Bishop Kenneth enthroned as
Eparch of Holy Family of London
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski (centre) and Cardinal Vincent Nichols with clergy who took part in the enthronement ceremony |
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski is enthroned as Bishop of the
Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London.
By Christopher Wells
The solemn enthronement of Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski as the
second Eparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London
took place on Saturday.
The ceremony had originally been planned for 7 April (the
feast of the Annunciation on the Julian calendar), with the head of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk scheduled
to preside. However, due to the restrictions in place to halt the spread of the
novel coronavirus, new arrangements had to be made.
In consultation with the Major Archbishop, the decision was
made to move the enthronement forward, and the local Latin Ordinary, Cardinal
Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, was asked to preside at the
ceremony.
In the presence of saints and angels
In view of the extraordinary circumstances, the enthronement
took place in the Cathedral with a minimal number of people present. In his
remarks during the Liturgy, Cardinal Nichols noted that “This cathedral might
seem empty, but we know that in every act of worship angels and saints are
present… This gives us the opportunity to understand the hidden work of the
power of the Holy Spirit, which is capable of overcoming every physical
separation and distance, and which we are going to have to live for some time
now”.
Bishop Kenneth spoke by phone with Vatican News, following
the enthronement. “It was a very different experience, certainly unique, but I
think also the right way to do this”, he said. “It also gave me the feeling
that we are going back to the basics of our Christian beliefs”.
He said the ceremony reminded him of his time at Vatican
Radio, when he would celebrate the Divine Liturgy in a small chapel with few
participants. “But we knew that our service was being broadcast throughout the
world, and especially to [Soviet] Ukraine, where perhaps at that time people
were not able to go to churches”, he said. “And so that was the mindset that I
had, was that even though there aren’t many people in the cathedral, there were
probably hundreds if not thousands joining us through modern means of
communication, through livestreaming”.
Bishop Kenneth said, “In that sense, I realized that is the
new reality of my pastoral ministry here as a shepherd in the United
Kingdom”.
United in a spirit of prayer
Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus emergency Bishop
Kenneth recognized that he would not be able to immediately visit the priests
and faithful of the Eparchy as he had originally planned. “I’m not sure when
we’ll be able to start travelling throughout the United Kingdom”, he said.
Noting that this was the first Sunday that the faithful would not be able to
gather in their churches, the bishop said, “In many ways it’s a sad day,
because how can we have our churches not available to our faithful?” But he
encouraged them to join together in “a spirit of prayer”, especially by means
of social media, noting that the cathedral, as well as other parishes, were
livestreaming services.
At the beginning of his ministry as Eparch for the Ukrainian
Greek Catholic community in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Bishop Kenneth
spoke about his priorities in these exceptional times. He said it is important
to assure one another of God’s love, saying that, although many things have
changed, and many things are no longer permitted, we should also think about
things that we are still able to do. “We are still able to pray”, he said.
“We’re still able to show compassion, charity, and love to each other”.
Bishop Kenneth said, “I think that as the shepherd here,
what I need to be doing is to assure first of all my clergy that they’re loved,
that they’re trusted, and that they, in turn, have a great duty to share that
love and that trust with their parishioners, and to let them know the good news
that Jesus loves them, and that there is salvation, and that this whole
situation is in God’s hands”.
You can watch the ceremony of Bishop Kenneth's
enthronement in this video, provided by the Eparchy of the Holy Family of
London:
The Eparchy is also livestreaming services including the
Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified gifts (Wednesday) and the Divine Liturgy
(Sunday). You can find more information, and follow along with the liturgy in
"a spirit of prayer", by going to the Facebook page of the Cathedral
of the Holy Family.
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