As we previously announced (see press release 324 (428)), t he sessions
of the Eleventh General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, presided
by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, are continuing at the Vatican. The
UGCC is represented at the sessions by His Beatitude Lubomyr (Husar),
the Head of UGCC, and His Excellency Sophron (Mudriy), Bishop Emeritus
of Ivano-Frankivsk.
During the time dedicated to open comments on October 10, His Beatitude made a speech in which he suggested that the Church reconsider Canon Law 702 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEC), which forbids con-celebrating the Holy Eucharist with representatives of non-Catholic traditional Churches. Then His Beatitude asked: (If the Liturgy is a regula fidei, if the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Oriental Churches in communion with the See of Rome and by the Orthodox or Apostolical Churches is identical for both, if there is mutual recognition of the Apostolic Succession of Bishops and, consequently, of priests that celebrate it (the Divine Liturgy) , then my question is: what more is required for unity?¦
Yesterday we had an opportunity to ask His Beatitude Lubomyr how the members of the Synod reacted to his speech. His Beatitude replied that generally the participants of the Synod accepted his remarks calmly and without much emotion. (But a more important question was the proposal to dedicate the next Synod assembly to the Oriental Churches,¦ the Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych continued, (This part of my speech received considerable feedback not only from the participants of the session, but also outside the Synod Hall.¦
In addition , we asked the Head of the UGCC whether the con - celebration of the Eucharist is , in his opinion , a major step on the way to reestablishing the unity of the four parts of the original Kyivan Church . His Beatitude answered that serious discussions need to be held in order to view the question of con-celebration not in isolation, but in the context of the subject matter, because not enough attention has been paid to this sphere previously. (I think there are various opinions, and that this issue should be widely discussed by both the Catholic and the Orthodox sides,¦ His Beatitude Lubomyr stated. (It is desirable that the discussions take place inside the Kyivan Church , in its four separated branches.¦ Then, in His Beatitude Lubomyr's opinion, the results of such work could be proposed for other Churches, (as this is not only a matter for Ukrainians, the problem can be called universal, for it deals with the nature of the Church and the nature of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist,¦ concluded the Head of the UGCC.
Press secretariat of the Head of UGCC