Evangelicals used to have a saying, “WWJD”: What would Jesus do? It’s presumptuous to guess, perhaps, but it is a handy way to apply His teachings to everyday situations. On this 75th anniversary of the death of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, we might try a more modest exercise in looking at the issues of our day: “What would Sheptytsky do?”
Of course, only experts – like those at the Sheptytsky Institute in Toronto – are qualified to answer this question. Ultimately, it is impossible. Sheptytsky was formed in a very different time, and it is difficult to extrapolate from his known views to what he might think of things he could not have imagined. But the attempt does have the virtue of highlighting the broad range of his interests and activities, and his far-reaching vision. For he is known not only as the metropolitan of Halych and head of the Greek-Catholic Church in western Ukraine between 1900 and his death on November 1, 1944. He is also revered as the de facto political leader of western Ukrainians in that period. His leadership talents and political acumen were in fact extraordinary. Even if Ukraine had had its own state, Sheptytsky might have proved to be its finest leader. Imagine him side by side with recent presidents of Ukraine – or even the United States. Does any of them stand up to Sheptytsky?