The Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Concludes Ten Years of Work on the Code of Canons of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The working sessions of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on July 8–9, 2026, were devoted to canonical matters. The bishops’ work culminated in a historic event—the adoption of the Code of Canons of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on its third reading.
This was reported by the Press Office of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, called the Code of Canons of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church “the primary legislative text of our Church.” The Head of the Church emphasized that this Code of Canons summarizes the millennia-long canonical development of the Church of Kyiv, beginning with the earliest ecclesiastical books, through the decisions of local councils over the past millennium, and culminating in contemporary legislative and administrative acts.
Metropolitan Eugeniusz Popowicz recalled that in 2015, at the Synod of Bishops in Ivano-Frankivsk, a decision was made to establish a Working Group tasked with reconsidering our particular law and drafting the Code. “The Code is a compilation of all the laws of our local Church. So, we can say that this long process, which has lasted more than 10 years, was successfully completed yesterday,” added the Archbishop of Przemyśl-Warsaw.
Bishop Eugeniusz Popowicz
As Bishop Michael Kwiatkowski explained, at the previous Synod, a group of bishops who are experts in canon law was selected and tasked with finalizing the Code of Canons of the UGCC. The group included Metropolitan Eugeniusz Popowicz as chair of the working group, Metropolitan Teodor Martynyuk, Bishop Volodymyr Juszczak, Bishop David Motiuk, Bishop Mykhailo Bubniy, Bishop Andriy Rabiy, Bishop Bohdan Dzyurakh, and Bishop Michael Kwiatkowski. According to Bishop Michael, it was particularly enriching, as the bishops represented different parts of the world. “We held our meetings online. I suppose I had to wake up the earliest, since the meetings began at 6:00 a.m., which was the afternoon in Ukraine. These were truly insightful discussions, in which we were also assisted by two secretaries—Fr. Vitaliy Tokar and Fr. Roman Terekhovsky. The bishops of the Synod paid special attention to the most frequently discussed issues during this year’s working sessions,” he added.
Bishop Michael also emphasized that this is not simply a matter of yet another set of laws. “Quite often, people believe that canon law consists solely of laws. They tell us what we can and cannot do—in other words, they impose certain restrictions. But I would argue the opposite: that canon law organizes the life of the Church, safeguards people’s rights, and points the way toward growth, self-realization, and the development of various movements within the Church. This is very positive,” he said.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav
For his part, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that this is about the Church’s development: “This Code of Canons is a sign of our Church’s maturity, a sign that our Church has taken another decisive step toward the development of patriarchal structures and the patriarchal dignity of our Church.”
“It gives us hope for the coming years and the next stages of the Church’s development,” adds Bishop Michael.
Over the course of 10 years, work on the Code of Canons of the UGCC was carried out by: Bishop Eugeniusz Popowicz, Bishop Teodor Martynyuk, Fr. Roman Shafran, Fr. Vitaliy Tokar, Fr. Andriy Tanasiychuk, Fr. Oleh Khoritik, Fr. Oleh Barbulyak, Fr. Roman Dudchak, Fr. Petro Pavlyshche, Fr. Roman Terekhovsky, Fr. Serhiy Stesenko, Fr. Andriy Kulievych, Fr. Thomas Nemeth, Mr. Helmuth Pree and Mr. Andriy Khanas.
Working Group on the Development of the Code of Canons of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
At the conclusion of the meeting, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, expressed his gratitude to all those who had worked on this historic document over the past ten years. “In recent weeks, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Constitution of Ukraine. Something similar happened this week in our Synod, as we adopted this fundamental law, by which our Church will live today—not only in Ukraine but throughout the world. We are grateful to our bishops and experts who worked on this significant document. And we thank the Lord God that our Church is growing, maturing, and serving God and the Ukrainian people in Ukraine and in various countries around the world,” he said.
Fr. Vitaliy Tokar
Fr. Roman Terekhovsky
“Now we will wait for the official promulgation of this Code, an act reserved for the Head of our Church,” says Metropolitan Eugeniusz Popowicz. “Once the law is promulgated, in accordance with the decision of our bishops, another six months will be allowed for all interested parties to familiarize themselves with it. Because, in fact, this is not just a single sheet of paper. It is a voluminous document comprising over 720 canons. Following what we refer to as the vacatio legis—the six-month period before the Code enters into force—the new legislation will enter into force. So I hope this will happen at the beginning of next year,” he added.
The UGCC Department for Information
