Your Beatitude!
Your Eminences and Your Graces, participants of the Council of Bishops of the
UOC!
The year of divine grace 2007 comes to an end. It was the anniversary year and it passed
under the sign of the 15th anniversary of the historical Kharkiv Council of Bishops and of the 15th years of tenure of the Kyiv
Cathedra by His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Volodymyr,
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
This year became a logical
continuation of the way of salvation chosen by the Kharkiv Council. In
order to evaluate objectively the significance of those events which took place
in 2007 one should give a brief outlook of the events which happened in our
Church during the last 15 years. Within this historically small period the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church passed the thorny way of trial, and even more
fortified itself in the standing up for truth, for the purity of the Orthodox
faith and managed to occupy the honourable place in our society. For all that
we are grateful in the first turn to the Lord and also to our Primate His
Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Volodymyr.
For today it was written
and said a lot about the historical and ecclesiastic significance of the
Kharkiv Council of Bishops of 1992. The hierarchs-participants of the Council
asserted the adherence to the Holy Orthodox faith, to the Prince Vladimir's
Baptism, thus having preserved the conciliar principle of the Ukrainian
Orthodoxy.
Election of His Beatitude
Volodymyr to the office of Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine became
providential for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian nation. Evaluating the 15 years of his office as
Primate one can surely state that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has gown
quantitatively and qualitatively, has strengthened its authority both in the
Ukrainian society and all over the
world.
The significant events for
the past 15 years were the following celebrations: of the 950th
anniversary of our greatest shrine the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in
2001, the 10th anniversary of the Kharkiv Council in 2002, the 70th
anniversary of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr in 2005 and 40 years of his
episcopal ministry in 2006. Among the guests of the celebrations there were His
Beatitude Metropolitan
Christopher of the Czech lands
and Slovakia, His Beatitude Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All
America and Canada Herman and the representatives of all the Local Orthodox
Churches. The participation of the
distinguished guests from different Orthodox Churches gives an evidence of our
prayerful unity around the chalice of Christ and of the Universal character of
the Orthodoxy.
For 15 years of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr's
ministry as Primate the guests of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church were His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople Bartholomew, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Alexy, His Holiness the Patriarch of Bulgaria Maxim, His Holiness the Patriarch
of Serbia Pavle, His
Beatitude Metropolitan of All America Theodosius, His Eminence Metropolitan of
Tokyo and All Japan Theodosius, His Holiness the
Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Paulos, eminent hierarchs and theologians of the Orthodox and non-Orthodox
Churches.
All that testifies to the authority the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its Primate have in
the world.
At the suggestion and with
the blessing of His Beatitude the great common Christian shrines were brought
to Ukraine, unto which millions of our compatriots could bow: in 1999 - the holy head of the Holy Great
Martyr Panteleimon from the Holy Mount Athos, in 2001 the holy head of the Holy Apostle Andrew the
First-Called, which was personally brought by the Primate of the Greek Orthodox
Church Archbishop of Athens Christodul, in 2002 - the part of the Life-Giving wood of the Cross of Christ from Greece, and in 2006 -
from Jerusalem, the same year - - the right hand of the Holy Prophet John the
Forerunner from Montenegro.
The question of stabilizing
the relations between the Church and the state is the problem of high
priority. At present in Ukraine they do
not meet the democratic requirements.
The initiative of the presidential administration of "establishment of
the one Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine" gained wide publicity in the mass
media. The Holy Synod gave an exhaustive answer for this request in the Address
of November 22, 2006. On December 23 the meeting of the President of Ukraine
Victor Yushchenko with our episcopacy took place, giving an opportunity of
changing opinions on the problems actual for the State and the Church. It was emphasized that the internal church
problems are to be decided exclusively within the framework of the canon law. The
hierarchs could share with the head of the state the problems which locally
emerge with the representatives of the state power.
The problems of the church-state relations were considered at the meeting
with the Commissar of the Council of Europe Thomas Hummerberg in the residence of Primate of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church. In particular on the
agenda was the fact that the Church does not have the status of legal body, which to the high extent prevents
it from resolving lots of problems concerning the effective fulfilment of its
mission in the Ukrainian society and from realization of the right of freedom
of conscience in Ukraine. The problem of introduction of the subject of
Christian ethics into the system of general education is not resolved.
