Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Lutsk

Bishop Josaphat Oleh Hovera, Exarch of Lutsk. Born on September 12, 1967, in Ivano-Frankivsk. Ordained a priest on May 30, 1990, by the Most Reverend Bishop Julian Voronovsky, Eparch of Sambir-Drohobych. Consecrated a bishop on April 7, 2008, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ternopil. Enthroned on April 12, 2008, at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lutsk. Childhood and family: Born on September 12, 1967, in Ivano-Frankivsk. After finishing general school, he continued his studies at the Lviv Medical College and subsequently at an underground seminary. Here is how the Most Reverend Bishop Josaphat describes the emergence of his vocation: "I grew up in a rather religious family. As a young woman, my mother wished to dedicate herself to teaching and enrolled in a pedagogical college. However, she encountered pressure to conform to atheism there; consequently, she was forced to leave the institution and seek manual labor at a factory. Yet, despite everything, she held fast to her convictions and, naturally, always passed them on to her children—there were four of us growing up. I remember how, every evening instead of fairy tales, she would share parts of the Catechism or the Bible, or tell us something about God. That is why, from childhood, various questions arose in my mind: Who is Jesus Christ? Why was He crucified? After all, I heard all of this from her stories. These things remained in my heart and memory, and surely shaped the choice I eventually made." I also cannot help but recall my grandmother. She raised seven children despite the Soviet authorities' constant attempts to deport her to Siberia. At such moments, she would gather her children and say, "Children, let us pray." Instead of preparing for Siberia or packing her belongings, she would speak to the children about prayer. And they would all pray. The commandant would come to the house, see this communal prayer, and be unable to comprehend it. This happened several times. Priestly ministry: On May 30, 1990, he was ordained a priest by the Most Reverend Julian Voronovsky, Eparch of Sambir-Drohobych, and appointed pastor of the Saints Volodymyr and Olha parish in the settlement of Velyka Berezovytsia. From 1996 to 1999, he studied at the Catholic University of Lublin. Afterward, he served as vice-rector of the Josyf Slipyj Major Theological Seminary. From 2004 to 2007, he studied at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in pastoral theology. Subsequently, he served as rector of the Josyf Slipyj Theological Seminary. In addition to his native Ukrainian, he is proficient in Russian, Polish, Italian, and German. Episcopal activity: On January 15, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI blessed the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to establish a new Archiepiscopal Exarchate in Lutsk and to appoint Fr. Josaphat Hovera as its first exarch, assigning him the titular see of Caesariana. His episcopal ordination took place on April 7, 2008, in Ternopil, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The enthronement took place on April 12 of that same year in Lutsk, at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God, which has since become the cathedral. The principal consecrator was His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, while the co-consecrators were Paul Patrick Chomnycky, Eparch of Stamford, and Vasyl Semeniuk, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Ternopil-Zboriv. The new exarchate is named the "Lutsk Exarchate" and encompasses the Volyn and Rivne regions. The Exarch’s seat is located in the city of Lutsk. Bishop Josaphat himself describes his ministry in this exarchate as follows: "When I visited Germany, Catholics there would say they were 'in the diaspora' because they were a minority; the majority were Protestants, while Catholics made up only 10–15% of the total population, with the rest belonging to other denominations and religions or being atheists. The Lutsk Exarchate in Ukraine is also a kind of diaspora, since Greek Catholics are a minority, while the majority are Orthodox. Yet, these are our native lands. In the 19th century, the Eparchy of Lutsk comprised 1,200 parishes! The Eparchy of Volodymyr, which also falls within these boundaries, had 600 parishes. This was the situation until 1839, when the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Volyn was suppressed and liquidated. Nevertheless, many people remained loyal to their Church, refusing to receive baptism or be married in the Orthodox churches imposed upon them. And when the mission work from the era of Mykolay Charnetsky was revived between the First and Second World Wars, people began to return in large numbers. Some parishes counted as many as 1,000 faithful during the interwar period." Therefore, the revival of the UGCC in Volyn is another stage in revitalizing our life, and it is moving forward slowly.