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Last Updated: 04 November 2017

London (risu.org.ua) - On the afternoon of Saturday 28th October 2017, over one thousand faithful descended on London to witness an historic occasion – the celebration of an Eastern Rite Liturgy – at Westminster Cathedral, the Mother Church for Catholics in England and Wales.

His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, along with Eastern Catholic Bishops of Europe and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales celebrated the Pontifical Divine Liturgy in the presence of His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols and the Most Reverend Edward Joseph Adams, Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. Also in attendance at the Hierarchical service to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Catholic Exarchate/Eparchy were representatives of the Anglican and Orthodox Churches.

During the homily, His Eminence Cardinal Nichols said, “Today, as we Latin rite Catholics witness and take part in liturgies not so often seen in this cathedral, we pray that they can bring us to a deeper understanding of the things of Christ.” He further elaborated on the importance of liturgical catechesis as a tool of evangelisation. The full text of the homily can be accessed online:

http://rcdow.org.uk/cardinal/homilies/divine-liturgy-of-st-john-chrysostom/

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Last Updated: 04 November 2017

risu.org.ua - From 26 to 29 October, 2017, the Annual Meeting of Eastern Catholic Bishops in Europe was held in London, at the invitation of H. Ex. Msgr. Hlib Lonchyna, bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family in London. The meeting was held at the Center for Unity of the Focolare Movement at Welwyn Garden City. They were intense days of meetings, conferences, and debates, but above all days of brotherhood and prayer, during which the bishops shared hope and suffering, projects and hardship of the Eastern Catholic Churches of Europe. There were about forty participants including bishops, priests, and experts in catechesis, coming from countries ranging from England to Ukraine, from the Scandinavian regions down to Greece. The general theme of the meeting was the proclamation, the knowledge, and the life of faith in Christ (Kerygma-Catechesis-Mystagogy), informs Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae press release.

In the same period, also the 60th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Eparchy of the Holy Family of London was commemorated. This recurrence gave us the opportunity to remember with gratitude the pastoral attention of the Holy See in meeting the pastoral needs of the Eastern Catholic faithful scattered throughout Western Europe. In this way, it was possible to evaluate the specific situation of the Eastern Catholic Churches in all diaspora circumstances, with the hope that the experience of the past can still be an inspiration in continuing the pastoral engagement of all ecclesial realities in favour of the faithful who have emigrated from their own countries. The inaugural session was attended by the auxiliary bishop of London, H. Ex. Msgr. Paul McAleenan, who conveyed Cardinal Vincent Nichols's greetings and wished the presence of the Holy Spirit in our meeting. Then the Apostolic Nuncio in Great Britain, H. Ex. Msgr. Edward J. Adams, conveyed the greetings of the Holy Father. Pope Francis imparted his Apostolic Blessing on the meeting and extended his greetings to the faithful of the Ukrainian Eparchy and the Archbishop Major. The Apostolic Nuncio insisted on the need to announce the Gospel, to proclaim it, and to discover the beauty of a life of communion with God and with others. He proposed the image of Christ as an antidote to the evils of the present moment. 

"At the conclusion of these works, all of us, shepherds of the Eastern Catholic Churches of Europe, are comforted by the love of the Lord in our ecclesial service, by the Divine Grace that heals our weaknesses, and by the Lord's love for his Church that drives us to proclaim his Gospel. We are convinced of the central and fundamental necessity of the proclamation of Christ by means of a catechesis and a mystagogy that arise from the celebration of the Divine Liturgy as a place of confession and celebration of our faith. A mystagogy that flows from the Gospel, from the texts of the liturgy, and from the iconography, to lead our faithful to the contemplation of the mystery of Christ, the Word of God incarnate, through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Virgin Mary", read the final statement.

Bishops mentioned the situation in Ukraine. "We particularly invoke the gift of peace and reconciliation for the Ukrainian people, who have been overwhelmed for too long by violence and war, and we also recalled the persecution and suffering of our Christian brothers in the Middle East".

In 2018, our meeting will take place from 14 to 17 June in the Eparchy of Lungro of the Italo-Albanians in Italy, at the invitation of H. Ex. Msgr. Donato Oliverio.

The meeting ended on Sunday, 29 October, with the Divine Liturgy celebrated in the cathedral church of the Holy Family in London, presided over by Archbishop Cyril Vasil' SJ, secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

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Last Updated: 04 November 2017

ncregister.com - Appeals for “honest politics” and warns against further chaos which is the “worst enemy” for minorities.

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Last Updated: 04 November 2017

ris.org.ua - On these days the head of the UGCC is making an official pastoral visit to the UK at the invitation of Bishop Hlib (Lonchyna), the eparch of the Eparchy of the Holy Family in London. The official visit of the Head of the UGCC to Great Britain lasts from 19 to 31 October 2017.

