Byzantine-rite Ukrainian Faithful of France Given Eparchy

Benedict XVI has elevated the apostolic exarchate for Ukrainian faithful of the Byzantine rite resident in France to the rank of eparchy (diocese).

The new eparchy has the title: Saint Wladimir-Le-Grand de Paris des Byzantins-Ukrainiens.

Bishop Borys Andrij Gudziak, until now apostolic exarch there, was named the first eparchial bishop.

An apostolic exarchate in the Eastern Catholic Church is similar to an apostolic vicariate in the Latin Rite Catholic Church. It is headed by a titular bishop as its ordinary with the title of exarch. 

With the elevation of the Ukrainian apostolic exarchate in France to the rank of eparchy, Bishop Gudziak is no longer the titular bishop of Carcabia but becomes the first bishop of the new Eparchy (Diocese) of Saint Wladimir-Le-Grand.

Borys Andrij Gudziak was born in 1960 in Syracuse, New York, was ordained to the priesthood in 1998, and received episcopal ordination in 2012.

Last week, Benedict XVI elevated the Ukrainian apostolic exarchate in Great Britain to the rank of eparchy (diocese).

The new eparchy has the title: Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London. Bishop Hlib Borys Sviatoslav Lonchyna, until now apostolic exarch there, was named the first eparchial bishop. The bishop is a native of Steubenville, Ohio.