Young theologians celebrate opening of new theological center in Lviv (09/18/05)

Young theologians celebrate opening of new theological center in Lviv

by Matthew Matuszak

LVIV - The new Theological Center for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church was inaugurated in Lviv on August 28. To celebrate the occasion, 250 graduates of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) and Holy Spirit Seminary organized Kairos (classical Greek for "the crucial time"), a conference for young theologians, held on the premises of the new center on August 28-30.

According to Marko Filevych, a former student at the UCU and now a professor there of iconography and sacred architecture, "The word 'theologian' belongs to those concepts which are exceptionally difficult to explain in the language of modernity. The associations that it brings often link it with some old images of the Middle Ages. The phrase 'modern theologian' sounds like an anachronism ... Theologians of the new generation are called to change this stereotype."

The Kairos conference became a meeting place for representatives of various theological centers, schools and viewpoints. It was also a continuation of the ceremonies for the inauguration of the new Theological Center of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC). The center will combine the new premises of Holy Spirit Seminary, which serves as the main center of priestly formation for the UGCC Archeparchy of Lviv, and the classroom building of the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy of the Ukrainian Catholic University.

In his opening greeting at the conference, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the UGCC, noted that theological experience and the fruitful life of the church are inseparable.

Most of the participants of the conference were in their 20s or 30s, lay people, as well as male and female religious and priests. Since graduation from the UCU, many have received advanced degrees or are still working on them at institutions like the University of Notre Dame, the Catholic University of America and even Oxford University. Some of the young theologians are now working in theological institutions of the UGCC, including the UCU.

"The young face of Ukrainian theology was the main 'calling card' of the conference," said Mr. Filevych. "Our theology is not only for men or clergy. Our theology has many faces, filled with possibilities and prospects."

In the first decades of the 20th century, the UGCC had a few dozen professional theologians, generally concentrated in small centers in Lviv, Peremyshl and Ivano-Frankivsk. In the second half of that century, Ukrainian theology went through a crisis, with only a handful of theologians entirely dedicated to the "scholarly harvest," as Mr. Filevych put it. "Against such a more than humble background," added Mr. Filevych, "the beginning of the 21st century looks like it has much promise."

On the first night of the conference, the young theologians made a gift to Cardinal Husar: their dissertations, published reference works and journal articles. Among their accomplishments were the following: the graduates successfully ran the "Christmas Together" project in January, bringing eastern and western Ukrainians together to celebrate Christmas in Lviv; they have helped develop Faith and Light communities for the mentally disabled in Ukraine; they have organized numerous summer programs, including evangelization projects throughout the country; and they have prepared many translations of theological literature.

Among the more interesting reports given at the conferences' plenary sessions were those of the Rev. Dr. Andriy Chirovsky of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies in Ottawa and the Rev. Dr. Sviatoslav Shevchuk, vice-rector of Holy Spirit Seminary. The Rev. Chirovsky shared his personal experience in the establishment of theological scholarship in the UGCC at the end of the last century; the Rev. Shevchuk presented his vision of theological formation for UGCC clergy.

The sessions for specialists were divided into 10 sections, with "interesting, and sometimes heated, discussions, the birth of new ideas. They proposed new solutions to various problems," Mr. Filevych noted.

"There are those who love to look on the era of the dukes [of Kyivan-Rus'] as the golden age of Kyivan Christianity," said the Rev. Chirovsky. "Some want to see the 17th century as the golden era, when many churches were built and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy was established. Some see this golden age in the times of the ministry of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. But, when I see in this hall 250 young theologians, I understand all the better that this golden age will be coming soon."

To keep the prospects of the Ukrainian Catholic University fully alive, Father Borys Gudziak, the rector of the UCU, will be traveling to the United States in November on a fund-raising tour of five cities. (Further information will be released in advertisements to be published in The Weekly.)

Further information about the UCU in English and Ukrainian is available on the university's website at www.ucu.edu.ua. Readers may also contact the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, 2247 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60622; phone, (773) 235-8462; e-mail, ucef@ucef.org; website, www.ucef.org. The phone number of the UCEF in Canada is (416) 239-2495.

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