Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Pastoral visit of Bishop Mykola to Canberra and Queanbeyan
November 20, 2023
From November 16 to 19, Bishop Mykola Bychok, Eparch of Melbourne, was on a pastoral visit to Canberra and Queanbeyan. During this time, he took part in several official meetings and visited the parishioners of the St. Michael church and the St. Volodymyr church.
Bishop Mykola began his visit with an interfaith prayer breakfast—an annual meeting of parliamentarians, foreign diplomats, and representatives of religious communities—which took place in the Parliament building and was organised by the Australian Catholic University. On the same day, Bishop Mykola, together with Deacon Michael Zylan, the Chancellor of the Eparchy, visited the office of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, where they, among others, met with the new general secretary of the Australian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Very Rev Chris de Souza, and had the opportunity to discuss the plan for cooperation of the Melbourne Eparchy with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
On Saturday, November 18, Bishop Mykola, in the co-service of Deacon Michael Zylan, Chancellor of the Eparchy, and Fr. Wolodymyr Kalinecki, administrator of the parish in Canberra and Queanbeyan, served the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the St. Michael church in Queanbeyan. After the liturgy, there was a meeting with the parishioners, during which those present had the opportunity to gather and discuss topics important to the community.
On Sunday, November 19, the faithful will gather again for the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, this time in the St. Volodymyr church in Canberra. Deacon Michael Zylan and Fr. Wolodymyr Kalinecki co-served Bishop Mykola. During his homily, Bishop drew attention to the fact that today there are many who suffer physically, mentally, or emotionally, and in our lives, we sometimes behave like the heroes of the parable of the Good Samaritan. “Today, there are those who rob and intentionally harm others. They seek benefits at the expense of others. Perhaps not literally by theft, but by dishonesty and duplicity. Some harm others with gossip, reckless insinuations, and baseless, slanderous accusations… We don’t have time to worry about others. We know that we must ‘do good to all people,’ but not now. Not today. Maybe later”. However, we can also act like good Samaritans. “The Bible says he felt ‘compassion’ for the wounded stranger. He knew what had to be done. And he did it. His actions were a sacrifice of time and money. Not to mention the possible risk to his personal safety. It is worth giving yourself an answer to the question: What kind of person am I? And what is most important: Everyone can choose for himself,” stressed Bishop Mykola.
After the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and the faithful went to the monument to the victims of the Holodomor, which is located near the Orthodox church. There, everyone prayed a memorial service together and honoured the memory of those who died 90 years ago because of the Holodomor of 1932–33. Afterwards, they returned to the parish hall for a joint meal and fellowship.
