We, the representatives of the Ukrainian Catholic laity, assembled in New York City on June 8, 1974 for the Sixth National Meeting of the Society for a Patriarchal System in the Ukrainian Catholic Church express staunch loyalty in matters of dogma to the Successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, His Holiness Pope Paul VI. However we are deeply grieved by the tragic situation in which our Particular Church finds itself. In our concern for the future of our Church we, herewith, adopt the following resolutions:
1. WHEREAS, the Ukrainian Catholic Church in its native territory is denied legal existence by laws imposed by an alien regime, remains undefended by those Vatican authorities who might be expected to provide it with paternal protection, and
WHEREAS, the existence of this Church in the diaspora is being systematically undermined by curial authorities who consistently attempt to deny its rights as a worldwide Particular Church, limit the jurisdiction of its Primate, and reduce its episcopate to virtually suffragan status within a Latin-rite framework;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this Assembly requests our Holy Father Pope Paul VI to issue a clear pronouncement concerning the state of our persecuted Church in the catacombs of Ukraine refuting statements made by the Patriarch of Moscow that our Church “no longer exists” and affirming his support of the faithful Christians who live in daily martyrdom;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that this Assembly point out to the appropriate organs of the Roman Curia that the Ukrainian Catholic Church, in conformity with its own traditional norms reaffirmed in recent years by Vatican
Council II and formally proclaimed by the Patriarchal Constitution accepted by the Ukrainian Catholic Bishops at the Sixth Archiepiscopal Synod (held in Rome from November 18 through November 22, 1972), is governed by its own Synod of Bishops and not by an “Episcopal Conference” of Roman derivation and inspiration;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that all members of the Ukrainian episcopate take a clear, ‘ firm stand upon the question of an “Episcopal conference” in our Church, affirming that such a body is alien to our structure and that the Ukrainian Catholic Church is a Patriarchal Church governed by a patriarch in union with his bishops.
STILL FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that the members of the Commission for Codification of Eastern Canon Law be reminded that, in consistency with the practice toward the Primates of other Eastern Catholic Churches, our Primate His Beatitude Josyf I is the appropriate representative of our Church on this Commission and we desire his appointment to it.
AND STILL FUTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that this Assembly declares that should the outrageous abuse of the rights of our Church be repeated by the Roman authorities, who have in the recent past presumed to appoint bishops without recourse to the properly constituted organ of the Episcopal Synod gathered about our Patriarch, such procedure will not be tolerated and appropriate counteraction will be taken;
AND BE IT ALSO RESOLVED, that since the policy of the Roman authorities has been to a degree successful in reducing an awareness of their rite among our people, and in the first place among some members of our clergy and hierarchs by the awarding of honors to those willing to collaborate in diminishing a vibrant consciousness of our history, our rite, and our traditions, this Assembly voices the request to the Holy Father to recall those members of the Ukrainian Catholic hierarchy who demonstrate greater loyalty to curial officials than to their rite, their Church and its faithful and are content to serenely face a future in which the very existence of the Ukrainian Catholic Church is in jeopardy;
BE IT RESOLVED, that those hierarchs who find themselves faced with loyalty divided between curial demands and synodal policy be urged to request release from their present assignments;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that such hierarchs be replaced by our Patriarch and the Permanent Synod from candidates who have the courage and willingness to defend the defend the traditions and rights of our Particular Church;
2; WHEREAS, the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the diaspora has undergone a veritable renaissance under the dynamic leadership of our Primate since he was released in 1963 from Soviet imprisonment and invited to establish his residence at the Vatican,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this Assembly renews in public and solemn manner filial devotion, loyalty and support for the Person and Office of our Primate, Patriarch Josyf I;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that, in conformity with the practice appropriate to our rite, our Church, and our nation, this assembly of Ukrainian Catholic laymen and women, urges our Primate to employ proudly his title of Patriarch, eschewing all other honorific titles which have been added to this ancient rank or granted by the Roman authorities;
STILL FUTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that since the rights and privileges of patriarchs include the right to establish new eparchies (dioceses) and appoint bishops to them, this Assembly calls upon the Primate of our Church and members of our Permanent Synod established at the Fifth Archiepiscopal Synod (held in Rome from October 31 through November 5, 1971), to establish new eparchies wherever necessary and appoint bishops to them, as well as to nominate new bishops made necessary in the event of transfer, resignation, or death;
AND BE IT ALSO RESOLVED, that since it is the centuries-old tradition in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, as in all Byzantine Rite Churches, to ordain married seminarians to the priesthood, we urge our Patriarch and his bishops to restore this practice by proceeding to ordain such seminarians and assign them to vacant parishes;
AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that the Divine Liturgy and other liturgical services be made available in every Ukrainian Catholic parish in Church Slavonic or in the national language — Ukrainian — on a regular basis, and in the vernacular of the country of the location of such parish only additionally and in no case without the approval of the Patriarch together with his Permanent Synod;
BE IT RESOLVED, that since our Church is undergoing a number of serious crises and is faced with a problematic future and since solutions proposed are too often based on alien models and ecclesial forms, we request our Patriarch to summon a Sobor to be attended by all the Ukrainian Catholic bishops, clergy appointed by the hierarchs as well as those elected by the clergy, representatives of monastic orders, and representatives of the laity;
BE IT RESOLVED, that a pre-Sobor planning commission be established to include professional specialists and representatives of all ranks in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the undertaking of which is to be the preparation of a Sobor as soon as possible and in any eve ant not later than within one year;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that the Sobor reaffirm the action already taken by the Ukrainian Catholic episcopate in accepting the Patriarchal Constitution for our Church and formally recognize the will of their faithful who have acclaimed the Primate of the Ukrainian Catholic Church as their Patriarch.
