Synod elects Bishop Lubomyr (Husar) major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

L’VIV, 26 January 2001 — The Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church today announced the election of His Excellency Bishop Lubomyr (Husar) as major archbishop (A Conservative Blog for Peace adds: de facto patriarch) of L’viv of the Ukrainians, Metropolitan of Halych and Bishop of Kamyanets’ Podils’kyj.

The 26 Ukrainian Catholic bishops from Ukraine and from around the world gathered in L’viv in Synod to elect the successor to His Beatitude Myroslav Ivan Cardinal Lubachivsky, who passed away on 14 December 2000.

Today, His Holiness Pope John Paul II has confirmed this election by the Ukrainian Catholic Synod of 25 January.

The enthronement of His Beatitude Lubomyr will take place at St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv on Sunday 28 January at 11:00.

His Beatitude Lubomyr was born in L’viv on 26 February 1933. After a short stay in Salzburg, Austria, he emigrated to the USA, where he studied at St. Basil’s Ukrainian Catholic College Seminary Stamford, CT, USA (1950-1954), at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. (1954-1958) where he received a License of Sacred Theology, at Fordham University, New York City (1962-1967) where he received a master’s degree in philosophy and at the Pontifical University Urbanianum, Rome where he received a doctorate in sacred theology. (ACBforP adds: I understand the new patriarch is an American citizen.)

Ordained a priest by Bishop Ambrose (Senyshyn) in Stamford, CT, 30 March 1958, he was a pastor in Kerhonkson, NY (1965-1969) and prefect of St. Basil’s Ukrainian Catholic College Seminary in Stamford, CT (1958-1969). He went to Rome in 1972 where he became a hieromonk of the Studite Order in 1972. He was elected archimandrite (abbot) of the Order and on 2 April 1977 was consecrated bishop by Patriarch Josyf I for the Church in Ukraine. His consecration was announced publicly on 2 April 1996. He resided at the Studion Monastery in Grottaferrata, Rome until 1992, when he returned to live in Ukraine. He was appointed Exarch of Kyiv-Vyshhorod by His Beatitude Myroslav Ivan in April 1996. On 17 October 1996 he was appointed auxiliary bishop to Metropolitan Myroslav Ivan with delegated faculties of the major archbishop. After Metropolitan Myroslav Ivan’s death on 14 December 2000, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Archeparchy of L’viv.