According to the UGCC Department of Information, on October 29, 2017, His Beatitude Svyatoslav spoke during the sermon to the faithful at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Europe about the mission of Ukrainians in Europe – “to become a good field, upon which the Word of God has fallen and brought a good fruit.”

“For centuries, Ukraine was called the breadbasket of Europe. Not only because we had some good and fertile land. Not only because a lot of grain was delivered to Europe from our Ukrainian lands. But today, this breadbasket sows Europe with a different kind of grain. Under difficult circumstances, and especially because of Ukraine's pain, patience and tears, and the economic challenges our people must seek for a better future in the countries of Europe, the Lord sees each of us as a seed, a seed that has to sow the West European land in which someone has stolen the Word of God. We have to sow this land with the Word of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” said the UGCC head.

According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, each of us is called to witness our Christian faith in his place: “At work or even standing before the British authorities, asking you everywhere about your passport and visa, you must attest you are primarily Christians. God wants us to be the grain that sows these countries for a new cause – the new evangelization,” said the preacher.

The head of the UGCC thanked the Pope on behalf of the whole Church as initially the exarchate was created on his blessing, and then the diocese of the UGCC in Great Britain, he also thanked all the priests, hierarchs, in particular the Bishops Hlib (Lonchyna) and Pavlo (Khomnytskyy), the bishops and the community who has sown there the Word of God: “The next year the temple (the Cathedral of the Holy Family - Ed.) will mark 50 years when the Ukrainian community collected funds for it. This sanctuary is a visible sign that the Word of God has brought fruit to our people. The love for God and the solidarity of Ukrainians have built this temple in the UK and clustered our communities around the Church,” said the Primate of the UGCC.

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Last Updated: 04 November 2017

risu.org.ua - Upon the invitation of Rt Rev Hlib Lonchyna, Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London, the annual meeting of the Eastern Catholic Bishops in Europe convened in London on Thursday 26th October 2017 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Catholic Exarchate/Eparchy, UGCC Information department informs.

This year, as the focus of their meeting, the Bishops of the continent’s Eastern Catholic Churches will discuss “Kerygma – Catechesis – Mystagogy” (the proclamation of the gospel of Christ, its deepening and its celebration). The choice of theme was dictated by the numerous challenges, such as the migration of many Eastern Catholics to regions and countries of different Christian traditions or denominations. The Eastern Catholic Churches have been trying to respond to those challenges through the re-discovery of elements proper to their Eastern tradition.

The Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, the Most Reverend Edward Joseph Adams conveyed Papal greetings and blessings for the conference. Also in attendance at the opening ceremony was the Right Reverend Paul McAleenan, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster who, on behalf of His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols, welcomed the representatives of 12 Eastern Catholic Churches in Europe attending the annual meeting. The Opening Ceremony also included a presentation about the history of Eparchy. Pour des troubles de l'érection, la dose recommandée de Cialis tadasid.com/ est généralement de 10 mg à prendre entre 30 minutes et 12 heures avant le rapport sexuel.

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risu.org.ua - On Sunday 22nd October 2017, parish priest Rev Volodymyr Sampara, along with representatives of the Ukrainian community in Greater Manchester, welcomed His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav to the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Dormition of Our Lady in Manchester. Joining His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav at the celebration of the Pontifical Divine Liturgy was Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, Bishop Hryhoriy Komar (Auxiliary Bishop of Sambir-Drohobych), Rev Taras Khomych from the neighbouring parish of Liverpool and Very Rev Mitred Archpriest Bohdan Matwijiwczuk (administrator of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Great Britain).

Later that afternoon, His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav visited All Saints Ukrainian Church in Bolton. He was welcomed by parish priest Rev Ewhen Nebesniak SDB and Mr Hryhoriy Bolubash (a founding member of the Bolton Ukrainian community) and celebrated a Moleben to the Mother of God. The Right Reverend John Arnold (Bishop of Salford) was also present at the service. Councillor Roger Hayes accompanied by his wife Jaleh Hayes, along with Right Honourable Ms Yasmin Qureshi (MP Bolton South East) attended the commemorations in honour of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Catholic Exarchate/Eparchy in the UK.

On Monday 23rd October 2017, His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav concluded his tour of Ukrainian Catholic parishes in Great Britain with a visit to Stockport and Wolverhampton Ukrainian communities.

Speaking at a reception held in Stockport Ukrainian Centre, and at the banquet held in his honour at Wolverhampton Ukrainian Cultural Centre, His Beatitude talked of the importance of keeping faith and culture at the heart of Ukrainian life in the UK. By doing so, the Church will not only survive, but also prosper as its richness and strength lies within its faithful.