NEWS ANALYSIS: Ukrainian Catholics' wait for the patriarchate

by Marta Kolomayets
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

ROME - With the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine less than four months away, the issue of a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Patriarchate is once again being openly discussed in religious and lay circles, both in Ukraine and abroad.

Whereas some political leaders fear that discussion of the creation of a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Patriarchate could further strain the relationship between the Ukrainian Orthodox of the Moscow Patriarchate and Ukrainian Catholics, others believe that such a topic should not be explored in an environment of political instability for fear it may postpone or cancel Pope John Paul's visit to Ukraine in June.

However, most of the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church believe the time is ripe for these discussions, which had been sidestepped throughout the 1990s.

"The general feeling in Rome is that the idea of a Patriarchate is maturing, maturing in two senses: that the Ukrainian Catholic Church, with its own territory, with its own structure, with a young generation of clergy, monks and religious, is maturing as a Church, is strengthening. Of course, its greatest sign of maturing was its witness in martyrdom," said the Rev. Dr. Borys Gudziak, rector of the Lviv Theological Seminary.

"But, also, the idea of a Ukrainian Catholic Patriarchate is becoming more normal in the eyes of the representatives of the Holy See. Twenty-five, 30 years ago, when Patriarch Josyf Slipyj was raising this issue, he was ahead of his time. Now time is catching up to this idea, and the strong resistance to this idea of the Ukrainian Catholic Patriarchate that was evident in the 1970s and 1980s has lessened considerably," he added.

"Never in the recent past have I seen such a benevolent positive attitude toward the entire question of a Ukrainian Patriarchate," said the Rev. Dr. Iwan Dacko, who is responsible for the external relations of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. "Now is precisely the time we should do a lot of stirring about this - we should speak about it and try to have it realized."

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar is already lobbying Rome to allow him to take the Eastern title of patriarch rather than the Vatican appellation of major archbishop, reported Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times. Archbishop Major Husar told her that it would help his dialogue with Orthodox leaders if "we could be partners on an equal footing."

"If they are a patriarchate and we are not, then we will have to play the game according to their rules. But, if we are both recognized patriarchates, then we can work as partners or talk as partners toward a real union, a communion," said Cardinal Husar.

Cardinal Husar told reporters in Rome: "In practice and according to Church law, a major archbishop has practically all the rights of a patriarch. If there is any significant difference, it consists in this: that when the synod of all the bishops of a Church have elected a major archbishop, the pope has to approve the selection. When a patriarch is elected, then the Church simply notifies the pope the election has been made and he extends his communion and that is done in the form of a concelebration. This is the most visible, the most clear distinction, but in everything else the patriarch and the major archbishop have the same rights and powers."

Archbishop Major Husar was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope John Paul II at the Vatican during a consistory on February 21, but in the College of Cardinals he holds the rank of cardinal priest, the second of three orders, because the episcopal (or highest order) can be held only by Eastern rite patriarchs and cardinals that the pontiff assigns the title of a suburbicarian Church.

"You can even hear from very high-ranking prelates here in Rome that they speak of Cardinal Husar as a 'patriarch of Ukraine,' and if they speak privately about it, it means that they are thinking about it," commented Msgr. Dacko.

"This (patriarchate) is something our Church really needs and I see it not only as a contribution for Ukraine. We should present this as a vision for the entire Universal Church - Catholic or Orthodox - because I think that then our Church could become a model for other Churches," said the Rev. Dr. Dacko.

A vision for the Church

"The vision that was born in the times of Servant of God Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky and continued by Patriarch Slipyj is moving forward. There is a very positive trend toward the entire issue of the creation of a Ukrainian Patriarchate - and I am not talking so much in terms of a Greek-Catholic Patriarchate, but of one Patriarchate for all the children of the Christianity of St. Volodymyr of Kyiv, because we need one Patriarchate and we all want to pray in our sobor of St. Sophia. I am speaking of the communion of all the Churches of Ukraine, and I think with God's help, and a lot of humility and hard work, we can achieve this. This is our vision now," the Rev. Dacko explained.

Although the movers and shakers of the Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine clearly agree on the separation of Church and state, they do believe that the Ukrainian government is interested in having a Ukrainian Patriarchate recognized.

In order to move this process along, some religious believe that it would be beneficial for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church to have a presence, not only of a cathedral, but also a liaison office of the Greek-Catholic Church. Currently, the Church has two parishes in Kyiv, lone in a chapel at the historic Askold's Grave (Askoldova Mohyla) and the other in a bell tower, a remnant from the Church of St. Nicholas the Good in the Podil section of the city. Construction of a monastery for the Basilian Fathers is currently being completed, but there has been no groundbreaking for a cathedral in the Ukrainian capital.

"The Ukrainian government should not try to control ecclesiastical affairs, but it should be mindful of the needs of all its citizens, and the religious life of Ukrainians and the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is very important," commented the Rev. Gudziak. "And support for the Patriarchate on the part of the Ukrainian government would surely benefit the cause," he noted.

The papal visit

"I think that today the idea of a Patriarchate is still a dream, a great wish, but I am expecting a signal within these next four months, not only from the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, but from these two big centers, from Rome and the Holy See - the Holy Father Pope John Paul II - and from the Ecumenical Patriarch, concretely from Patriarch Bartholomew," said the Rev. Dacko.

"Ukraine is enduring a time of political instability, social dislocation and economic crisis. And Ukrainians who suffered so terribly over the course of the 20th century are tired - there's a broad social depression in Ukraine. The pope has always been a sign of hope, a bearer of the good news that hardships are overcome in the Lord. My great hope is that he will spark a new ray of hope," concluded the Rev. Dr. Gudziak.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 18, 2001, No. 11, Vol. LXIX

| Home Page |