Pastoral letter to the priests and the faithful

                                      of the UGCC in Ukraine

Dear faithful of the UGCC,

in this pastoral letter we make it known to you that by reason of apostasy of Card. L. Husar the new true-Catholic Bishops’ Synod appointed a new representative of the UGCC in his place, namely Archbishop Michailo Osidach.

The whole synod of 17 bishops was called to dissociate itself from the heresies of Card. L. Husar by 2nd August 2008. The bishops of this synod, however, did not do so, and thus they excluded themselves from the Church and publicly denied and betrayed our Saviour Jesus Christ and His Mystical Body – the Church. Therefore on the basis of God’s Word (Gal 1:8) this whole apostatic synod publicly put itself under an anathema, i.e. under a curse.

In the name of God there was a new Synod of bishops of the UGCC appointed. Anyone who would obey the anathemized bishops and support them in whatever way participates in their apostasy and falls under God’s punishment.

These bishops have a chance to return into the renewed Synod on condition that they will repent in public, that means that they will renounce the apostate Card. L. Husar and his heresies uttered in the book “Discussions with His Beatitude Card. L. Husar: On Postconfessional Christianity”. Still, after a possible admission into the Synod the bishops concerned yet need to repent of their betrayal of Christ and the Church and of public offence they thus caused!

In place of the apostate bishops the new Synod appointed the following new bishops as heads of eparchies, namely:

? to Kiev and to Donetsk is appointed Michailo Osidach, Supreme Archbishop – Head of the UGCC; as the Suffragan of the Supreme Archbishop is appointed Bishop Irynej Bilyk OSBM

? to Lvov is appointed Bishop Markian Hitiuk OSBM

? to Ivano-Frankivsk is appointed Bishop Eliáš Dohnal OSBM

? to Stryi are appointed Bishop Josaphat Kavatsiv OSBM-III. and Bishop Teodozij Ivashkiv OSBM-III.

? to Drohobych is appointed Bishop Metod?j Špi?ík OSBM

? to Kolomiya the new Bishops’ Synod appointed Fathers Bohdan Ivanyuk and Ivan Kachanyuk as temporary administrators

? to Buchach is appointed Bishop Timotej P. Sojka OSBM-III.

? to Ternopol is appointed Bishop Samuel R. Oberhauser OSBM-III.

? to Zhovkva is appointed Bishop Joseph Kholod OSBM

? to Uzhgorod is appointed Bishop Basil P. Kolodi OSBM-III.

? to Odessa exarchate is appointed Father Roman Shelepko OSBM (temporary administrator)

? to Lutsk exarchate is appointed Father Atanazij Kulynych OSBM (temporary administrator)

The new Bishops’ Synod hereby calls upon all the priests and obliges them in their conscience not to mention “Patriarch Lubomyr Husar” in the Divine Liturgy, starting from Sunday 10th August 2008. He never was and even is not a patriarch, but has become an apostate. Instead of him the priests will mention in the Liturgy the Supreme Archbishop Michailo and the bishop assigned to the particular eparchy by the new Synod. Similarly, it is forbidden to publicly mention the particular apostate bishop united with L. Husar. If in spite of this prohibition the priest will mention the apostate’s name in the Liturgy, he will call down on himself God’s punishment, because he thus publicly unites with apostasy.

We are calling upon all the faithful to create prayer groups and to pray perseveringly all through the year, so that through true repentance and conversion our Church may become the leaven for the spiritual resurrection of all Ukraine.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

The action committee of the renewed Synod of the UGCC

                                              + Markian Hitiuk OSBM

                                              + Metod?j Špi?ík OSBM

                                              + Samuel R. Oberhauser

                                              + Eliáš Dohnal OSBM

                                                                                                                                  Pidhirtsi, 3rd August 2008

Copies to:

-    His Holiness Benedict XVI

-    Cardinals and Bishops of the Catholic Church

-    Patriarchs and Bishops of the Orthodox Churches

Address: Bishops’ Synod of the UGCC, Pidhirtsi 19, Brody dist., Lvov reg., 80660, Ukraine, fax: 00380 3266 30 637, www.community.org.ua