The Fifth Synod of the Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church was held in Rome during the weekend of October 31 1971. Under the leadership of His Beatitude Archbishop Major Cardinal Josyf Slipyj fifteen Ukrainian prelates from all over the world assembled in the newly restored Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus in Rome and proclaimed the Synod despite of the Vatican s Secretary of State Card. Villotts effort to deny the right to convoke a Synod to Archbishop Major Josyf Slipyj, and his insistence to call it Bishop’s Conference rather than Synod. Participating prelates were: /see cover/, Isidore Borecky, Ivan Bucko, Maxim Hermaniuk, Archbishop Major Josyf Slipyj, /Head of the Synod/, Ambrose Senyshyn, Neil Savaryn, Joseph Schmondiuk, John Stock, Volodymyr Malanchuk, Joachim Segedi, Augustine Hornyak, Jaroslav Gabre, Ivan Prashko, Platon Kornylak, Andrew Sapelak and Basil Losten.
Contrary to the dispatches of the international press and according to the communiqué issued by the Presidium of the Synod, «The Ukrainian Bishops gathered in their synodal sessions in Rome hereby declare that they are acting under the leadership of the Archbishop Major in accordance with the decision of the Second Vatican Council, with affection, respect and devotion to the Holy Father».
In the series of synodal sessions the Ukrainian Catholic Hierarchs established an universal unity of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, adopted the constitution of the self-governing Ukrainian Catholic Church, and elected a permanent Synod consisting of five members – a ruling body, which will function between the sessions of the Archiepiscopal Synod, which should commence every five years.
The members of the permanent Synod are: Archbishop Major Card. Josyf Slipyj, Head of the Synod, retaining this post for life, Archbishop Ivan Bucko, Archbishop Ambrose Senyshyn, Archbishop Maxim Hermaniuk and Bishop Andrew Sapelak.
