The desire for an autonomous Orthodox Church resurfaces in the national revival of the early twentieth century.
On May 5, 1920 a group of Orthodox Ukrainians in Kyiv proclaim the creation of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The Church is destroyed by the Soviet government in 1921 and survives only in the West.
April 2nd, 2018: Страсний понеділок/Holy Monday
10:00am Утреня/Matins
April 4th, 2018: Страсна середа/Holy Wednesday
11:00 a.m. Літургія Єлейопомазання/Liturgy of Anointing
April 5th, 2018: Страсний четвер/Holy Thursday
10:00am Вечірня з Літургією св. Василія Великого/Vespers with the Divine Liturgy of Basil the Great
7:00 p.m. Утреня страстей (читання 12 євангелій)/Matins of the Passion
(reading of the 12 Gospels)
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Today marks the mid-point of Great Lent and we venerate the Holy Cross. The Cross is a reminder of the immensity of God’s love demonstrated in the person of
Jesus Christ who accepted death on the Cross, but through God’s love was raised on the third day.
Ця неділя, хрестопоклонна знаменує собою середину Великої Чотиридесятниці (Посту). І в цю неділю наша увага звернена на превелику Божу любов котра виявилася в особі Ісуса Христа котрий віддав своє життя за Божу правду та водночас любов Отця воскрес Його на третій день!
“Every time I drift to sleep and wake in the morning, I am with Ukrainians” (Because the Pope daily prays before the icon of the Mother of God that Patriarch Svyatoslav gave him)
Last Sunday, Jan. 28th, the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Cathedral of St. Sophia in Rome welcomed Pope Francis. His warm words acknowledged the contribution that our faithful have made to the unity of the Church through their centuries of faithfulness in spite of unspeakable persecutions.
In a personal way he also thanked God for three historic figures of our Church from the recent past. He spoke of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj whose suffering sustained our Church and laid the foundation for its resurgence today.
The second and most personally significant figure he mentioned was bishop Chmil who died forty years ago and is buried in the crypt of St. Sophia.
“This person did many good things for me,” the Pope stated. Through him, Pope Francis “discovered the beauty of [our] Liturgy”, the “living witness of faith” of our people who suffered so much under the Soviets. Fr. Chmil taught Pope Francis to serve at the altar.
Finally the Pope spoke of Patriarch Lyubomyr with whom he was installed as a Cardinal. The Patriarch was an example of “love, .. goodness, … and prayerfulness.”
The Pope also acknowledged the many Ukrainian women who are working in Italy ministering to the elderly.
In a pre-Christmas interview for the Church’s “Live TV”, His Beatitude shared his thoughts about a unified Christian calendar.
Here is a summary of his opinions.
All the Catholic bishops of Ukraine called for 24 hours of Fervent Prayer for peace in Ukraine from Dec. 7 to the 8th. The appeal was signed by the heads of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Bishop of Mukachevo.
“For the fourth successive year war has been undertaken against our land. The faithful of Ukraine bring daily to the altar of God the tears and pain of the people, beseeching God to free them from the invasion, grant protection and help for those who suffer and eternal peace for deceased”, the bishops’ letter states about the aim of such initiative.
From its very inception the Church’s proclamation of the Gospel has centred on defending human life from conception to natural death. However, our life does not end with the conclusion of our earthly journey; there is more to it than our life in the visible, material world.
We should do all we can so that those who are ill, suffering, or dying always experience respect for their human dignity even in the most challenging moments of their life.
Unfortunately, in Ukraine and throughout the world, there abound various theories that deny the dignity of those who are sick, infirm or dying. Even Plato said that if someone is ill they need not be healed, rather they should be left to die. Clearly this contradicts Christian mercy and the call to love our neighbour.
(Psalm 65: 10, 12) You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; … You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.
Did you know that September 14th, rather than January, marks the beginning of the Liturgical year?
We have ended our liturgical cycle with the blessing of flowers on the Feast of the Dormition, marking the mortal death of the Mother of God, and we restart the cycle celebrating her birth (Sept. 21st).
(Interview with Fr. Oleh Kindiy, Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv – continued)
Many people we interviewed replied that they believe in God but they don’t need a “middle man”. Others go to church when it’s empty. Still others attend for certain “rituals”: baptisms, weddings, or funerals. The majority generally don’t consider Church as community.
This is because, for instance, we teach catechism to children but only rarely in parishes do we have catechetical programs for adults. The Early Christians knew well that Church was a place to continuously deepen our faith, but we today have yet to recognize this. In terms of knowing God, there are no boundaries. On the other hand, at times people demand something from the Church, but when they are invited to, for example, a Parish Bible study, or a group to discover the beauty of the Byzantine Liturgy, they won’t take that next step; few respond to the additional offerings of their church.
The following is from an interview with Fr. Oleh Kindiy, Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv
People who attend Church don’t always consider themselves a part of a community. It’s easier for them to think of the Church as the priest or choir, ie: something beyond themselves. Doesn’t this remove personal responsibility?
I often ask people what percentage of the Church is made up by the clergy: priests, monks, bishops etc. The answer is between 30-50%, suggesting that lay people are only a segment of the Church that is primarily constituted by clergy. They are surprised when I tell them that clergy make up less than 1% of the Church. Lay people do not realize that they are the majority; they expect the priest to do everything: gather people and assign jobs for each to accomplish.
Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Transfiguration 