Archbishop Borys visits Paris on his way back to Philadelphia

On the 3rd of July Metropolitan Borys arrived in France for the first time after his departure for Philadelphia in May 2019.

On Sunday, the day after coming to Paris, the archbishop presided over the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral of Saint Volodymyr the Great in Paris. After the service, Metropolitan held a small conference on the topic “Church after the COVID-19 pandemic” for the parishioners and all who came to the liturgy. During his speech the archbishop shared his personal experience as well as some thoughts about what transformations might await our Church in the post-COVID world. Following the conference, there was also a small reception on the premises of the cathedral.

The following days of the Metropolitan’s visit were full of meetings and reunions. On Monday he visited Catholic Institute of Paris, where the Ukrainian seminarians study. Then, on Tuesday priests from France and Belgium came to see the archbishop and to share their good news with him. On Wednesday, Metropolitan Borys along with Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, the Apostolic Administrator of the Paris eparchy, visited the Head of the Conference of Bishops in France, Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, and met with the Ukrainian community in the evening.

One of the highlights of the Metropolitan’s stay in France was the trip to the Mont Saint-Michel – a tidal island that is situated in the Normandy region. The first stop of the short tour was Chartres, where the archbishop and a few people that joined him for this trip had a Divine Liturgy in the crypts. This was followed by a guided tour and an interesting viewing of the modern art exhibit of a Korean monk Kim En Joong. The journey continued and upon the arrival at Mont Saint-Michel the group had a chance to visit the abbey at night, when it was beautifully lit up. The following day Metropolitan Borys, Bishop Hlib and the others participated in a guided tour, after which bishops and a priest, who was a part of the group, concelebrated a Latin mass with the monks and sisters, Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem, prior to their return to Paris.

For the last two days in France Archbishop Borys plans to visit Sisters of Immaculate Conception in Paris and visit Senlis, the city where Anne of Kyiv, Queen of France and daughter of Yaroslav the Wise lived. There he will preside over the Divine Liturgy and meet the community of the Ukrainian parish of Saints Borys and Hlib.

On Monday morning Metropolitan Borys leaves Europe and returns to Philadelphia.