Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne (Ukrainian)
Eparchia Sanctorum Petri et Pauli Melburnensis Ucrainorum
Мельбурнська єпархія святих апостолів Петра й Павла
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| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Territory | Australia, New Zealand and Oceania |
| Ecclesiastical province | Melbourne (Latin) |
| Headquarters | Melbourne |
| Coordinates | 37°47′47″S 144°56′39″E / 37.79639°S 144.94417°E / -37.79639; 144.94417 |
| Statistics | |
| Population - Catholics | (as of 2009) 32,500 |
| Parishes |  10 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church |
| Rite | Byzantine Rite |
| Established | 10 May 1958 as Apostolic Exarchate of Australia; 24 June 1982 as Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St. Peter & St. Paul |
| Patron saint | St. Peter and St. Paul |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Patriarch | Sviatoslav Shevchuk |
| Eparch | Mykola Bychok C.Ss.R. |
| Bishops emeritus | Peter Stasiuk C.Ss.R. |
| Website | |
| catholicukes.org.au | |
The Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic ChurchinAustralia. Headquartered in Melbourne, it is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archbishop of Melbourne, a Latin Church territory.
The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, in North Melbourne, Victoria, is the episcopal church of the eparch, currently Mykola Bychok CSSR.
Like all Catholic dioceses in Australia, the eparchy is a member of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference. The Catholic Church is made up of the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic particular churches sui iuris, one of which is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The eparchy is non-geographic, but demographic in that it has jurisdiction wherever Ukrainian Greeks are found in Australia, New Zealand and throughout Oceania. It has 21 churches and more schools, nursing homes and other institutions in Australia and New Zealand.
The eparchy began on 10 May 1958 as the apostolic exarchate for Ukrainians of the Byzantine Rite in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. (Apostolic exarchs, like apostolic visitors, are "exempt", that is, they are responsible to the Holy Roman See. They are usually in missionary areas where the ordinary infrastructure of eparchies or dioceses is scanty.)
The exarchate was superseded on 24 June 1982 by its becoming the eparchy (that is, diocese) of Melbourne. Since there was already an Archbishopric of Melbourne, and it is not customary to have two bishops with identically named sees, the exarchate is described as "the Eparchy of Saints Peter & Paul of Melbourne" and is notionally a suffragan see of the (Latin) Archdiocese of Melbourne.
On 22 March 2023, the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne, according to the decree of Bishop Mykola Bychok, decided that from 1 September 2023, the UGCC in Australia and Oceania will completely switch [uk] to the Gregorian calendar, including Easter, unlike the UGCC in Eurasia.[1]
On 24 March 2023, Bishop Mykola stated that the main intention of the calendar reform of the UGCC in Australia and Oceania is to be in unity with the Catholic Church in general, and with the UGCC in particular. Bishop Mykola emphasized that only the dates will change, but the traditions of celebrating Ukrainians in Australia will remain unchanged:[2][3]
This step is difficult, perhaps painful for some parishioners. But we, as a diocese that is part of the UGCC, were also obliged to take this step in order to live in unity. I sincerely admit that for me this decision [about calendar reform in Ukraine] was a shock. As a bishop, I did not expect it to be accepted so quickly. Very often, people put a political rather than a spiritual meaning in it to a certain extent. Because for many, the question now is to detach as much as possible from Russia, from Moscovia. And they consider this the main direction in church life as well, so as not to have a common Christmas with Russia. On the one hand, this is good. On the other hand, the change of the calendar has much deeper spiritual roots. It's not just Christmas and Easter, but bigger changes.
Church services are held in
The following individuals have been appointed apostolic exarch and/or elected as Ukrainian Eparch of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne:[4]
| Order | Name | Title | Date enthroned | Reign ended | Term of office | Reason for term end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Prasko † | Apostolic Exarch of Australia (Ukrainian) | 10 May 1958 | 24 June 1982 | 24 years, 45 days | Elevated as Bishop of Ss Peter & Paul of Melbourne |
| Eparch (Bishop) of Ss Peter & Paul of Melbourne (Ukrainian), titular bishopofZygris | 24 June 1982 | 16 December 1992 | 10 years, 175 days | Retired | ||
| 2 | Peter Stasiuk C.Ss.R. | Eparch of Ss Peter & Paul of Melbourne | 16 December 1992 | 15 January 2020 | 27 years, 30 days | Retired |
| 3 | Mykola Bychok C.Ss.R. | Eparch of Ss Peter & Paul of Melbourne | 15 January 2020 | Present | 4 years, 170 days |
Ukraine portal
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