The Head of the UGCC Appoints Father Ihor Yatsiv as a Mitred Archpriest
His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of birth and 10th anniversary of the foundation of Zhyve Television, named Fr Ihor Yatsiv, Head of the Information Department of the UGCC, a mitred archpriest with the right to wear a mitre.
Fr. Ihor was awarded the prize on July 29 during the Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, presided over by His Beatitude Sviatoslav in concelebration with Bishop Yosyf Milian, Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archeparchy.
“Appreciating your zeal for the glory of God and the good of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, your dedicated priestly ministry, which has been crowned with numerous fruits and good reputation among the faithful of our Church, your long and fruitful work for the development of the communication strategy of our Church, particularly the launch of the official website of the UGCC and Zhyve Television, your administrative skills and active participation in groups, departments, and commissions, we express our heartfelt gratitude,” the Decree reads.
In his sermon during the Liturgy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that today, when Fr. Ihor celebrates his 50th anniversary, the Holy Gospel speaks of the word (Matthew 12:30–37). Ministering and preaching this word, as written in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, is the central role of the apostles. While they could delegate other types of ministry, they could not delegate the ministry of the word.
“Interestingly, the Lord God called Father Ihor to the ministry of the word as a squire of my predecessor, His Beatitude Lubomyr, and now the Lord has given me such a squire of God’s word in your person for more than 12 years,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The Primate noted that the golden jubilee of Fr. Ihor coincided with two other significant dates — the 10th anniversary of the consecration of the Patriarchal Cathedral and the 10th anniversary of the foundation of Zhyve Television: “Without our Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, the word of God, which the Lord wants to speak through our church, would not be heard throughout the world and Ukraine. And in today’s information world, without our Zhyve Television and the wise word of the presenter, that word would be distorted and perhaps even lost.”
The UGCC Department for Information