Now our Church is patiently
waiting for passing by the Supreme Rada the laws of the land tenure, of
reducing the taxation, and for passing of the new law of the freedom of
conscience. We hope that the new composition of
the Supreme Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers will at last hear the voice of
the believers, who voted for them in elections. However there are positive
changes in the relations with the state.
The gift for the 15th
anniversary of the Kharkiv Council of Bishops was the allocation of the land
site for building the cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the
administrative centre which it needs so much. In course of celebrations the
consecration of the construction site was performed and the cross was
installed. Now the project approved by
the decision of the Holy Synod on October 18, 2007 is in the process of
elaboration. The prayer services performed by the Primate of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church at Volodymyrska Girka in the capital
by the end of the year at presence of the government administration became a
good tradition. It is a unique possibility for the spiritual
and secular power to unite in the common prayer for the prosperity and
happiness of the Ukrainian nation.
The schism in the Ukrainian
Orthodoxy remains a painful wound in the body of the Church. This grief put even the closest people at the
different sides of the barricades. On
the initiative of the administration of the UAOC the proposal was made to renew
the work of the bipartite commissions, initiated as far as in 1995. Three
meetings in the spirit of mutual respect and tolerance have already taken
place. We hope that these meetings will give positive results with the help of
God.
As to the dialogue with the
so-called UOC-KP, proceeding from the realia of the present day it is
impossible yet. We cannot negotiate with the person excommunicated from the
Church and deposed from the holy orders.
Nevertheless the Mother Church suffers
for its children remaining outside its
fencing by virtue of different circumstances. In order to give them a chance to
return to the fold at
the session of the Council of Bishops which was held on January 24, 2007 the
decision was passed to create the "Commission on the Restoration of Unity of
the Ukrainian Orthodoxy". We believe that the brothers and sisters
separated from us will appreciate the care of the Mother Church for the salvation of their souls.
The expiring year was
marked by many prominent events of the social and church significance.
In October of the present
year the Primate of the ancient Orthodox Church His Divine Beatitude the Pope
and Patriarch of the Great City of Alexandria and All Africa Theodore ІІ visited Ukraine.
At the same time within the framework of the jubilee celebrations of
the Georgian Orthodox Church His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr met with the
Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, His Holiness and Beatitude Patriarch Ilia
II, the Catholicos of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and also with His Eminence
Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostom II. All that testifies to the recognition of
the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan Volodymyr by
the Universal Orthodoxy.
For the past period in the
year of 2007 9 sessions of the Holy Synod were
held, and on May, 31 the Council of Bishops was held. There the main issues of
the internal and external life of our Church were discussed.
This year the
administrative changes in the diocesan structure of the UOC were
introduced. By the decision of the Holy
Synod the new dioceses were created, singled out from the existing ones.
The Diocese of Berdyansk
was singled out from the composition of the Zaporizhzhya Diocese; the hierarch
of Zaporizhzhya enjoys the title Bishop of Zaporizhzhya and Melitopol, and the
hierarch of the newly created diocese - Bishop of Berdyansk and Primorsk.
The Diocese of Shepetivka
was singled out from the Diocese of Khmelnytsk. Correspondingly the ruling
bishops have the titles Bishop of Khmelnytsk and Starokostyantynivsk, and
Bishop of Shepetivka and Slavuta.
The Diocese of Nizhyn was
singled out from the Diocese of Chernihiv.
Correspondingly the ruling bishops have the titles Bishop of Chernihiv and
Novgorod-Siverskyi, and Bishop of Nizhyn and Baturin.
The Diocese of Luhansk is
divided into two autonomous dioceses -of Luhansk and Alchevsk and of
Severodonetsk and Starobilsk.
The newly established
dioceses were approved by the Council of Bishops of May 31, 2007.
At present the process of
establishment of the new dioceses goes on.
It is caused by the necessity of the more effective administration of
the dioceses and of the more frequent visiting the parishes. It enables the bishops to react timely at
the problems emerging in the parish life.
Thus the Kirovohrad Diocese
was divided into two autonomous dioceses: the Diocese of Kirovohrad and Novomyrhorod
and the Diocese of Olexandria and Svitlovodsk (90 parishes).
The Diocese of Poltava was divided into two autonomous dioceses. The separate Kremenchuk Diocese (192
parishes) was singled out from its composition.
Rector of the Odesa Theological Seminary archimandrite Evlogiy (Gutchenko) was
appointed Bishop of Kremenchuk and Khorol.
In its turn the Kherson
Diocese was divided into two autonomous dioceses. The Diocese of Kahovka (179 parishes) was singled out from its
composition. The clergyman of the Kyiv Diocese archimandrite Ioasaph (Gubenya)
was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Kahovka.
Thus, this year 7 new dioceses were added to the diocesan structure of the UOC.
The Council of Bishops is suggested to approve the Synodal decisions (journal No.68, of 27.07.2007; journal No.109, of 14.11.2007; journal No.120, of
14.12.2007) on the
establishment of the three new dioceses.
Correspondingly the number of bishops of the UOC increased. In the
expiring year 12 bishops consecrations were performed.
The clergyman of the Kyiv Diocese archimandrite Seraphim (Demyaniv) was consecrated Bishop of
Yagotyn, Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis.
The clergyman of the Kyiv Diocese, Secretary of
His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr archimandrite Alexander (Drabynko) was appointed Bishop of
Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi.
In 2007 Metropolitan of
Vinnytsia and Mohyliv-Podilskyi Makariy (Svystun) reposed in God after the
lasting illness.
In accordance with the application submitted Bishop of Bila Tserkva
and Boguslav Seraphim (Sergius in schema) (Zaliznytsky) was retired.
Also was retired Bishop of
Khust and Vynohradiv Ippolit (Khilko).
Taking into account the administrative changes mentioned the structure of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is as follows:
- number of dioceses - 42
- number of bishops - 57
of them: ruling - 41;
vicar - 12
retired - 4;
metropolitans -
10;
archbishops -
21;
bishops - 26;
As of January 1, 2007 in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church included the
following:
а) number of parishes - 10904;
b) number of clergymen - 8959 -
of them: priests - 8516;
deacons - 443;
c) number of theological educational
establishments - 20 -
of them: Academies - 1;
Seminaries - 7;
schools - 12;
d) number of monasteries - 173 -
of them: male (monasteries) - 83;
female (convents)
- 90;
e) number of inhabitants of monasteries - 4650;
f) number of print editions - 72 -
of them: newspapers - 56;
magazines - 16;
internet editions - 67;
g) Sunday Schools - about 5000.
For coordination of existence and
activity of different spheres of the external and internal life of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church the corresponding Synodal departments exist:
- Educational Committee to the Holy Synod of the UOC;
- Department of
External Church Relations;
- Commission on Monasteries;
- Commission for Canonization of Saints;
- Synodal Department for
Charity and Social Ministry;
- Synodal Department for Relations with
Armed Forces and Other Law-Enforcement Agencies of Ukraine;
- Synodal
Department for Religious Education, Catechisation and Missionary Work;
- Synodal Department for Youth Affairs;
- Synodal Department for Architecture,
Construction and Protection of the Monuments of the Church Architecture of the
UOC;
- Synodal Department "Mission
of Spiritual Enlightment";
- Synodal Department "Mission of Social
Aid to Children";
- Legal Departmentof the Kyiv Metropolis;
- Editorial Department of the Kyiv
Metropolis;
- Main Editorial Office of the TV
programs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church;
- TV channel "Glas";
- Press Service of the UOC;
On November 14, 2007 the open session of the Holy Synod was held at which the annual reports on the work of the Synodal Departments and Committees were heard.
At the last session of the
Holy Synod of December 14, 2007 two new synodal departments were created: "Church
Court of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church" and mission "Church and Medicine".
The Commission on Canons
was abolished and the Theological Commission was reorganised into the
Theological canonical Commission of the UOC.
In accordance with the social questioning at present the Church enjoys high confidence of the adult population of Ukraine. It testifies to the fact that it is able to
change for the better the spiritual and moral environment in our society, resting
on the eternal evangelical and Christian values. At presence of the required
juridical and legal basis the Church in the cooperation with the state can
resolve lots of social problems.
Being guided by the Holy
Spirit, under the Archpastoral omophorion of His Beatitude Metropolitan
Volodymyr the Ukrainian Orthodox Church successfully fulfils its mission in the
Ukrainian land. In spite of the
existing problems it lives the full-fledged spiritually graceful life and leads
its children to the salvation. | |
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