Cardinal Husar's year-end press conference focuses on Church's presence in Kyiv (01/08/06)

Cardinal Husar's year-end press conference focuses on Church's presence in Kyiv

by Yana Sedova
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - About two-thirds of the construction for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church's cathedral on the left bank of the Dnipro River is complete, said Cardinal Lubomyr Husar at a press conference on December 19, 2005.

In two years, the Patriarchal Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection and a separate patriarch's residence should be complete, Cardinal Husar said.

The transfer of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church's headquarters to Kyiv in August 2005 and the cathedral's construction are symbolic steps towards uniting Ukraine's Churches, a goal Cardinal Husar said he'd like to see realized some day.

"We are here so as to show our people, those in Greek-Catholic Church, a visible symbol of unity (of faiths)," Cardinal Husar said.

Construction of the cathedral started in October 2002, when builders estimated the project's cost at $10 million. However, costs have exceeded that estimate because of the rising price of building materials in Kyiv, Cardinal Husar explained.

About $4.5 million has been spent on the project so far, he said. Five domes and a central gold-plated cross have already been erected. The ground floor of the patriarch's residence also is complete.

The Church has received offerings from Ukrainian Catholics from its eparchies worldwide, but hasn't accepted any donations from political parties or government institutions, Cardinal Husar said.

"We do not want funds that could bind the Church's hand and foot in the future," Cardinal Husar said. "It is better when the Church is absolutely free and when temples are built on donations of its believers."

Church spokesman Father Ihor Yatsiv couldn't confirm how many Ukrainian Catholic eparchies exist worldwide, but the Church's website indicates at least 22 exist.

North American eparchies have contributed more to the cathedral's construction than Ukrainian eparchies, Father Ihor said, again declining to offer any specific figures.

"To give less, but from your heart, is more important," Father Ihor said. "However, we are very happy that those who left Ukraine many years ago still feel their ties."

While diaspora Ukrainians may have maintained ties, the ties between different confessions in Ukraine haven't improved, which was the other major issue Cardinal Husar addressed.

He lamented the ongoing split between Ukraine's Orthodox and Catholics, while simultaneously acknowledging the significant canonical and dogmatic positions that inhibit unity.

"I wish there were one united Church, as it was at the very beginning, in the times of Volodymyr, when there was one patriarch and one center, such as St. Sophia Cathedral," Cardinal Husar said.

Since moving to Kyiv in August, Cardinal Husar has resided in a private apartment on Mykilsko-Slobidska Street in Kyiv, a two-minute walk from the future cathedral.

Police have yet to identify who set fire on November 19, 2005, to the cathedral's chapel, where divine liturgies were celebrated, the cardinal said. Since the arson, the Church has held its divine liturgies from a wagon.

"We haven't decided yet whether we should rebuild [the chapel] or not," Cardinal Husar said.

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