Bishop Mykola Bychok Made a Pastoral Visit to Tasmania
From January 21 to 26, Bishop Mykola Bychok and Father Justin McDonnell were on a pastoral visit to Tasmania, meeting with the faithful in Launceston and Hobart.
Bishop Mykola began his visit to Tasmania by meeting the bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches of Australia. From January 21 to 23, he, as a representative of the Melbourne Eparchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, together with Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay (Maronite Catholic Diocese of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania), Bishop Robert Rabbat (Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Australia, New Zealand and All Oceania), and Archbishop Amel Nona (Chaldean Catholic Diocese in Australia & New Zealand), discussed the future cooperation of the Eastern Catholic Churches in Australia.
The bishops also met with Archbishop Julian Porteous of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hobart. During the meeting, Bishop Mykola sincerely thanked Bishop Julian for visiting Ukraine and supporting various humanitarian projects, including the Patriarchal Foundation initiative ‘Wise Deed’.
At this time, Father Justin McDonnell, an assistant priest of the parish in Sydney, visited the faithful in Hobart and its environs. He is responsible for the pastoral care of the faithful in Tasmania and travels to the island monthly to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and administer the Holy Sacraments.
On January 24, Bishop Mykola, together with Father Justin, visited the faithful from the neighbourhoods of Launceston, Devonport, Latrobe, Turners Beach, and Georgetown, blessing their homes with the Jordan Water.
On Saturday, January 25, a Divine Liturgy was held at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Launceston, led by Bishop Mykola in concelebration with Father Justin.
On the same day, the clergy travelled to Hobart and conducted the Great Vespers in the chapel of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ at the Ukrainian House. The following day, on Sunday, January 26, they celebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy there.
In his homily, the bishop reflected on a passage from the Gospel of Luke, emphasising, “I think that we Christians do not always have the ability to rejoice in the happiness of others. We are often selfish, self-centred, jealous, and envious. We often rejoice more in the misfortune of others. It seems that we take more pleasure in the failures of others than in their happiness, which does not concern us. We should learn from the crowd: even if we don’t experience a miracle in our lives, we should be grateful for all the blessings we and others receive.”
As Australia celebrates Australia Day on January 26, we prayed especially for this country, not forgetting about Ukraine, as this is very important for the Ukrainian faithful, particularly for those who arrived in Tasmania after the outbreak of a full-scale war. So we prayed for a just peace, for an end to the war, for all the victims, the missing, and those in captivity.
After the liturgy, everyone had the opportunity to talk to Bishop Mykola and Father Justin over a festive lunch.
