More on meeting of Permanent Synod of UGCC in London

From Ruskij Sion:

As reported: "From 25-30 September 2009, London's Ukrainian Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile will host a meeting of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, led by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major-Archbishop of Kyiv, and assisted by leading hierarchs from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from Ukraine and across the world, including Bishop David Motiuk, Eparch of Edmonton, Canada, and Bishop Paul Chomnycky, Eparch of Stamford, Connecticut. Also present will be Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, who on Sunday 27th September will be officially installed as Apostolic Administrator of the Ukrainian Exarchate for Great Britain."

The Permanent Synod forms the standing Patriarchal Council for Cardinal Husar. This meeting is especially important as it is preparing for the Synod of the whole hierarchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which is due to take place in Kyiv in the autumn and looks set to be the largest gathering of the Ukrainian hierarchy since the 16th century" (slightly edited, see original).

Hopefully, this meeting of the Permanent Synod will be an important step towards the resolution of the over three-and-a-half-year sede vacante of the Apostolic Exarchate for the Ukrainian faithful of the byzantine rite in Great Britain. For Bp. Paul Chomnycky, OSBM, this meeting will be a kind of "homecoming," since he was the last to serve as exarch in this Apostolic Exarchate. He was transferred to the Eparchy of Stamford on 3 January 2006.

Bp. Chomnycky's reign was a relatively happy one, considering the at-times-stormy history of the UGCC in the UK. In the short four years that he served in England, there was a perceptible "calming of the waters." Maybe Bp. Chomnycky's presence at the Permanent Synod in London will help ensure that the flock he once tended could soon enjoy the guidance of a more "permanent" shepherd.