Shevchuk enthroned as newly elected head of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

The enthronement of newly elected Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) took place at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv on Sunday, March 27. The enthronement ceremony began with a procession from the Church of Annunciation to the main temple of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics - the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.

The procession was attended by the clergy of all eparchies and exarchates of the UGCC, as well as the bishops of the church, metropolitans and bishops. Newly elected UGCC Chairman Sviastoslav completed the procession.

Then the newly elected head of the church came to the bishop's pulpit (a rostrum in the center of the church), and the secretary of the UGCC Synod of Bishops, Bohdan (Dziurakh) announced the synod's decision on the election of the church leader.

"I give myself entirely into the hands of God, and he will guide me. So I'm very calm. I think the most important task is to continue the construction of our church, which we've seen in past years, and to strengthen what has already been done," Bishop Sviatoslav told reporters in Kyiv on Sunday.

The new head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav Shevchuk, was elected by two-thirds of the vote of the electoral synod of the UGCC on March 23. After official confirmation from the Vatican, which was received on March 25, Shevchuk vowed to faithfully perform his duties.

Shevchuk was born in the district center of Stry in Lviv region on May 5, 1970. He received his education in Argentina and the Lviv Theological Seminary of the UGCC, where he later worked as a prefect and vice-rector.