Prot. BA 23/247 ENG

DECREE

To the glory of the Holy, Consubstantial, Life-giving, and Undivided Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and for the good of the people of God entrusted to us. Amen

BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND IN FULL COMMUNION WITH THE ROMAN APOSTOLIC SEE

SVIATOSLAV,
Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych of
the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

To the Most Reverend Metropolitans and Bishops,
Reverend Priests, Venerable Monks and Nuns,
and Laity of the Particular Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

I PROCLAIM AND PROMULGATE

Resolutions
of the Synod of Bishops
of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Rome, September 3-13, 2023

  1. To acknowledge the state of implementation of the decisions of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in 2022.
  2. To approve the text of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great with additional proposals and to bless the Service Book for publication.
  3. To acknowledge the report of the General Director of the Administration of Justice on the state of the judiciary in the UGCC.
  4. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Eparchies and Bishops” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  5. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Laity” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  6. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Associations of the Faithful” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  7. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Evangelization. Missionary Activity of the Church” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  8. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Ecumenical Activity and Interreligious Dialogue” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  9. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Baptized non-Catholics who enter into full unity with the Catholic Church” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  10. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Church Teaching” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  11. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “On Divine Worship and, in particular, on the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments)” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  12. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Consecrations and Blessings, Sacred Places and Times, Cult of the Saints, Vows and Oaths” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  13. To adopt in the first reading with amendments and additions the section titled “Penal Sanctions” of the Code of Canons of the UGCC.
  14. To express gratitude to Metropolitan Eugeniusz Popowicz and the working group for the compilation of the Code of Canons of the UGCC for their conscientious work.
  15. To approve the Statutes of the Patriarchal Assembly (Sobor) of the UGCC.
  16. To approve the Procedural Rules of the Patriarchal Assembly (Sobor) of the UGCC.
  17. To approve amendments to Art. 3 and 13 of the Protopresbyter Rulebook.
  18. To approve amendments to Art. 3 and 4 of the Instructions Regarding a Clergyman Staying Outside the Territory of His Eparchy.
  19. To approve the amendments to Art. 20 and 22, §1 of the Statutes of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC regarding the date and place of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC.
  20. To acknowledge information regarding the participation of our Church in continental assemblies in Oceania, North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America in preparation for the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, called “The Synodal Way.”.
  21. To acknowledge the report on the activities of the Department of Social Service of the Patriarchal Curia of the UGCC.
  22. To acknowledge the report on the activities of the ICF “Caritas Ukraine”.
  23. In order to ensure appropriate pastoral accompaniment of the victims of war:
  24. To ask the Holy Father to establish an ad hoc commission to coordinate general Catholic assistance regarding establishing appropriate spiritual, psychological and medical care for the victims of the war in Ukraine.
  25. To commission the Patriarchal Catechetical Commission in cooperation with the Head of the UGCC’s Council for Evangelization Affairs to develop evangelization and catechetical programs for the pastoral care of forced emigrants and internally displaced persons in Ukraine.

III. For the sake of better pastoral care of Ukrainians who migrated because of the war, to call on consecrated persons of the UGCC to expand their missionary ministry, carrying it out among forced emigrants from Ukraine and internally displaced persons.

  1. To instruct the head of the Department for External Church Relations to create a Personnel Training Program for the external representation of the UGCC and to ask the eparchial bishops to direct candidates to it candidates.
  2. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s renunciation of nuclear weapons in 1994, to commission the Ukrainian Catholic University to organize an international historical-political and theological study of this historical event, and to hold a conference on the topic: “Ukraine’s Contribution to Peace and Security in the World: Experience — Current State — Prospects.”
  3. To encourage forced immigrants from Ukraine to integrate into the society of the country where they currently reside, cautioning them in regards to assimilation, to forgetting about their own national and spiritual-cultural roots, and to facilitate their return.

VII. To call upon the faithful of the UGCC who are abroad not to cease to bear witness to the truth about Ukraine among the peoples where they presently reside, and to make efforts for the long-term support of the Ukrainian people and the exchange of cultural and spiritual gifts.

VIII. To ask metropolitans and bishops from outside Ukraine to create inter-eparchial councils with the participation of representatives from eparchies and exarchates for the implementation of the program “Healing the Wounds of War.”.

  1. To ask the eparchial bishops to:

1) in order to fulfill the mission of the Church — to carry the Word of God and the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) — to create new centers to provide pastoral care for Ukrainians forced to migrate because of the war;

2) to develop cooperation with Roman Catholic dioceses and local Catholic structures responsible for the pastoral care of migrants and refugees;

3) in ongoing formation of the clergy, to pay special attention to the multifaceted training of the clergy in order to improve the pastoral accompaniment of forced emigrants and internally displaced persons;

4) in accordance with Resolution 7Η, par. 3-5 of the 2012 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC and Resolution 7E, par. 1-3 of the 2015 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, to foster among parish clergy, consecrated persons and laity of the UGCC a consciousness of the missionary nature of the Church, providing to them suitable training for the development of evangelization and missionary activity of the Church, in particular for the seeking out and bringing to the Church Ukrainian refugees scattered throughout various countries of the world;

5) to encourage priests towards military, medical and academic chaplaincy, providing them proper training, in cooperation with the central structures of the UGCC and the relevant institutions of the local Roman Catholic Church;

6) to foster a living connection with priests, providing them with the necessary spiritual accompaniment; to pay special attention to those members of the clergy who are going through various life crises and difficulties;

7) in accordance with Resolution 11. A-B of the 2018 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, to promote the development of eparchial media resources with the goal of evangelization and catechesis.

