I think it would be odd to speak nothing of the "Holy Synod" seeing as it is the biggest thing going on in the Church. I have heard mixed reviews and I wanted to lay out an Eastern Catholic's perspective of the Holy Synod and what it means for us.

For the most part, as Eastern Catholic's should we be worried? I would say no. Majority of the questions that are being asked are really, as usual, only relatable to the Roman Catholic Church. The question of a married priesthood, the role of women in the Church and the blessing of Same Sex Couples are things that our Bishops have already spoken about. Historically a Synod was in the context of a given region of churches, one example of this is that Pelagianism was condemned by a Synod in Rome in which Pelagian took his arguments to Jerusalem and it was tried a second time by the Synod of Jerusalem (c. 415). It was firmly condemned at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 as a whole Church movement. The Ecumenical Councils then are the means of true dispensation of the faith in the Church. Just as the Orthodox, or even our own church call a Synod, it does not mean that those things are to be binding on the wholeness of the Church. In fact, if the Pope were to push an agenda of declaring that the results of the Synod are required by the whole Church I would say that is a violation of his Papal Power and stepping over the bounds. I state this because the Pope has a spiritual power over the Church when teaching in unison with the other bishops, not a juridical one.

Throughout history we have seen such instances, but we must understand that the reasons have been because the Pope is properly the Patriarch of the West. Whereas the other Eastern Catholic Churches were founded by the other apostles. They also have the power of binding and loosing (Mt 18:18-19) which has always been seen as being the power to rule over their respective regions and churches.

The Pope's role is ecumenical, holding the group together and being the highest example of Christianity. He would properly hold the position of Head of State and Head of Government in the capacity of a Prime Minister. In fact, the quotation from Matthew 16 which gives Peter the "Keys to the Kingdom" is also found in another area in scripture in which the Prophet Isaiah is speaking to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of David and states that he will be stripped of his power and the Keys of the Kingdom be handed to someone else (Isaiah 22: 20-22). This is the only other mention of the Keys of the Kingdom in the Scriptures.

So I do not worry much about the Synod as an Eastern Catholic. The other great thing about being Eastern Catholic is the voice of our Patriarchs. The Patriarch is a Head of a given Particular Church. In the case of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, he is Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Should something that clearly violates the true communion of our churches take place, the Patriarchs have a voice. These Patriarchs carry the heritage of an Apostle, they have a voice higher than a bishop, or a cardinal, because in their ordination stands the Apostolic Blessing and representation of not Peter, nor Paul, in the Ukrainian Church, St. Andrew the Apostle. The Patriarch can trace his Apostolic Lineage to St. Andrew, whereas the Pope of Rome traces his back to Peter and Paul. Remember the Apostles where all given the power to bind and loose and it was the Apostles that did a course correction on Peter many times in Acts when he went astray. Luckily, those structures still stand today and have happened even as recently as last month when the entire Episcopate showed up at St. Peter's Basilica for the Ukrainian Church and shared words to Pope Francis behind closed doors for about 6 hours about his remark concerning the "Legacy of Russia" and how the youth need to take up that legacy. I don't know what happened behind those doors, but we have seen some changes in the Vatican's Foreign Policy as of late since then.

In lasting words, I do not think that as Eastern Catholics we have anything to fear. Our Patriarchs have voices and they WILL protect their sheep. They will not let wolves come to the door, for they are Good Shepherds. I am so happy and grateful to be under such a strong leadership as the leadership with Patriarch Shevchuk. Please let us continue to pray for this Synod and the results that come out of it. Some eye opening things came out where after the first votes no women or lay person was voted to the committees to continue the conversation. The Pope appointed one Sister to the board to help oversee talks and she will be the only lay person on the board as such. Very interesting how the Holy Spirit is moving, but let us keep in prayer!

Glory to Jesus Christ!