3; WHEREAS, major historic steps undertaken by our beloved Patriarch Josef I included the establishment at the Fifth Archiepiscopal Synod of a Permanent Synod and the adoption at Sixth Synod of a Patriarchal Constitution, and the consistent reiteration of the unity of our Particular Church throughout the world – inclusive of the homeland and the diaspora,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that our bishops transformed the Permanent Synod into an active organ of government in the life of our Church;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Patriarchal Constitution and all Synodal resolutions adopted to date be implemented fully in ail eparchies and parishes of our Church, and
BE IT RESOLVED, that our hierarchs bring these facts to the attention of the appropriate Roman offices so as to insure that future listings of our Church and its eparchies be appropriately and correctly done, indicating the unity of the Ukrainian Catholic Church throughout the world and its governance by a Permanent Patriarchal Synod;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that our hierarchs advise in collegial fashion the Commission for Codification of Eastern Canon Law that, in consistency with its practice towards other Eastern Catholic Churches and the accepted Patriarchal Constitution of our Church, the Primate of our Church, His Beatitude Josyf I — and not some bishop or metropolitan — is the appropriate representative to that Commission; We therefore, request that he be appointed without further delay;
BE IT RESOLVED, that all bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church shall recognize and promulgate within their own eparchies the appointments and advancements made, and the honors conferred by our Patriarch;
4. WHEREAS, our bishops, responding to the summons of Vatican Council II, have formally and solemnly legislated that the Ukrainian Catholic Church is a patriarchal Church,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that our clergy shall always and everywhere commemorate and elevate liturgically the Primat of our Church under his title of Patriarch;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that our clergy shall administer their parishes in accordance with synodal resolutions and the Patriarchal Constitution;
STILL FUTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that in any eparchy or metropolia of the Ukrainian Catholic Church where the bishop does not act in accordance with and execute the synodal resolutions and the provisions of the Patriarchal Constitution, the clergy shall initiate petitions to the Universal Bishop, Our Holy Father the Pope, to remove that bishop and following his removal a successor shall then be nominated by our Patriarch and his Synod;
BE IT RESOLVED, that our clergy shall keep their parishioners informed in a through, — accurate, and up-to-date manner about the situation of our Ukrainian Catholic Church throughout the world. Toward this end we urge widespread circulation of Visty z Rymu and other publications sponsored by our Patriarch;
BE IT RESOLVED, that our clergy who have received appointments, advancements, or honors from our Patriarch, shall wear the vestments, crosses, and other insignia appropriate to their rank at public and liturgical ceremonies and functions.
5. WHEREAS, the Fathers of Vatican Council II taught that each layperson “has a share in the functions as well as the life of the body” which is the Church, and
WHEREAS, the faithful are called to “be apostles both in their family communities and in their parishes and dioceses” and
WHEREAS, the time-honored tradition of the bratstva — fraternities of concerned laypeople — constitutes one of the most venerable models for lay action in our Ukrainian Catholic Church;
BE IT RESOLVED, that the laity of our Particular Church be reminded of their sobornal responsibility as the People of God to be ever vigilant for the authentic welfare of our Church, so that it may be handed on to our children’s children, spotless and without blemish;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that recognizing that the “love of God impels us to be concerned” about the less fortunate everywhere and in an especial way about all parts of our Particular Church, assistance be rendered in the emergencies developing in the individual eparchies. All funds collected for a specific emergence, including those raised through a special visitation, shall be channeled through the office of the Patriarch of our Church earmarked for the specific purpose;
