On July 26, 2023, a regular meeting of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) was held in the Synodal Hall of the Metropolitan House - the residence of the Primate of the Orthodox Church at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral. The meeting was attended by ten members of the Holy Synod, two were absent for a valid reason. This is reported by the official website of the OCU.
The Holy Synod heard and took note of the report of His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius on the preparations for the Local Council on July 27, 2023. The Synod preliminarily approved the draft agenda of the Council, a number of draft documents for consideration and approval by the Council, and resolved some other organizational issues regarding the work of the Local Council.
The synodal decision established a convent in the Chernivtsi Diocese and appointed its abbess, as well as made changes to the statutes of the monasteries in the Ivano-Frankivsk-Halych and Zaporizhzhia dioceses and to the statute of the Vinnytsia-Tulchyn Diocese.
On the proposal of the Commission for the Canonization of Saints, the Synod blessed the local veneration of the myrrh-emitting icons - the icon of the Mother of God "Odyhytria of Dorohobuzka" in the Diocese of Rivne (as well as the texts of the troparion, kontakion and prayer) and "The Savior of the Myrrh-Exuding" in the Diocese of Zakarpattia.
The Synod, on the recommendation of the Theological and Liturgical Commission, approved the texts of the troparion and kontakion to St. Raphael (Zaborovsky), Metropolitan of Kyiv, as well as the texts of prayers for the ordination of protodeacon, archpriest, hegumen and archimandrite to be included in the Book of Bishop's Ministry. With that, the meeting was concluded.
Based on the materials of the Secretariat of the Holy Synod
Press Service of the Vinnytsia-Bar Diocese of the UOC (OCU)
