Ukrainian Catholics mark 400th anniversary of union with Rome (10/20/96)

Ukrainian Catholics mark 400th anniversary of union with Rome

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

LVIV - More than 30,000 people jammed Freedom Square in Lviv on October 13 to hear the divine liturgy as the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church celebrated the 400th anniversary of the reunion between a portion of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Union of Brest (Berestia) was proclaimed on October 16, 1596, between the Ruthenian (Ukrainian-Belarusian) Orthodox Church of what was then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Church of Rome. The move was spurred by the Turkish conquest of the Patriarchy of Constantinople in 1453, the creation of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1589 and internal strife within the Ukrainian Church. The agreement recognized the pope as head of the Church but allowed Ukrainians to retain their Eastern rite traditions.

The crowd that came to celebrate the anniversary filled the square from the Lviv Opera House back to the Taras Shevchenko monument, and spilled onto Shevchenko Street. A giant stage with an altar was erected in front of the opera house. The faithful and the curious stood on park benches, ladders and the large flower pots that dot the square and watched from balconies of buildings across the street.

The liturgy was led by Archbishop Michael Bzdel, metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Canada, and was concelebrated with Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches, Archbishop Antonio Franco, papal nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Stephen Sulyk, metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the United States, and bishops from all the major eparchies of the worldwide Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.

Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky, major archbishop and head of the Church, did not attend the liturgy due to illness.

While extending greetings from Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Silvestrini called on Ukrainian Catholics to seek even stronger bonds with Rome. "These celebrations are a time for Ukrainian Greek-Catholics to contemplate the union with Rome and what it means," said Cardinal Silvestrini.

The large turnout for the celebration, held under a dazzling blue sky on a warm Indian summer Sunday, pleased organizers. As late as October 11, the press center of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, headquartered at St. George's Cathedral in Lviv, declined to comment on how many would attend. A spokesperson said the turnout at the liturgy that opened the Patriarchal Sobor and the celebrations was disappointing.

The Freedom Square liturgy was part of a series of events held here in the last week, which included a World Sobor and a commemorative concert. A World Synod of Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Bishops followed, beginning on October 14.

From October 6 to 10, Greek-Catholics held the first session (of four that are scheduled annually for the next four years) of a Patriarchal Sobor at Lviv State University. More than 200 delegates, religious leaders and laity from each of the Church's eparchies throughout the world gathered to discuss the future of the Church.

Five committees - on the configuration of the priesthood, the academic configuration of study for priests, matters of the family; catechization of the laity, and matters of youth - presented a lengthy list of proposals for affirmation by the Sobor. They were to be presented to the World Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, which was to act on them.

The proposals presented to the Synod of Bishops for approval were both philosophical and practical in nature. For example, the committee on matters of youth proposed a statement on the global AIDS epidemic, as well as on sexual morality, sexual abuse and rape. It also suggested that the Synod work forcefully to build youth organizations in parishes.

The Sobor of religious and lay leaders also voted on three resolutions. First, they agreed to call on the Ukrainian government to officially rehabilitate the Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine, which was outlawed in 1946 by a non-canonical synod of bishops, with an addendum that the Church never accepted the findings and resolutions of that synod. Also, they unanimously voted to request that the president of Ukraine send an official invitation to the Vatican for a papal visit. And they agreed to submit a proposal to the Synod of Bishops to withdraw the condemnation of those bishops who did not recognize the Union of Brest in 1596.

Bishop Lubomyr Husar, recently appointed the leader of the newly formed Kyiv-Vyshhorod Eparchy, who presided over the work of the Sobor, told The Weekly (see page 3) on October 11 that he was very pleased with the Sobor's outcome. "I was happy that the whole Church was there, the laypeople the leadership, the clergy," said Bishop Husar. "The complaints and criticism were good. That shows that ours is a living Church."

Although there were no demonstrations, the Orthodox Church did not remain quiet as its breakaway brothers celebrated 400 years since the reunion with Rome. On October 4-5 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate hosted a conference at the Russian Pushkin Society, which some Greek-Catholics dubbed the "anti-sobor."

The conference attendees paid tribute to the victims of the Union of Brest of 1596 and discussed measures to prevent a visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine, which the Greek-Catholic Church is hoping will take place next year. Orthodox Church leaders such as Moscow Patriarch Aleksiy II, Kyiv Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabadan) of the Moscow Patriarchate and Metropolitan of Canada and the United States Feodosiy sent a letter of greeting and support for the conference's work.

Responding to the conference's charges and perhaps in a conciliatory gesture, Bishop Husar said he could not deny that the Greek-Catholic "Uniates" did persecute those who fought against the union. He said, however, that an effort by the Orthodox to stop a papal visit was sheer nonsense. "I find it not even worth discussing," said the bishop.

After the completion of the Greek-Catholic Sobor on October 10, the delegates met for a concluding luncheon at a restaurant near the university and a moleben at St. George's Cathedral.

The next evening thousands jammed the Lviv Opera House for a ceremonial concert of religious and classical music. Various stars of the Ukrainian opera performed works by such noted composers as Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Lysenko, Leontovych, Stetsenko and Hnatyshyn.

A combined choir of the Boyan, Homin, Antey, Mria and Blahovist cappellas and the Yevshan chamber choir performed several works by Ukrainian composers, including the "Prayer" from Hulak-Artemovsky's opera "Zaporozhets Za Dunayem." Their rendering of a piece from Verdi's opera, "Nabucco," had Msgr. Marizio Malvestiti, press secretary to Cardinal Silvestrini, waving his arms to the music.

The divine liturgy, which followed two days later, was the emotional culmination of the yearlong observances of the 400th anniversary of the Union of Brest. In the spring, a two-day celebration had taken place in Drohobych, in western Ukraine. On July 2, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic bishops from around the world gathered in Rome for commemorations in the Vatican, which included the celebration of a divine liturgy with Pope John Paul II. At that time the pope issued an apostolic letter regarding the Union of Brest.

One more celebration, in Kyiv, is scheduled for November 24.