On 26-27 October,
2009 in Rome in the conference hall of the counseling group of Mayor of Rome on the street delle Virgini 18, there took place the fourth International Conference of the cycle "Ukraine and the Vatican”. It was convened within a week of
Ukraine in
Rome. The conference was organized by the Department of Religious Studies of the H. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, by the Transcarpathian V. Stefanyk National University and the State Foundation for Basic Research at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and Ukrainian Association for Religious studies (UAR) with the support of the department for international relations of the city council of Rome, the Embassy of Ukraine at the Holy See, Holy See Nunciature in Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivsk Diocese and UGCC Bishops in Rome.
The group of participants from the
Transcarpathian
V.
Stefanyk
National
University was headed by rector Bogdan Ostafiychuk - professor, member of NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Science, who gave a presentation about the history and current state of relations between
Ukraine and the
Vatican in the scientific and cultural and educational fields. The delegation of Transcarpatian National University included: father Svyatoslav Kiyak - Professor, Chairman of the department for Theology and Religious Studies on Faculty of Philosophy of the same University, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Philosophy, Coordinator of the project “Ukraine and the Vatican”; Vasily Glady - Deputy Chairman of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration for Science and Education, who welcomed the participants from the Ukrainian regional authorities, Zinaida Bolyuk - Head of the department for Education and Science of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration and Zinovy Beregovsky - first head deputy of the Ivano-Frankivsk regional council, who took an active part in the general discussion in the conference.
The group of participants from the Department for Religious Studies at the H. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and from the Ukrainian Association for Religious studies was headed by Anatoly Kolodny – Deputy of Director-Head of Department for Religious Studies, President of the UAR, Professor, Doctor of Philosophy, who gave a presentation on the status of religious studies in Ukraine and its impact on the formation of inter-confessional relations in Ukraine and in the Ukrainian-Vatican relations. Lyudmila Filipovic - Professor and Head of Department for the problems of religious processes in Ukraine at the same institute, Doctor of Philosophy was the coordinator of the group of participants from the Department of Religious Studies at H.Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy.The report on priorities for international research was made by director of the Foundation for Fundamental Research of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Doctor of Economics Bogdan Kiyak.
The Secretary of papal synod of bishops, Archbishop Nicolo Eterovych had the greeting word before the participants of the conference and reported on current state, historical experience and problems of the Vatican-Ukrainian relations.
Ambassador of Ukraine to the Holy See, Tatiana Izhevska analyzed in her report the historical and contemporary experience, problems and prospects of Ukrainian-Vatican relations.
Greeting words from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church were sounded by the bishop Dionysiy Liakhovych, OSBM - Apostolic Administrator for Ukrainian Catholics in
Italy and
Spain, and Iryney Bilyk, OSBM – canonic of the Papal Basilica of St. Mary the Great in
Rome and the father, Dr. Ivan Muzychka.
After a thorough discussion there was decided to adopt a resolution on organizing and conducting an expanded international conference on problems of Ukrainian-Vatican relations in May
2010. In which there will participate scientists from the Ukrainian Catholic diaspora as well as Ukrainian Orthodox scholars. Conference will be organized in Vatican by Vatican institutions (including the Pontifical Congregation of Oriental Churches, the Pontifical Oriental Institute and Pontifical University "Angelikum") Ukrainian scientific and educational institutions (National V. Stefanyk Transcarpathian University, Department for Religious Studies of the H. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the State Foundation for Basic Research at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and others.)
Within the international conference "Ukraine and the Vatican" on October 27, 2009 Ukrainian scientists took a pilgrimage to the Papal Basilica of St. Mary the Great in Rome and the tomb of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, OSBM at the Basilica of St. Peter, organized by Bishop Iryney Bilyk, OSBM, during which there was delivered the Divine Liturgy in the Ukrainian rite, headed by Kyr Iryney Bilyk, OSBM. He was assisted by priests from
Ukraine - father Dr. Svyatoslav Kiyak, fathers Vitaly Dem'yantsya and Ivan Sas.
Photos can be viewed here
