On the eve of the Holy Synod
Towards our Patriarchate
by Bishop Basil Losten
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly
In a few days, God willing, I shall go to Lviv for the next session of the Holy Synod of our Ukrainian Catholic Church. Many of our clergy and faithful are keenly interested, as they should be, in the progress toward achieving the goal of four centuries: the full establishment and recognition of the Patriarchate.
This is a matter of great concern to all the hierarchs of the Synod, so I have been consulting with clergy and laity, and with experts in the various fields involved, and collecting my thoughts for this forthcoming meeting. It seems appropriate that I should offer my ideas to all those interested, since this concerns all of us. In writing this present article, I have only one reservation: I am discussing issues and events, not personalities. So I shall refrain from comment on particular individuals.
Ever since the Ukrainian Catholic Episcopal Conference under the leadership of Metropolitan Constantine Bohachevsky of Philadelphia first raised the question of a Ukrainian Patriarchate, in the 1950s,_1_ the same objection arose: the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church equally insisted that a Patriarchate cannot be created outside its own territory. This "territory" need not necessarily be an independent country,_2_ nor must the Patriarchate relate to only one specific ethnic group,_3_ but it must be based in a defined geographic location where it can exercise jurisdiction.
Pope John Paul II has been willing to do a great deal for our Church, and to seek the most favorable applications of canonical principles. But the Roman pontiff is the guardian of the Church's authentic tradition, and in this matter His Holiness felt bound by the clear statements of the Ecumenical Councils of the first millennium, which is the normative period for relations between the Eastern Churches and Rome.
This constant refusal provoked a certain cynicism. After all, the Ukrainian Catholics were hardly to blame for the persecution of our Church by the Soviet government, so why should that become the occasion to deny us something that our major archbishop, our Synod, and so many of our clergy and faithful believed was necessary? With the virtue of hindsight, we need only say that we are confident that everyone involved, on all sides of the question, was trying to do the best for the Church in a difficult and complex situation. We have no brief to judge; we pray for everyone and we invite everyone's mutual forgiveness.
Cynicism was unwarranted. In an early letter to Patriarch Josyf Slipyj,_4_ Pope John Paul II wrote that the achievement of freedom for the Church in Ukraine would be the essential first step toward our full patriarchal system. The former cardinal-archbishop of Krakow, newly elected pope of Rome, knew the situation in Ukraine closely from personal contacts. His Holiness knew that the persecuted Church was not an illusion; it was quite real and in urgent need of help. His Holiness also knew that once the Church was restored in Ukraine, the movement toward our Patriarchate would become much stronger. Thus the guidance which John Paul II gave Cardinal Slipyj was excellent, and the pastoral care which the holy father gave us in the crucial years which saw the legalization of our Church was decisive.
Now, the "territory" impediment is a matter of the past. The Church in Ukraine is no longer in the catacombs. Patriarch Josyf's mortal remains are interred in the crypt of St. George's Cathedral; Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky is in residence directly across from the cathedral; thousands of parishes are serving millions of faithful. Nobody will again tell us that there is some "territorial" impediment to our Patriarchate.
Still, that does not answer the question of precisely what the patriarchal territory should be. There are some who wish it confined to Ukraine. Others would include at least the Peremyshl diocese in Poland;_5_ others would include Belarus', or even Russia_6_ and Siberia. Less pleasantly, a few others have suggested that our patriarchal territory should be limited to Eastern Galicia. The Holy See has asked our Synod to study this matter carefully and report back with a concrete proposal for the geographic designation of our patriarchal territory, based on historic, canonical and pastoral considerations.
National independence
As I said above, a Patriarchate does not absolutely require a definite independent state. But among Ukrainians, the two goals were strongly linked; over the past few decades, many people sought to advance eventual Ukrainian civil independence by promoting the idea of a Patriarchate. Events overtook us; Ukrainian independence came sooner than most of us expected. And all patriotic Ukrainians must now be prepared to lend every effort to support and sustain the independent, sovereign Ukraine for which we have worked so long.
This has removed some of the pressure on the Patriarchal movement; those whose chief interest is in secular politics are now able to work directly in the political sphere. And our efforts toward the Patriarchate are free to proceed in the ecclesiastical path.
Code of Canons
Pope John Paul II has proclaimed the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, based on the ancient legislation of the Christian East. This code is a great step forward in many ways for our Church. One of its most important elements is the presentation of the structure of a Patriarchate. The patriarchal system is set forth in detail in this code. I would very much like to see our Ukrainian Catholic specialists and experts publish studies and popular explanations of this part of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, to guide us as we all strive, in our various positions, to make the Patriarchate a practical reality.
Our last session of the Holy Synod, in May 1992, took several steps in this vein. The Synod approved the Patriarchal Curia, and elected members to the Permanent Synod. The Synod heard and accepted the report on the separation of the Patriarchal Chancery from the Chancery of the Archeparchy of Halych._7_ The Code of Canons requires this separation, and it is so in all the Eastern Catholic Patriarchates. It is the same even in Rome itself, where the Papal Curia is quite distinct from the offices of the Archdiocese of Rome.
