Announcement of establishment and proclamation of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate /letter to the Holy Father/

Lvov, 7 April 2011

The Annunciation

Benedict XVI

Supreme Pontiff

Città del Vaticano

Your Holiness,

in an extraordinary assembly of 5 April 2011, the Bishops’ Synod of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church considered the critical situation in the Catholic Church and violation of the saving faith. The tragedy is that many Catholic believers as well as the hierarchy accept a new teaching and a different spirit which is contrary to the fundamental truths of the Gospel and the Apostolic Tradition.

The response of the Synod to this catastrophic state was establishment and proclamation of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate. Its purpose is to give patronage to all believers who desire to preserve the sacred deposit of the Catholic faith, regardless of nationality or belonging to any of the Catholic Churches or traditions.

The Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate is in true communion with You in the apostolic and catholic faith free from all heresies and from the spirit of apostasy. Together with You – Peter – we condemn all ancient as well as modern heresies, particularly those connected with the current historical-critical method.

We would like to remind here that in the first millennium unity between Rome and the Eastern Churches (patriarchates) consisted in unity of the orthodox doctrine. The patriarchates had full autonomy and Rome did not interfere in their interior and liturgical life.

The first Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate is Archbishop Elijah Anthony Dohnal OSBMr.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Download: Announcement of establishment and proclamation of the BCP letter to the Holy Father