Axios!

Axios! and many years to Bishop Svyatoslav (Shevchuk), reportedly elected Supreme Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church cf. Джерело публікації: risu.org.ua.

The Kyiv Post reports the following:

New head of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church elected
Today at 17:00 Interfax-Ukraine The new head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) was elected on Thursday by the Synod of Bishops, but his name is not to be disclosed until his candidacy is confirmed by the Vatican, a source close to the UGCC has told Interfax-Ukraine.

It was reported that on Thursday, participants in the electoral synod of the UGCC had conducted a vote under a simplified scheme, according to which the head of the church is elected by a simple majority vote. The first three days of the election produced no result, as two thirds of the vote was required for a victory.

The bishop elected as head of the UGCC, after confirmation from Rome, will take a vow to faithfully carry out his duties. He will take office after the enthronement, which, according to the Web site of the UGCC, is to be held in Kyiv on March 27.

Forty church bishops participated in the synod.

The election of a new head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was set after the Pope in February 2011 accepted the resignation of Cardinal Lubomir Husar as UGCC head, on health grounds.

Also, see

Ukrainian Catholic Bishops already elected a new head of UGCC

24-03-2011

On the fourth day of the Electoral Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church bishops made ​​a choice, unoffical source informed RISU. However, there is no official confirmation of elections from the Vatican yet, and name of new head of UGCC is not disclosed. Now bishops are waiting for a response from the Apostolic See.

Source RISU

And if you read Ukrainian, check out this site.

A Book I Missed

I just came accross Relgious Information Service of Ukraine report about a book by Bishop Paul Peter Jesep of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Kyiv-Patriarchate entitled, "Crucifying Jesus and Secularizing America -- The Republic of Faith without Wisdom".

If anyone is familiar with this book, please comment. I would like to know your opinions.

Dominicans in Kiev

Dominican monastery being built in Kiev

Kiev, August 22, Interfax - A Roman Catholic Chapel of St. Hyacinth was dedicated in Kiev a few days ago.

On the same site the Dominican Order plans to built a cloister and a St. Thomas Aquinas Institute of Religious Sciences.

Bishop Jan Purwinski of Kiev-Zhitomir, who presided over the liturgy in the new chapel, said that the future Dominican center was called ‘to shape the culture of the spirit in today’s uneasy circumstances,’ Religious Information Service of Ukraine reported.

I have mixed feelings about this one. The spread of the Faith is a beautiful thing, but on the one hand, in an historically Byzantine nation I am concerned that the implanting of "western" institutions may be counterproductive. But, on the other hand, our separated Eastern Brethren have no scruples about organizing "eastern" institutions, etc., in the West.

On balance, I realize that my hesitation arises from the desire to "not offend" the Orthodox. ("How pleasant in is when brothers dwell in unity!") Yet, experience has long since taught me that some people are especially prone to take offence no matter how polite one tries to be.

I must spend more time in prayer on this one!

Persecution Continues in Ukraine

Ukraine Church Property Dispute Turns Violent

DNIPOPETROVSK, Ukraine, JULY 5, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Property disputes in Ukraine have lead to the desecration of a church and violence against worshippers.

Bishop Stanislav Padewski of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya, has denounced the attack in a Latin-rite Catholic church, calling it disgraceful.

Elderly women who were praying in the church June 27 were beaten and dragged out of it, Bishop Padewski told Aid to the Church in Need.

The church building, which was confiscated in communist times, had been sold illegally to a private company in 1998, changing hands several times since then. Meanwhile, the Church leaders are insisting that the property be properly returned to them.

"The new owners were now resorting to violent means in order to expel the Catholic faithful," the bishop explained. "Meanwhile, the police were doing nothing to stop them."

Marko Tomashek, an expert on Eastern Europe for Aid to the Church in Need, explained: "In Ukraine there are dirty business deals being done with Church property. A lot of money is being made through such illegal dealings."

Tomashek underlined that these deals have made "a tangled web" of relationships. The government has officially declared that Church properties and goods are to be restored to the rightful owners, but the new owners are furious and unwilling to return the properties, he said.

No doubt the authorities also have "made a lot on these deals" Tomashek added.

Bishop Padewski appealed to all believers in Ukraine to make reparation for this act of sacrilege against the church with an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.

ZE07070505 - 2007-07-05