In Lviv, Head of the UGCC Attends Meeting of Youth Commission and Youth Pastoral Team Leaders
On December 2, the Patriarchal House in Lviv hosted a meeting of the heads of youth commissions and youth pastoral teams from the eparchies and exarchates of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The meeting was attended by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC, and Most Rev. Bryan Bayda, Chairman of the Patriarchal Youth Commission.
The Patriarchal Youth Commission of the UGCC reported this event.
During the meeting, discussions focused on preparations for the Jubilee Year celebration in Rome, particularly the spiritual readiness of the Pilgrims of Hope, the events planned in Rome, and the “After Party” in Kyiv.
Addressing the youth and clergy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed his gratitude for their work. He also outlined challenges that require more in-depth solutions and assured them of his ongoing support and assistance, emphasizing that “caring for young people is one of the most pressing concerns of our time.”
“Youth pastoral ministry is one of our top priorities. Bishops need to hear the voice of young people. Everything we strive to do collectively as a Church is aimed at young people. Today, in the context of a full-scale war, our youth have traveled beyond Ukraine’s borders. We witnessed this in Krakow during the Wind of Hope festival. Therefore, our Church must remain present in places where young Ukrainians reside,” said the Head of the UGCC.
The Primate expressed hope that the UGCC Patriarchal Youth Commission, recently granted general church status following the 2024 Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, will coordinate the Church’s youth apostolate globally.
“We aspire,” he added, “to develop the necessary mechanisms for youth pastoral care in every eparchy, exarchate, and community where our structures are not yet established. Not all of our eparchies abroad have functioning youth commissions. While there are various initiatives and communities, the mechanisms for effective youth pastoral care are still lacking. This is why we aim to realize the idea of creating a youth space, which our youth first proposed in Zarvanytsia.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav highlighted the importance of having Bishop Bryan Bayda of Toronto and Eastern Canada lead the commission: “The fact that each patriarchal commission is headed by a bishop gives these commissions a powerful voice. We specifically chose a bishop from abroad to lead the UGCC Patriarchal Youth Commission to help us reach beyond Ukraine’s borders,” he explained.
Most Rev. Bryan Bayda welcomed the participants and emphasized the global nature of the Church and the unity of its youth.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Fr. Roman Demush, Deputy Chairman of the UGCC Patriarchal Youth Commission, presented His Beatitude Sviatoslav with a T-shirt from the online evangelization project Za_Posty. Prophecies.
The UGCC Department for Information
