Pastoral Letter of His Eminence Mykola Cardinal Bychok on the Promulgation of the Revised Eparchial Statutes

To the Glory of the Holy, Consubstantial, Life-giving and Undivided Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you.

PASTORAL LETTER

To the Clergy, Religious and Faithful of the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne on the Promulgation of the Revised Eparchial Statutes — Section Six concerning the Statute of the Parish Pastoral Council and the Statute of the Parish Financial Council

Beloved in Christ,

As your bishop, entrusted with the care of our Eparchy and the good order of our ecclesial life, I write today to announce the promulgation of the revised Section Six of the Statutes of the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne for the Ukrainian Catholics of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. This new Section Six repeals and replaces the previous version issued in 2016.

The revision of our statutes is part of the ongoing development of local law within our Eparchy. The Church’s law is not static; it grows, clarifies, and adapts so that our pastoral structures may serve the People of God with greater transparency, accountability, and missionary vitality. As a Church we are governed not only by the universal norms of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium (CCEO), but also by the Particular Law of our own Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It is essential that our eparchial statutes conform to this particular law, which expresses the mind of our Synod and the lived discipline of our Church throughout the world.

In 2015, the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC issued the Parish Regulations (Pravylnyk), together with the Statute of the Parish Pastoral Council and the Statute of the Parish Financial Council. These documents form the normative foundation for parish governance in every eparchy of our Church. The revised Section Six of our Eparchial Statutes is built directly upon these Synodal Regulations, ensuring that our local practice is fully aligned with the discipline of the UGCC.

Canon 295 of the CCEO states clearly: “In a parish there is to be a pastoral council and a financial council in accordance with the prescriptions of the particular law of the proper Church sui iuris.” Canon 41 of the Particular Law of the UGCC gives effect to this requirement within our Church. Therefore, the Parish Pastoral Council and the Parish Financial Council, as established in this revised Section Six, are not optional bodies. They are canonical institutions, essential for the proper functioning of parish life, and governed by the CCEO, the Particular Law of the UGCC, the Pravylnyk, the Statute of the Parish Pastoral Council (2015), the Statute of the Parish Financial Council (2015), and the decrees and directives of the Eparchial Bishop.

These councils exist to strengthen the communion of the parish, to ensure that the voice of the faithful is heard, and to support the pastor in his pastoral and administrative responsibilities. They are instruments of co‑responsibility, transparency, and good stewardship. Their proper functioning is a sign of a healthy parish, one in which clergy and laity work together for the building up of the Body of Christ.

It is important to emphasise that the revised statutes make clear that there must be a distinct and unequivocal separation between the Parish Pastoral Council and the Parish Financial Council. These two bodies have different purposes, different competencies, and different responsibilities under Church law. For this reason, the term “Parish Council”—which in past decades was often used informally to describe a single combined body—is no longer used in our Eparchy. The Synodal Regulations of 2015 require that each parish have two councils, each functioning according to its own statute, and our revised Section Six brings our local law fully into conformity with that requirement.

This separation is not merely administrative. It reflects the ecclesiology of our Church, in which pastoral mission and temporal administration, though deeply connected, must be exercised with clarity of purpose. The Parish Pastoral Council assists the pastor in discerning and planning the pastoral life of the parish. The Parish Financial Council assists him in the stewardship of temporal goods. When each council fulfils its proper role, the parish functions with greater transparency, accountability, and harmony.

At the same time, the statutes reaffirm a fundamental principle of ecclesial governance: the Parish Administrator cannot delegate the authority entrusted to him by Church law. Canon law is explicit that the pastor or administrator bears personal responsibility for the pastoral care of the parish and for the administration of its goods. He may and must seek counsel; he may and must collaborate; but he cannot abdicate or transfer the responsibilities that belong to his office. Leadership in the Church is always exercised in service, and always within the limits of the law.

This principle does not diminish the role of the laity. In fact, it strengthens it. The revised statutes call the faithful to a more active, mature, and responsible participation in the life of the parish. The laity are not passive observers. They are co‑workers in the mission of the Church, offering their expertise, their insight, and their commitment to the Gospel. The councils exist precisely so that the pastor may fulfil his obligations with the support, wisdom, and collaboration of the faithful. When clergy and laity work together in their proper roles, the parish becomes a true community of communion and mission.

From September until the beginning of the new year, parish administrators will gradually work towards establishing separate Pastoral Councils and separate Finance Councils. This process will take time, as each parish must discern appropriate membership, provide formation, and ensure that the councils are constituted according to the statutes. However, the work should be completed when the current term of the existing councils in each parish expires. This timeline allows for a smooth transition, respects the service of current council members, and ensures that the new structures are introduced with clarity and stability.

The promulgation of this revised Section Six marks an important step in the maturation of our Eparchy. It reflects our commitment to the discipline of our Church, to the principles of synodality, and to the responsible governance of our parishes. I ask all pastors, council members, and parishioners to receive these statutes with openness and goodwill, and to implement them faithfully for the spiritual and communal good of our people.

On 15 September 2026 at 8.30 pm (AEST), a Zoom meeting will be held for all clergy and parish representatives to provide further guidance and formation to assist parishes in understanding and applying these norms. I am grateful to all who have contributed to this work, and I entrust its fruitfulness to the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul, our heavenly patrons.

May the Lord bless our Eparchy and grant that these renewed statutes strengthen our unity, deepen our mission, and help us walk together toward the Kingdom.

With prayerful blessing,

† MYKOLA
CARDINAL BYCHOK, CSsR
Bishop of the Eparchy
of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne

Given in Melbourne
at our Cathedral of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul,
on the 1st day of September, in the Year of Our Lord 2026,
the Beginning of the Indiction, that is the New Liturgical Year,
our Venerable Father Simeon the Stylite and his mother Martha, and others