News – Page 8 – Royal Doors

Mar

23

2016

Perspectives on a Common Date for Easter?

Faith, News

Salt and Light TV - In May of 2014, Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church sent a letter to Pope Francis. In it he expressed his desire to establish a single date for all Christian Churches to celebrate Easter. Since the 16th century the Catholic and Orthodox churches have used different calendars to calculate the date of Easter. But in modern times as Christian persecution has become rampant in many parts of the world, Christians are seeing more of what they have—and should have—in common. Join us for a new episode of Perspectives: The Weekly Edition with guest host…

Mar

22

2016

By Fr. Michael Winn

Paschal Pastoral Letter of His Beatitude Sviatoslav

NewsPascha Pastoral Letter, Sviatoslav

Most Reverend Archbishops and Bishops, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, Venerable Brothers and Sisters, Dearly Beloved in Christ of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Christ is Risen! The first-born male from the virginal womb—Christ, who, as a man, has been called Lamb and unblemished, not having the stain of sin. He is our Pasch and, as true God, is called perfect. Paschal Canon, Ode 4, Second Hymn Beloved in Christ! Once again we gather in Ukraine and throughout the world to greet one another on the glorious feast of our Lord’s Resurrection: “Christ is risen!” This joyful greeting for us Christians…

Feb

16

2016

By Fr. Andriy Chirovsky

Called to Unity

Faith, News

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ike many Ukrainian Greco-Catholics, I am pleased that Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill finally met in Havana February 12, even though the negotiations that preceded this encounter included some unseemly concessions. After all, for the last three decades such an encounter was always described as impossible because of the very existence of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church. I note that Pope Francis praised Patriarch Kirill’s humility, but the latter did not return the favor. After all, it was clearly the Pope who humbly agreed to the time and place for the meeting, in order for it to finally happen after decades…

Feb

14

2016

By Fr. Michael Winn

“Two Parallel Worlds” – An Interview with His Beatitude Sviatoslav

News

Saturday, February 13, 2016 [Note from RoyalDoors - the original Ukrainian text is below] On February 12, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, the leaders of two Churches, met at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana. The meeting took place in a closed setting. It lasted more than two hours. The meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill concluded with the signing of a Joint Declaration, which elicited mixed reactions on the part of the citizenry and Church representatives of Ukraine. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Head of the UGCC, shared with us his impressions of the meeting in general and of the…

Jan

27

2016

By Brent Kostyniuk

Sr. Petronella Dybka, SSMI – A Gift

Both Lungs, News

by Brent Kostyniuk Sometimes you are given a gift but don’t realize just how special it really is. The gift may be something you received a long time ago, or perhaps it simply blends in so well, you hardly realize it is there. The gift could be an heirloom of unrealized value which has always been in your family, passed down through the generations. Or the gift could be a person, a person who somehow exhibits all of these traits. For nearly five decades, St. Basil Parish in Edmonton has had just such a gift—Sister Petronella Dybka, SSMI. Back in…

Nov

03

2015

By Fr. Michael Winn

Patriarch Revives Peace Initiative Via WYD

News

A travelling World Youth Day [WYD] with events in various cities. Not only Cracow, but maybe also nearby Lviv in Ukraine and Belarus. Back in 2011, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major-Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, had this idea with some Polish friends. Now that the winds of war in Eastern Europe continue unabated, he raises the proposal again. Because peace can only begin from the bottom (the people). Major-Archbishop Sviatoslav: “The idea of a World Youth Day in Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine was born in Rome, at the John Paul II Institute in Via Cassia. Following the thought of St. John…

Aug

25

2015

By Fr. Michael Winn

UGCC Patriarch outlines two major tasks of the strategic UGCC Patriarchal Council

News

The UGCC Council entitled “Vibrant Parish as a place to meet the living Christ,” which has started its work today in Ivano-Frankivsk, has brought together 250 delegates from 57 countries. The Council is chaired by Head of the UGCC Patriarch Sviatoslav. The Council began with the Liturgy in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, where Patriarch SviatoslavShevchuk greeted the delegates and read the Council’s official decree. “The Council is an extremely important moment, it enables to see the unity of our Church in the fullness of its diversity, because here the fullness of the church body…

Aug

19

2015

By Fr. Michael Winn

Can Theology Save the World?

News

If we could imagine the instruments in a nation's diplomatic kit as a set of keys, we'd find that some, like masters, fit a range of locks, while others must be cut to order. Before determining which type a given lock requires, we need to acknowledge that a lock exists at all. When it comes to a lock at the heart of the conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine, that's yet to happen. The Ukraine crisis is a gate beyond which loom global dangers so defining, one might expect that cooperation between Russia and the West would be…

Jun

12

2015

By Fr. Michael Winn

Ukraine: CNEWA Calls on Helping the Displaced by War

News

(May 25, 2015, Ottawa) - According to the United Nations, there are more than one million displaced people in Ukraine and another half a million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. Despite a ceasefire, daily violence remains a constant, with the death toll increasing and more families fleeing to save their lives. The fear that a major conflict will erupt at any moment is high. “We have received dramatic calls for help from the Catholic churches of Ukraine and their relief organization, Caritas, which provides care for desperate families forced to escape the conflict in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” said…

Apr

30

2015

By Fr. Michael Winn

Mission Days 2015

Christian Life, Faith, NewsPentecost

Publication of the UGCC Council for Evangelization Through our active participation in the spiritual efforts of these ten Mission Days, once again we are called upon to discover and understand anew that our parish communities and families (domestic churches) are missionary in nature. Such understanding flows from the gift of our Baptism, by virtue of which, and through the power of its mystery, we have committed ourselves to believe, live, serve, and share the experience of our faith in Christ; and not simply with our family members, but with everyone we meet in life. From the feast of the Ascension…