PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — Bishop Borys Gudziak, the charismatic Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church priest who has overseen the successful evolution of the Catholic University in Lviv, was enthroned as the church’s spiritual leader in America on June 4.
The head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, presided over the hierarchical Divine Liturgy and a dazzling enthronement ceremony filled with a centuries-old tradition.
The splendid colors of the iconostasis, stained-glass windows, and mosaics adorning the cathedral, were complemented by the sumptuous colors worn by many of the event’s participants: crimson caps and garments of two American cardinals; the bejeweled and embroidered robes and miters of 50 bishops and 120 priests from Latin, Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
An honor guard of 22 members of the Knights of Malta, a historic Catholic lay order that promotes charitable work, came in military-style uniforms, with gilded swords and brightly-colored feathers cresting Napoleon-style cocked hats.
The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Anthony (whose secular name was John Scharba) attended to demonstrate solidarity between Ukraine’s two largest Christian churches.
Some 2,500 faithful packed into the cathedral while those who could not be accommodated inside witnessed the proceedings on large screens outdoors as the bright sunshine sparkled on the golden-domed Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Four choirs from across the Archeparchy of Philadelphia had practiced together to perfect their singing of the liturgy in Ukrainian and English. That was followed by enchanting versions of a stirring patriotic Ukrainian prayer in song form, “Bozhe Velekiy,” back-to back with a haunting U.S. anthem, “God Bless America.”
The papal nuncio, the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S., His Excellency Christophe Pierre, brought greetings from Pope Francis and presented Gudziak with the Papal Bull – the decree – about his appointment. The Pope met privately for an hour with Gudziak last month.
The worldwide head of the UGCC, referred to as Patriarch Sviatoslav by the faithful, traveled from his seat in Lviv to preside over the ceremony handing authority to Gudziak.
After receiving from the patriarch an ornate silver and gold crozier (rod) as a symbol of his senior rank in the Church hierarchy, Gudziak addressed the congregation, his voice cracking with emotion, and said how grateful he was to his parents, teachers, the Church and the many others who had supported him throughout his life.
Planning the Ukrainian Catholic Church’s future
He also reminded the congregation that his inauguration was one part of a week-long program of events entitled “from heart to heart.” The event includes conferences, consultations and discussions involving clergy and ordinary members of the faithful aimed at examining the best way forward for the UGCC in North America.
The crucial, in Gudziak’s view, discussions about the Church’s future were to be held at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C on June 6 and 7. The meetings would switch back to Philadelphia on June 8 when the emphasis would be on hearing from youth. The program is planned to end with a divine liturgy presided over by Patriarch Svyatoslav and the new Metropolitan.
As he spoke at the cathedral, Gudziak called to his side a 23-year-old, severely-disabled woman in a wheelchair, Adriana Wojznicki, accompanied by her mother, Natalia. He explained he had invited the two, who live in the state of New Jersey, as his personal guests to the enthronement after meeting them unexpectedly the previous weekend.
Gudziak is known for his passionate belief that persons with disabilities, physical or mental, should be integrated into and made to feel as part of the wider community. He pointed out that people like Adriana are often left on the sidelines, and said “but that’s exactly where Jesus comes… he goes to those on the margins and that’s where we need to be as bishops, as priests, as Christians… where the need is greatest.”
He said if people pray daily, attend church on Sundays and open their hearts to their faith “we will see amazing things happen, miracles happen. We’ve seen our church that was so close to death… a totalitarian regime was trying to kill it… it had limitless resources, it had a nuclear arsenal, but this Church is alive.”
Gudziak now takes charge of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the largest and oldest of the four UGCC Archeparchies in the U.S. Its authority extends to many areas beyond the state of Pennsylvania, including the capital, Washington.
He succeeds Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka, who resigned for health reasons last year.
An American who knows Ukraine
Bishop Gudziak was born in the city of Syracuse, New York, in 1960 to Ukrainian refugee parents who fled from the communists during World War II.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and biology from Syracuse University in 1980 and then studied at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, receiving a degree in theology. Returning to America he gained a doctorate in Slavic and Byzantine Cultural History at Harvard University.
In 1992, he moved to Lviv where he founded and directed the Institute of Church History. In 1993, he was appointed Chairman of the Commission for the Renewal of the Lviv Theological Academy serving there as vice rector from 1995 until 2000 and from then until 2002 as rector. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1998.
In 2002, the Ukrainian Catholic University was founded on the basis of the academy with Gudziak as its rector. In 2013, he became its president although from 2012 he was sent as bishop to serve the UGCC faithful in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and Switzerland.
He has been recognized not only for his formidable spirituality and intellect, but also for his diplomatic and networking skills, which enabled him to obtain support and financial donations for UCU, now viewed as a center of intellectual excellence whose ideas and influence have spread throughout Ukraine.
After the inaugural divine liturgy, Gudziak mingled with those who attended the ceremony during a reception, under canopies, opposite the cathedral.
Gudziak has said at various forums that he wants to first listen to and consult with all sections of the UGCC to formulate how the Church confronts 21st century challenges, which pit materialism against spirituality and particularly affect young people.
The announcement of his appointment prompted a widespread anticipation that Gudziak will reinvigorate the Church in the U.S., regarded as the UGCC’s most important outpost in the diaspora. That was a view echoed by many of the guests at the reception who talked to the Kyiv Post.
Sonya Soutus, a Ukrainian-American former head of Coca Cola in Ukraine who went on to become one of the company’s vice-presidents, has long been a friend of Gudziak. She believes that because Gudziak spent so much time in Ukraine he will be able to communicate well with the large number of new immigrants in the U.S. from Ukraine since independence.
“He’s a man of the people and a bishop of the people. He recognizes that for Ukrainians, their faith and their church are important elements of their identity,” she said. “As a human being he embodies everything that, to my mind, is best about our church and the Ukrainian people.”
Providing entertainment at the reception was one of Ukraine’s most popular rock artists, Taras Chubay. Bria Blessings, from the band “Shockolad,” based in Ivano-Frankivsk, also performed, accompanying herself on guitar.
Taras Chubay has known Gudziak more than 20 years and says that the archbishop is a tremendously sensitive soul and has a great feel for the arts and music.
“I knew him before he became a priest. He would listen to my songs and after my concerts he would write me letters with his analysis about the lyrics. That was something very unexpected and extraordinary,” said Chubay, who thinks Gudziak may have thus influenced some of his works.
He believes Gudziak will bring the same sort of innovation to his new role as he displayed with the formation of the UCU in Lviv.
Blessings, a committed Christian, who has been friends with Gudziak for years, called him “a deeply spiritual, down-to-earth person.” She believes his knowledge of Ukraine and its people will make him an important bridge between Ukraine and the U.S.
Bishop Ken Nowakowski of the UGCC’s Westminster Eparchy in the Canadian west-coast province of British Columbia, has been friends with Gudziak since meeting him in Lviv in 1990.
He called Gudziak “a multi-talented person” who “will be a terrific asset to the church in North America, including Canada, as well as in Western Europe, both in the Ukrainian community and the wider Catholic community.”
