Wisdom’s New Temple

Ukrainian Catholic University opens new Philosophy and Theology premises

By Oksana Shkodins’ka (translated by Matthew Matuszak)

On September 17 in Lviv, the new premises for the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) were inaugurated. The ceremony to mark this occasion was attended by religious, academics and politicians.

The Ukrainian Catholic University calls itself “an open academic community living the Eastern Christian tradition.” Its mission is to “form  leaders to serve with professional excellence in Ukraine and internationally for the glory of God, the common good, and the dignity of the human person.”

The UCU’s new building, which is part of its Theology Centre on Lviv’s Khutorivka Street, was constructed over three years. It boasts modern facilities, including conference rooms and classrooms, where courses offered by the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology will be given. 

The ceremonial dedication began with a Pontifical Divine Liturgy celebrated in the Church of the Holy Spirit Seminary by His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) and Grand Chancellor of the UCU.   Together with the Major  Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych, many other UGCC bishops, who happened to be in Lviv at that time attending a UGCC Synod of Bishops, concelebrated.

After the Liturgy, members of the UCU community, together with bishops and numerous guests, including the Mayor of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, and the Lviv Regional Council Head Myroslav Senyk took part in a ceremony at the new building. Representatives of the international foundations, the Aid to the Church in Need and Renovabis, of the Ukrainian Catholic education Foundation and the Lviv National University, and other institutions also took part.

The new building was blessed with Holy Water and various individuals delivered speeches.  Many of the speakers noted the significance of this new structure within the academic landscape of the city.  His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Ivan Jukovic, apolistic nuncio in  Ukraine, made comments in this regard in greetings they sent to the university.

Speaking to the assembled, His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, noted the ecumenical role of the UCU's  centre for theological thought. “We have known various kinds of division, but the worse, the most painful, is the division among Christians which exists in our nation,” he said.   “Our experience is bitter. Even decades of persecution have not brought us closer together…Still we have grounds for hope that this can happen,” he said.

Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi, in his address, connected the ceremonies with the 750^th anniversary of the city celebrated at the end of September.  In his opinion, the appearance of a new and sophisticated centre of philosophy and theology is one of the most notable events of the year.    “Catholic education has always been one of the strongest in the world,” said Sadovyi. In this way, we join the world community of Catholic universities.”

Marko Tomashek, representing Aid to the Church in Need at the festivities, traced the historical genesis of the event back to the times of the 16^th century Union of Brest, through which the Ukrainian Church entered into a union with Rome. “I see the opening of this building as the fulfilment of the dreams of the Union of Brest. One of the important reasons that led to this union was that the bishops wanted to raise the level of education of the clergy,” said Tomashek. “Learning indicates our connections with other churches. And so this faculty will serve people, God, and I would even say, it will serve the good of Ukraine.”

The celebration concluded with a theatrical performance by the students of the Faculty of Theology and actors from the Les Kurbas Theatre along with the quintet Leobraz.   The theatrical presentation told the story of a monk who, after he loses his faith, goes on a spiritual search and finds that the Lord reveals Himself to him in many ways.

Established in June 2002, the UCU is the first Catholic university to open on the territory of the former Soviet Union and also the first university opened by one of the Eastern Catholic churches. It is also the only institution in Ukraine with a university-level Faculty of Theology and Philosophy and houses the largest modern humanities library in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Catholic leaders throughout the 20th century dreamed of the opening of such a university.

A prototype Ukrainian Catholic University was established in Rome by Patriarch Josyf Slipyj (1892-1984), who was the head of the UGCC from 1944-84. Patriarch Josyf was exiled from Ukraine in 1963, after 18 years in Soviet work camps. In the 1970s and 1980s, he inspired Ukrainian seminarians with the dream of returning to Ukraine to create a fully developed university there.

In 1994, thanks in part to the efforts of graduates of the program in Rome, the Lviv Theological Academy (LTA) was established in Ukraine as the first stage in the development of the UCU.

The accreditation of the LTA’s bachelor’s program in Theology by the Congregation for Catholic Education, in 1998, and the opening of a history faculty and Theology graduate program in 2001 were recent steps in the UCU’s development.

The Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF) in Canada supports various projects and programs at UCU. For more information, please contact Lada Darewych, UCEF Administrative Director at (416) 239-2495.