the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the parish of the Holy Prophet Elijah in Brampton.
Two working sessions of the 11th (82nd) session of the Permanent Synod on Saturday were marked by a meeting with Ukrainian Catholic bishops serving in Canada. According to Bishop Andriy Khim’yak, secretary of the Permanent Synod of the UGCC, such a meeting became “an opportunity for community building and a testimony to the unity of the global UGCC.”
Among the bishops from Canada who attended the meeting were Bishop Bryan Bayda, C.Ss.R., Bishop of the Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada, Bishop David Motiuk, Bishop of the Eparchy of Edmonton, Bishop Michael Kwiatkowski, Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster, Bishop Michael Smolinski, C.Ss.R., Bishop of the Diocese of Saskatoon, and Bishop Andriy Rabiy, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archeparchy of Winnipeg. Archbishop and Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak, O.S.B.M., of Winnipeg joined the meeting via online connection.
During the meeting, the bishops from Canada reported on the pastoral situation in the Winnipeg Metropolia.
According to them, according to government statistics, after February 24, 2022, about 300 thousand Ukrainians arrived in Canada. Most of them are concentrated in the Diocese of Toronto and Eastern Canada. “The Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada is trying in various ways to serve newly arrived Ukrainians and integrate them into parish communities. At the same time, new communities are being created where Ukrainians are concentrated, but there are no parishes nearby. Often this happens through the rental of Roman Catholic churches,” the bishops noted.
So the Canadian bishops noted the need for new active priests with a missionary spirit.
The Bishops also shared their experience in implementing the pastoral plan of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in their eparchies and the response to the Synodal Path in the Catholic Church. The state of monasticism in the Metropolia was also presented separately, in particular, they discussed the ministry of the fathers of the Order of St. Basil the Great and the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), the Sisters of the Servants of Mary Immaculate and the Sisters of St. Joseph the Betrothed. They also paid attention to the activities of the theological seminary in Edmonton.
At the conclusion of the joint meeting with members of the Permanent Synod, the bishops of the Winnipeg Metropolia expressed gratitude to His Beatitude Sviatoslav and the bishops of the Permanent Synod for their attention and visit to Canada.
“The Mother Church, through the visit of the Permanent Synod, shows its closeness to the Winnipeg Metropolia, to the bishops, clergy, monasticism, and laity,” Bishop Andriy Khim’yak concluded.
Press Service of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC
