The annual fraternal retreat and meeting of the bishops from the UGCC and RCC in Ukraine, held in Zarvanytsia
On November 23, the retreat of the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine concluded in Zarvanytsia. The bishops traditionally held a fraternal meeting at the end of the joint spiritual training.
Retreat
This year, the spiritual leader of the retreat for the Catholic bishops of Ukraine was Auxiliary Bishop Maksym Ryabukha of the Donetsk Exarchate. As the retreatant told the UGCC Information Department, the recollections focused on two figures: The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John Bosco.
According to the retreatant, for Catholic bishops in Ukraine, these joint retreats, which have been gathering all the bishops of the UGCC and RCC for spiritual renewal for many years, serve as one of the many occasions for experiencing the universal unity of the Catholic Church in its various rites.
Bishop Petro Holiney, Auxiliary Bishop of the Kolomyia Eparchy, also shared his first experience of participating in spiritual retreats for bishops as a bishop of the UGCC in a commentary to the UGCC Information Department.
The bishop explained that the retreats for bishops are held similarly to those for priests: the program is complete with prayer, spiritual studies, and time for reflection.
“We feel we are members of the universal Catholic Church. We work together for one common goal — expanding God’s kingdom on earth. Meeting Roman Catholic bishops was a valuable experience for me because, up until now, I had only heard about many of them. Still, I did not have the opportunity to meet them personally. It is also interesting that our Church and the RCC take turns organizing these days of renewal. This year, we held them in Zarvanytsia, and next year, they will be held on the territory of the RCC,” said Bishop Petro.
Fraternal meeting
As is customary, the retreat ends with a joint fraternal meeting of the Catholic bishops of Ukraine of both rites. According to the agenda for this year’s gathering, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, together with Auxiliary Bishop Oleksandr Yazlovetskiy of the Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr of the Roman Catholic Church, summed up the results of the participation in the Pontifical Synod held in Rome in October. Bishop Josaphat Moshchych of Chernivtsi reported on new evangelization trends that are spreading in the dioceses and eparchies of the Church.
The UGCC Department for Information
