UGCC defrocks its cleric for concelebrating with OCU hierarch

Former cleric of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) Bohdan Murovanyi has been officially defrocked and deprived of all rights associated with his clerical status. This decision imposes a complete ban on him from holding any religious events and performing church functions. This decision was made in connection with the fact of the «concelebration» of the said cleric with the head of the Vladimir-Volyn Diocese of the OCU, Matviy Shevchuk.

According to the official resource of the Sokal-Zhovkva Diocese of the UGCC, Bohdan Murovany lost all church virtues and positions related to his past ministry. He is now prohibited from performing any religious activities, including baptism, wedding and confession.

According to the Decree of the Dicastery of Doctrine, the only exception is the confession of persons in immediate danger of death. In any other cases, his attempts to perform the sacraments would be considered not only illegal but also invalid, devoid of grace and any canonical force.

In addition, Bohdan Murovanyi no longer has the right to speak on behalf of the Catholic Church or to call himself a Greek Catholic priest. The decision came into force, finally revoking his right to perform any pastoral ministry.

It is worth noting that on October 2, 2023, the Sokal-Zhovkva Eparchy of the UGCC already published a «Decree on the ban on ministry» for its cleric Bohdan Murovany. It is reported that the ban was imposed on Murovany because of his concelebration with the head of the Vladimir-Volyn Diocese of the OCU, Matviy Shevchuk.