  1. In accordance with Resolution 5. II of the 2022 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, to charge eparchial commissions for healthcare or those responsible for this area to pay special attention to those affected by the war.
  2. To instruct the clergy to:

1) in accordance with Resolution 7.H, par. 2 of the 2012 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, to foster pastoral openness to each person; to create an atmosphere of trust and acceptance in pastoral work with refugees, responding to the Holy Father’s call regarding the synodal path to “expand the space of our tent” (cf. Isaiah 54:2);

2) to pay special attention to the evangelization, catechesis, and spiritual care of unchurched Ukrainians, using new pastoral approaches and methods for the healing of wounds of war and the deepening of the spiritual life of members of parish communities, in particular of forced emigrants and internally displaced persons;

3) to develop youth ministry in order to improve the spiritual accompaniment of children and youth, making use of, in particular, social networks and contemporary methods of evangelization and catechesis;

4) in accordance with resolution 7.G, par. 6-7 of the 2012 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC and resolutions 7. K, par. 1-2 of the 2015 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, through works of mercy, to bring the face of the loving God closer, creating effective charitable communities in parishes.

5) together with internally displaced persons and forced emigrants from Ukraine, to foster and promote spirituality and Ukrainian culture in their new places of residence;

6) to invite the newly arrived forced emigrants and internally displaced persons to participate ever more actively in the life and mission of our church communities (donation of time, talents, treasure), leading to the involvement of those adequately prepared and churched among them in the cooperative work of parish councils and other structures;

7) to celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the fallen defenders of Ukraine and victims of Russian aggression on days of remembrance of the deceased in the liturgical year and on other appropriate occasions.

XII. To encourage clergy from outside Ukraine to establish Ukrainian schools, parish pastoral or cultural centers for newly arrived forced emigrants or, making use of all available contemporary means of communication, to promote existing centers in order to support the faith, tradition, culture and language of the Motherland.

XIII. To encourage the faithful of the UGCC to bear good Christian witness to Ukrainian forced emigrants and internally displaced persons, and to show them hospitality.

  1. To acknowledge the report on the activities of the “Andrew’s Pence” fund.
  2. To acknowledge the report on the activities of the Mission Fund of the UGCC.
  3. To acknowledge the report on the activities of the Church-wide Priestly Solidarity Fund.
  4. To acknowledge the report on the activities of the Patriarchal Foundation of the UGCC “Mudra Sprava” (A Wise Undertaking).
  5. To acknowledge the report on the construction of the Patriarchal Center in Kyiv.
  6. To include in the Menologion of the UGCC the saints of the sui iuris Catholic Churches: Blessed Hieromartyr Paul Gojdych (commemorated on July 17); Blessed Hieromartyr Vasyl Hopko (July 23); St. Charbel (July 24); Venerable Mother Teresa of Calcutta (September 5); Pope St. John Paul II, Pope (October 22); St. John Bosco (January 31); Venerable Father Anthony of Padua (June 13); St. Alphonse Liguori (August 1).
  7. To include Blessed Edigna (commemorated on February 26) in the Menologion of the UGCC.
  8. To celebrate the Solemn Adoration of the Most Pure Mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ (Corpus Christi) and the Feast of the Sweetest Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lover of Mankind (Sacred Heart of Jesus), as one-day feasts of the Lord, without pre-feasts and post-feasts; to transfer the feast of All Saints of the Ukrainian people to the second Sunday after Pentecost.
  9. To adopt with amendments and additions the Menologion of the UGCC.
  10. To acknowledge the report on the activities of the Pastoral Council of the Patriarchal Curia over the past year and on the implementation of the Pastoral Plan of the UGCC for the period up to 2030.
  11. To acknowledge the report summaries of patriarchal level commissions and departments for the past year.
  12. To acknowledge the report on the beatification process of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky.
  13. To establish as the main theme of the 2024 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC: “To be Good Messengers of Hope: Evangelization in the Context of War”, to appoint Bishop Josaphat Moshchych with responsibility for its preparation.
  14. To hold the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in 2024 in Zarvanytsia.
  15. To approve the Communiqué of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in 2023.

† SVIATOSLAV,
Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

† Andriy Khimyak,
Secretary of the Synod of Bishops
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Given in Kyiv,
at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ,

on the day of the Holy Great Martyr Nicetas,

September 15, 2023