The Following is an important Announcement from the National Executive Board of the Society for the Patriarchal System in the Ukrainian Catholic Church:
During February 1973, the Ukrainian Catholic hierarchy, clergy, and faithful have had the opportunity to manifest the unity and integrity of the Ukrainian Catholic Church at the 40th Eucharistic Congress in Melbourne, Australia. However, not all Ukrainian Catholic bishops came to Melbourne, and as a result, the Ukrainian Catholics as a whole, were not able to proclaim fully their commitment to their Church and Her Patriarch. During the month of November, however, we are offered another opportunity to manifest our desire for the patriarchal structure, our total support of His Beatitude Joseph, as well as to strengthen our spiritual self. His Beatitude Patriarch Joseph I announced recently, that during the period of November 18 and 24, 1973, two very important events will be held in Rome. The first of these is the transfer of the mortal remains of Metropolitan Joseph Sembratovych to the Ukrainian Cathedral of Rome, and the second is the solemn commemoration of the 350th anniversary of the death of the Ukrainian martyr, Saint Josaphat, whose remains have been placed in the St. Peter Basilica in Rome. Our Patriarch Joseph Slipyj has invited all our bishops, our clergy, and the Ukrainian
Catholic faithful to come to Rome and to participate in these solemn festivities. Those who are unable to come are requested to pray for the unity of our Church and for the success of the events in Home. His Beatitude’s announcement can, in a manner of speaking, be considered as a response to the worries and anxiety of the Ukrainian Catholic faithful regarding their Church. In a sense, this announcement is also a response to the words uttered by Pr. Juriy Malloney at the General Meeting of the Ukrainian Catholic Laymen held in New York, September 29, 1973. Here Father Malloney stated: “…the end of this year and the beginning of the next year will be a most important time for your Ukrainian Catholic Church…. The Holy Spirit is moving throughout the whole Church, and the Holy Spirit is especially moving within the Ukrainian Catholic Church as it has never moved before.”
The Executive Board of the Society, therefore, calls on all Ukrainian Catholics to participate in one way or another in the upcoming events. At the same time, we should make use of the presence of the Holy Spirit by extending a fraternal hand to our brothers in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It is time to realize that both the Ukrainian Catholic and the Ukrainian Orthodox faithful are linked by a mutual bond} a bond that has been forged by the suffering and the blood shed in the defense of Eastern Christianity. And now, in the face of a terrible danger from atheistic Communism who would devour us all, let us make a common stand, let us present a common front before it is too late. After all, we should never forget that we share the same ancestry, that we are truly the children of the same mother.
The program in Rome includes in addition to the solemn church services also a concert and the opportunity to see the Holy City.
The total round-trip cost is $225, contingent on number of participants»
Reservations may be made at the following offices. In New York: Yaroslav Pastushenko, 48 East 7th Street, New York, 10003, and in Philadelphia: Mykhaylo Ducylovych, 4925 Old York Rd. Philadelphia Pa. 19141. Additional announcements will be provided in the Ukrainian press and over the “Voice of the Ukrainian Community,” the Ukrainian radio program for Greater Philadelphia.
