Basil Kovpak
Encyclopedia
Basil Kovpak is a Ukrainian
Traditionalist Catholic
priest
and the founder and current head of the Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat
. Formerly a priest of the Archeparchy of Lviv
of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
(UGCC), Kovpak was excommunicated by the UGCC in 2007.
and aspects of ecumenism
and interreligious dialogue
practised by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Holy See
.
The Society also opposes the replacement of the traditional Church Slavonic language by the vernacular Ukrainian language
in the liturgy
, and opposes liturgical de-latinisation
, the removal of Latin Rite practices such as Eucharistic adoration
, the Rosary
, and the Stations of the Cross
, which had been adopted within the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
by "recognis(ing) the uncanonical foreign Bishop Bernard Fellay
, who does not recognise the authority of the Pope of Rome and is not united with the Catholic Church." Kovpak denied that he recognised Bishop Fellay as his own canonical bishop, and declared his intention to appeal to the Vatican. The Holy See
accepted his appeal and declared the excommunication null for lack of canonical form.
because of the laity insisting on kneeling for it.
He also accused the UGCC leaders of having publicly posed for photographs and conducted interreligious payer meetings with Buddhists and Hare Krishnas. He further cited virulently Anti-Catholic remarks by the Orthodox prelates with whom Cardinal Husar is pursuing ecumenism and "is seeking a false unity". The SSPX is preparing an English
translation of the book, the original of which is in Ukrainian
.
consecrated in spite of the prohibition of Canon 1013 was, at their request, lifted in January 2009, Kovpak has not sought to have his own excommunication in connection with two other canons of the Code of Canon Law lifted by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church or by the Holy See.
in the Latin Rite church.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and the founder and current head of the Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat
Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat
The Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych is a society of traditionalist priests and seminarians originating from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church which is led by the excommunicated priest Basil Kovpak. It is based in Riasne, Lviv, Western Ukraine...
. Formerly a priest of the Archeparchy of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
(UGCC), Kovpak was excommunicated by the UGCC in 2007.
Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat
Supported and funded by the Society of Saint Pius X, the Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat extends the SSPX's traditionalist critique of current Catholic Church practices to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It opposes some decisions of the Second Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
and aspects of ecumenism
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
and interreligious dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
practised by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
.
The Society also opposes the replacement of the traditional Church Slavonic language by the vernacular Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
in the liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
, and opposes liturgical de-latinisation
Liturgical Latinisation
Liturgical Latinisation, also known as Latinisation, is the process by which liturgical and other aspects of the Churches of Eastern Christianity were altered to resemble more closely the practices of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church...
, the removal of Latin Rite practices such as Eucharistic adoration
Eucharistic adoration
Eucharistic adoration is a practice in the Roman Catholic Church, and in a few Anglican and Lutheran churches, in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to and adored by the faithful....
, the Rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
, and the Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
, which had been adopted within the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Dispute with Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church authorities
On 10 February 2004, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Archbishop of Lviv and Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, declared that Kovpak, through his close links to the SSPX, had incurred excommunicationExcommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
by "recognis(ing) the uncanonical foreign Bishop Bernard Fellay
Bernard Fellay
Bernard Fellay, SSPX is a bishop and superior general of the Traditionalist Catholic Society of St. Pius X. In 1988, the Roman Catholic Church declared Fellay automatically excommunicated through being consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, an act that the Holy See described as...
, who does not recognise the authority of the Pope of Rome and is not united with the Catholic Church." Kovpak denied that he recognised Bishop Fellay as his own canonical bishop, and declared his intention to appeal to the Vatican. The Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
accepted his appeal and declared the excommunication null for lack of canonical form.
Excommunication
Kovpak was definitively excommunicated in November 2007 after having the Latin-Rite SSPX bishop Richard Williamson ordain two priests and seven deacons for his society in spite of the prohibition in canons 1015 §1 and 1017 of the Code of Canon Law.Kovpak's response
To justify his actions and respond to the accusations levelled against him by the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Kovpak wrote a book entitled Persecuted Tradition. In it, he charged that bishops have harassed traditional Greek Catholic priests and refused Ukrainian laity Holy CommunionEucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
because of the laity insisting on kneeling for it.
He also accused the UGCC leaders of having publicly posed for photographs and conducted interreligious payer meetings with Buddhists and Hare Krishnas. He further cited virulently Anti-Catholic remarks by the Orthodox prelates with whom Cardinal Husar is pursuing ecumenism and "is seeking a false unity". The SSPX is preparing an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation of the book, the original of which is in Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
.
Lifting of the Écône excommunications
While the excommunication of the four bishops whom Archbishop Marcel LefebvreMarcel Lefebvre
Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970,...
consecrated in spite of the prohibition of Canon 1013 was, at their request, lifted in January 2009, Kovpak has not sought to have his own excommunication in connection with two other canons of the Code of Canon Law lifted by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church or by the Holy See.
Parish church
Kovpak holds possession of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish church in the village of Ivano-Frankove (Yaniv), with the result that the parishioners who are faithful to the Archbishop of Lviv have to celebrate the Divine LiturgyDivine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
in the Latin Rite church.