The Vibrant Parish Program
Our Lord Jesus Christ before his ascension into heaven instructed his disciples, saying: “Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the
end of the age” (Mat 28:18-29). This commission of Christ to proclaim the Good News was given not only
to the first disciples, the apostles, it is directed to the Church in all times, even to the end of the ages. The
Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, in fulfilling this commission of our Divine Savior, speaking through the
Bishops of its Holy Synod five years ago, defined “Holiness of a united people of God” as the goal of her
ministry. Holiness is God’s gift, and the vocation of every Christian. “For this is the will of God, your
sanctification,” St. Paul reminds us in the letter to the Thessalonians (1 Th 4:2-3).
The parish is the place where Christian holiness most often germinates, grows, and matures. For this reason
the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in 2011, in its concern for the spiritual
renewal of our entire Church, focused its particular attention on the parish, that foundational portion of the
People of God, which strives for holiness under the guidance of its bishop as father and teacher of the faith.
The program, which the Holy Synod approved, is called, “The Vibrant Parish – a place to encounter the
living Christ.” The goal of this pastoral program is to help all the faithful of our Church to learn “to live in
order to please God” (1 Th 4:1), and thus to grow in holiness and unity in Christ Jesus.