Young leader for an ancient Church

At just 41 years old, he’s one of the youngest Church leaders anywhere in the world. In March this year Sviatoslav Shevchuk was elected as major archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the largest Eastern rite church in full communion with the Holy See. During decades of persecution under repressive Soviet rule, the Church spread throughout the Diaspora, especially across Europe and north and south America, but today is flourishing in its homeland again, especially in Western Ukraine.
Less than a month after his election by the Ukrainian Church Synod, Archbishop Shevchuk travelled to Rome to meet with Pope Benedict and he was back here again in recent days for further discussions about the difficult question of reconciliation with the majority Orthodox Churches in his country…

Listen to Philippa Hitchen's inteview with Archbishop Shevchuk: