Bishop Husar speaks on 400th anniversary of Union of Brest (10/06/96)

Bishop Husar speaks on 400th anniversary of Union of Brest

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Bishop Lubomyr Husar on September 19 announced that yearlong celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the union between portions of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and the Holy See of Rome will culminate with observances in Lviv, the seat of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, beginning on October 4, and in Kyiv on November 24.

The bishop also discoursed at length on his views of Catholic-Orthodox relations in Ukraine and mentioned a possible visit by Pope John Paul II to Ukraine next year.

Bishop Husar's first order of business was the 400th anniversary of the Union of Brest on October 16, 1596, which marked the reconciliation of a portion of Orthodox Christianity with Rome, which had been divided by the Great Schism (1378-1417).

The union was proclaimed between the Ruthenian (Ukrainian-Belarusian) Orthodox Church, in what was then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Rome.

The move was spurred by the Turkish conquest of the patriarchy in Constantinople in 1453, the creation of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1589 and major internal strife within the Ukrainian Church. The agreement recognized the pope as the head of the Church and allowed Ukrainians to retain their Eastern-rite traditions.

Bishop Husar said the commemorative celebrations will focus on four themes that will make the Church in Ukraine stronger: recruitment and development of clergy in Ukraine; strengthening family units; catechization of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics; and attention to youth.

Four commissions have been set up to develop these topics. They are headed by Dr. Borys Gudziak, director of the Institute of Church History, Lviv, and the Rev. Andriy Chirovsky, director of Eastern Christian Studies, Ottawa (recruitment of priests); the Rev. Yaroslav Buduikevych of Ivano-Frankivsk University and Prof. Stepan Vovkanych of Lviv (family); the Rev. Myron Bendyk, rector of the Institute of Catechism in Drohobych and the Rev. Luisa Tsiupa of the Catholic Center of Lviv (catechism); Bishop Petro Stasiuk and Teodor Gudziak, director of Ukrainian Youth for Christ (youth).

These topics will be taken up in a series of seminars and roundtables dedicated specifically to the four topics, to be held in Lviv on October 6-10.

From October 11 to 14 hierarchs of the Church, along with priests and faithful from around the world, are expected in Lviv for official celebrations at St. George Cathedral, which also will include a commemorative program and concert at the Lviv Opera Theater.

Finally, on October 14-21, bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from around the world will gather for a world synod.

Bishop Husar said the celebrations in Kyiv are still being planned and details will be announced as they develop.

Commemorations have already taken place in Rome. On July 2 the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic hierarchy celebrated liturgy with Pope John Paul II, and the pope issued an apostolic letter regarding the Union of Brest.

In late spring of this year, a two-day celebration took place in the western Ukrainian city of Drohobych.

Catholic-Orthodox relations

Bishop Husar, who was named bishop of the newly created exarchate of Kyiv-Vyshhorod on April 2, then spoke at length with reporters about relations in Ukraine with the various Orthodox Churches, and of Greek-Catholic shortcomings in the interconfessional dialogue.

He said the Greek-Catholic Church is making little effort to find common ground with other confessions in Ukraine. He termed the effort by the Church something more akin to a "non-aggression pact" rather than a proactive move towards unity.

"A good example of what we could do is what the Melchite Church, which is found in Egypt and Syria, did," explained the bishop. "They made an offer to the Orthodox of the country to work together with a general goal of reunification set at the year 2000."

On the other hand, Bishop Husar said he doesn't understand the feeling among many adherents of Ukrainian Orthodoxy that the Greek-Catholic Church is somehow invading their traditional territories. "Nobody bats an eyelash that the Orthodox Church of Moscow has eparchies in Vienna, in Milan, in Berlin," he said. "Our point is not to invade but to serve our people here who have been or have become voluntarily Catholic. If you ban the Catholic Church in the eastern provinces, you are, in effect, saying our people who moved here or were forced to move here can no longer practice their Greek-Catholic faith."

The 63-year-old Studite monk, who was secretly consecrated a bishop 17 years ago by the late Patriarch Josyf Slipyj in Castelgondolfo, Italy, near Rome, said that a tragic outcome of the interconfessional bickering is that many Ukrainians who could be brought into the traditional Christian folds are opting not to be baptized. "We are losing a great chance to become a Christian country. Only one-half of the country is baptized today," he explained. "It is important, most of all, that at least people find Christ."

He said he believes there has been too little support in the government for spiritual rebirth and that a council of some sort should be formed to work out interconfessional problems, which could also confront issues of family, youth and schooling.

A papal visit

Bishop Husar admitted that Pope John Paul II will not visit Ukraine during the jubilee year, but held out hope that he would come to Ukraine next year, which would be a historic first.

"We hope to see the pope in Ukraine next year. However, you must understand that the head of state must make the invitation."

He said that such a visit could lead to an even more historic moment. "We hope that if the pope does come, he will do then what he has done in other countries when he has visited - bestowed a patriarchate."