Ever since the first efforts toward a Kyyivan Patriarchate in the 17th century, in the time of Metropolitan Petro Mohyla and Metropolitan Joseph Veliamyn-Rutsky, the supreme goal of this movement has been to unite the divided Kyyivan Church. That remains our goal today. Thus it was no accident that our first full session of the Holy Synod after the legalization of the Church in Ukraine invited our beloved brother, Bishop Vsevolod of Scopelos, to address us on the important theme of Christian unity. Bishop Vsevolod's address has been widely published in several languages,_8_ and has received the most positive responses. The faithful in Ukraine are eager for ecumenical progress.
Our Synod of Bishops blessed the informal consultations between interested hierarchs and theologians of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and interested Ukrainian Catholic hierarchs and theologians. I have submitted my report to the Synod on this Kyyivan Church Study Group, which has already held four successful consultations and plans to continue. I ask everyone's prayers for God's blessing on this effort, and on all the other efforts which work in harmony for the unity of our Kyyivan Church.
This goal is worth stating again. We seek one Patriarchate of Kyyiv, fully and uncompromisingly "Orthodox in faith and Catholic in love," in that splendid phrase which we have learned anew from Pope John Paul II. We pray and work so that this one Orthodox-Catholic Kyyivan Patriarchate will be in full communion with the Church of Rome, empurpled by the martyrdom of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and in full communion with our historic Mother, the Church of Constantinople, founded by St. Andrew, first-called of the apostles, who blessed the hills where Kyyiv now stands._9_ We do not seek to divide the Ukrainian Christian people, nor do we seek to break the bonds of faith and love which unite us with the Universal Church. These are broad, ambitious and far-reaching goals, worthy of the Ukrainian Christian people who have given rivers of blood in this century for their fidelity to Jesus Christ and His Holy Church. The martyrs plead for us before the Throne of God; we have only to join our prayers to theirs. These goals fully accord with the Holy Will of Our Savior. Let us be patient with God, and trust in Him, and the Lord will surprise us again with His response to our prayer. Cynicism is not for Christians; as I noted above, cynicism was unjustified in the recent past. There is no reason for cynicism now; we must be realistic, optimistic Christians and strive toward these most lofty goals with Christian confidence.
Our Christian faith teaches us that we work together with God, and that we must trust in God. Thus, for example, we work toward the goal of Church unity, but we cannot know when we shall achieve that goal, because authentic Church unity is God's gift. It cannot be accomplished by political negotiations, as though we were seeking a peace treaty between warring states. Still, we can hasten the gift we seek from God, by preparing the way for it, working with a constant awareness that the matter remains in God's hands but that God wants our effort, and rewards our effort, even though we may not always realize it.
The Synod itself offers us a good example. The patriarch calls the Synod; the Patriarchal Curia and the Permanent Synod prepare the agenda; the bishops all send their suggestions and reports;_10_ we arrange for the various experts who may be needed; we plan the dates and all the program. But still, when the meeting actually begins, we sing the hymn of Palm Sunday Vespers: "Today the Holy Spirit has gathered us together." There have been false synods and false councils in the history of the Church; they depended exclusively on men. An authentic Synod is gathered together by the Holy Spirit. For that, obviously, we depend upon God.
Our hope
I am as impatient as anyone for the full accomplishment of our Patriarchate. My heart longs for the enthronement of one patriarch in St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyyiv, with both the pope of Rome and the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, together with the Eastern patriarchs, leading the bishops, the clergy, the monastics and the faithful in a joyful "Axios" that will resound from Ukrainian hearts the world over. And I firmly believe that this blessed moment will arrive. Only God knows the time of its coming. But it will arrive all the sooner if we work together, prayerfully and in harmony, to achieve it.
1. Often we forget that our bishops did raise the matter then. So did our representatives in the Preparatory Commissions for the Second Vatican Council; it was at their insistence that the possibility appeared in the schema or draft, which eventually became the Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches. [Back to text]
2. The Patriarchate of Antioch has no special connection with any particular independent state. [Back to text]
3. The Patriarchate of Alexandria serves Greeks, Arabs, Copts, Kenyans, Ugandans, Ethiopians, and so forth. Its "territory" is the African continent. [Back to text]
4. History will not deny Josyf the Confessor the patriarchal title, though His Beatitude did not live to see the complete accomplishment of the Patriarchate. [Back to text]
5. Actually we should have an entire Metropolitanate in Poland; there are certainly enough faithful and parishes to warrant this advance. [Back to text]
6. Since the Holy See recognizes the Moscow Patriarchate as a sister Church, this would create some problems. But without question we have the right and obligation to provide full pastoral care and service for Ukrainian Catholics in Russia (even as Moscow has the same right for Russian Orthodox in Ukraine or in Rome, for that matter). The only question is to determine appropriate structures and modes to do this. [Back to text]
7. Often called the Archeparchy of Lviv, because the metropolitans have resided in Lviv for the last few centuries, but this is a misnomer. [Back to text]
8. It was even published in a Catholic magazine in India. [Back to text]
9. Today, as the dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church continues worldwide, it would be unthinkable for Ukrainian Catholics and Ukrainian Orthodox not to seek every avenue to heal our own divisions. It will not be accomplished overnight, but it need not take forever. [Back to text]
10. The clergy and faithful are welcome to send their suggestions and requests, either to their own bishops, or to the Synod directly. [Back to text]
Bishop Basil, eparch of Stamford, Conn., wrote this article on February 9, prior to leaving for Lviv for the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 20, 1994, No. 8, Vol. LXII
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