Reflecting on the upcoming 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Josaphat, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said that the current Synod should lead to repentance and holiness.
“St. Josaphat believes that the path of the Church at all times is the path to holiness,” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said recently at Pontifical Gregorian University. “And if we choose a different path, even in the synodal context, which will lead us to a different place, then this is not the path that the risen Christ showed to his prince of apostles, the founder of the Church, and then to all his successors.”
The Major Archbishop linked authentic synodality to Christ’s call to all people to repent and believe in the Gospel. He also linked St. Josaphat’s martyrdom to the “martyrdom that the Ukrainian people are experiencing today.”
Stating that synodal means “walking together,” the prelate added that “we are not only journeying together alongside our contemporaries, but also alongside our predecessors in the faith, such as the holy martyr Josaphat, and those who will come after us.”