His Beatitude Sviatoslav: UGCC Is Open to Cooperation with Greece in Translating the Legacy of the Church Fathers into Ukrainian
On June 18, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, met with the Secretary General for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports of Greece. The meeting took place on the day of the signing of a Memorandum of Mutual Understanding between the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) and the Greek side.
The memorandum envisions cooperation in the areas of spiritual education, theological research, translation, military and medical chaplaincy, organization of summer camps, rehabilitation programs, and strengthening interchurch dialogue.
The Greek delegation included: Georgios Kalantzis, Secretary General of Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports of Greece, Pantelis Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos, Ambassador of Greece to Ukraine, and Emmanuel Androulakis, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Greece. The UGCC was also represented at the meeting by Fr. Yuriy Shchurko, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology of the Ukrainian Catholic University, and Fr. Roman Ostrovsky, Rector of the Kyiv Three Saints Theological Seminary.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that the signing of this memorandum is a historic event. It offers new prospects for cooperation with the Greek state, in particular in the field of translation of the works of the Church Fathers and training of specialists who will be able to render the patristic legacy accessible to Ukrainian Christians, both Greek Catholics and Orthodox. Such access, according to the Head of the UGCC, has become a catalyst for cultural, intellectual, and church revival in different eras.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, as His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted, is already investing in the education and formation of experts in the legacy of the Church Fathers. He gave as an example two Ukrainian students who, after studying in Rome, continue their studies at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki— a result of previous cooperation.
Father Yuriy Shchurko spoke about the cooperation between UCU and Greek universities, in particular the institutional ties with the University of Aristotle. He also outlined potential areas for deepening the academic partnership.
Father Roman Ostrovsky shared his experience of engaging seminarians in studies in patristics and liturgical theology. There is a growing interest among the younger generation of candidates, he said, to study the sources of the Christian tradition for quality translations and in-depth theological reflection.
The Greek side expressed its keen interest in cooperating with the UGCC, in particular in translating the works of the Church Fathers into Ukrainian. The delegation emphasized that the UGCC is a significant intellectual power capable of implementing such long-term projects.
In conclusion, the parties exchanged views on the significance of interchurch unity in light of the secularization of Europe. According to the Head of the UGCC, Christian denominations have a common mission of new evangelization, which requires close cooperation regardless of denominational affiliation.
At the end of the meeting, the Head of the UGCC presented to the Greek representatives an icon of the Virgin Mary of Pochayiv, created using a modern iconographic technique, a book by Professor Serhii Plokhy on the Russian-Ukrainian war, a collection of scientific works on dogma, liturgical theology and ecumenism prepared by the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute in Canada, and a presentational publication about the UGCC.
The UGCC Department for Information
