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11-Jan-2002 -- Vatican Information Service
PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, JAN 11, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father gave his assent to the following provisions made by the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Church in accordance with their canons:

- The erection of the archiepiscopal exarchate of Donets'k-Kharkiv, Ukraine, and the election of Fr. Stepan Meniok C.SS.R., superior of the monastery of St. Alfonso of Lviv, Ukraine, as exarch of the new exarchate. The exarch-elect was born in Nakonechne, Ukraine, in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1981.

- The election of Frs. Ihor Vozniak C.SS.R., master of novices for the Lviv province of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and Hlib Lonchyn M.S.U., collaborator at the apostolic nunciature in Kiev, Ukraine, as auxiliaries of Lviv of the Ukrainians (area 10,995, population 1,783,400, Catholics 857,053, priests 285, permanent deacons 2, religious 495). Bishop-elect Vozniak was born in Lypytsi, Ukraine, in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1980. Bishop-elect Lonchyn was born in Steubenville, U.S.A., in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1977.

Best wishes and prayers to the both of them!

Hieromonk Hlib is definately "axios."

Has the erection of an archiepiscopal exarchate of Donets'k-Kharkiv, which I believe is in eastern Ukraine, brought a negative reaction from the Russian Orthodox Church?

Axios

www.axios.net [axios.net]

Axios,

I checked out the website on your post. I noticed it was for an organization for gays and lesbians in the Byzantine Church.

You quote Saint John Chrysostom: "For Christians above all people are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force... it is necessary to make someone better not by force but by persuasion. We neither have authority granted us by law to restrain sinners, nor, if it were, should we know how to use it,since God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice."

Does this mean that the organization you represent looks for acceptance and not reform?

The website also states: "Priests use the technical term "crazies" to refer to parishioners who go ballistic when gays are identified in the church."

I never heard of this 'technical' term, Alex. In fact, it was St. Paul who wrote in Romans 1:27 the following: "In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."

Was St. Paul a "crazy?"

Thanks,
Ed

To reply to Axios about the situation in Eastern Ukraine: the Russian Orthodox Church goes crazy when anything they don't like happens. They still claim that St. George's Cathedral in L'viv is theirs, so of course they won't like an exarchate being created in "their" territory.

I think that if they really cared about the salvation of souls they would realize that they can't handle the 50% atheist population of Ukraine, and would let the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church at least tend to its flock of displaced members.

He and I have never met.

Axios is simply an organization of gay and lesbian Eastern Christians. It is an open forum which has no more any 'standing positions' than this forum.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Axios

Axios,

Thank you.

I just realized that Archimandrite Hlib's mother goes to my parish, and that he has come and celebrated liturgies at my parish! (but on weekdays early in the morning for his family).

What a coincidence!

anastasios