Pastoral letter of the new orthodox Catholic Bishops’ Synod

                                              of the UGCC to the priests

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear brothers in priestly service,

the most precious thing we have in this life is the living faith and unselfish love to Christ. Our life is very short. It is appointed for all to die once, and after this the judgement. The judgement over us will be more strict, for we have responsibility for the salvation of a number of souls. The existence of hell and eternal condemnation is a reality which our Lord Jesus Christ speaks about. Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it (cf. Mt 7:13). Who will not be saved, the one will, sad to say, be eternally condemned together with the devil and his angels in the fire of hell. The substance of our salvation lies in our communion with Jesus through unbroken faith and love of the truth!

We therefore turn to You, dear brothers in priestly service, and beseech You for the love God has for us that You seek the truth, love the truth and live the truth! Do not allow the sincerity of conscience and the Spirit of Christ to be taken away from You for the sake of career, money or for fear of persecution.

God who died for You on the cross now asks You to reject chantage on the part of the apostatic yet hitherto official hierarchy and not to torment the souls of the common believers in Confession or in sermons by forcing them to unite with L. Husar who is a heretic and apostate and by separating them from us and from Christ crucified whom we represent. You thus commit a grave crime above all against Your own soul! You thus renounce Your own salvation! You turn into Judases and fall under his curse (cf. Acts 1:20). You know well that according to the canon law the verdict pronounced against us was invalid. You know well that what we preach is the Gospel’s teaching. You know well what system L. Husar serves and now also those who have united with him in his heresies and apostasy from Christ. You know well too that they do not allow the Holy Father to solve the critical situation in the UGCC objectively by himself!

It is painful that at the instance of the apostatic hierarchy one of you, dean of the Chortkiv-Buchach eparchy, out of uncontrollable lust for a mitre, seeking to be in favour with the authorities and to gain a long-desired thing, officially stated in writing that he declared not only administrative but also spiritual rule of L. Husar over him! The dean was joined by nine priests from his deanery, including his son. However, their declaration means that they declare over themselves the rule of the spirit of antichrist which is behind the heresies of Card. L. Husar and behind the whole system which L. Husar serves! Some can understand that one can sell one’s soul to receive episcopal consecration and administrative rule from Husar, but to sell one’s soul for a mitre*? For a pot on one’s head???

In short time L. Husar will be here no more and similarly, we as well as You, dear brothers in priestly service, will be here no more. We will once all have to appear before the judgement seat of the living God. Money or official power or whatever thing of this world will be of no help there. Only clean conscience, unbroken faith in Christ and love from a pure heart will be of worth. We implore You on Christ’s behalf, do not allow Your salvation to be taken away from You!

We pray for You and deeply desire that You may fight the good fight of faith like St. Paul the Apostle.

In Christ,

+ Teodozij

Vicar of Head of the UGCC

+ Markian OSBM

Secretary of Synod of the UGCC

Standing Synod of the UGCC

+ Eliáš, OSBM

+ Metod?j, OSBM

+ Samuel

                                                                                                                                  Pidhirtsi, 8th October 2008

Address: Bishops’ Synod of the UGCC, Pidhirtsi 19, Brody dist., Lvov reg., 80660, Ukraine

www.community.org.ua

* Some priests in the Eastern Church can be entitled to wear a mitre – a token of certain honour.