Month: September 18, 2020 4:17 am

Seventy-one years ago, on September 25, 1949, Dr. Friedrich Funder of the Catholic newspaper the Register reported from Vienna about the situation in Soviet Ukraine and the functioning of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, as it struggled to maintain its faith in practice under Soviet rule.

A dwindling number of priests, without a single bishop, were keeping the faith alive in Ukraine – a Church that once boasted many bishops, thousands of priests and millions of faithful. The Ukrainian Catholic Church was forcibly liquidated in 1946 through a sham Synod, orchestrated by the Soviets, which absorbed the Ukrainian Catholic Church into the Russian Orthodox Church.

We Ukrainian Americans no longer have to lament that the world doesn’t know much about Ukraine. Ukraine just celebrated the 29th anniversary of the re-establishment of its independence. Now Ukraine has an international reputation, and Ukrainians are responsible for its content. But we can still show our concern for our heritage by supporting those who study it.

In this brief comment I’d like to call your attention to one such program administered by the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, which continues to vouchsafe the good name of the country of our heritage.

In an article headlined “I Spent Two Terrifying Days Imprisoned In Belarus,” journalist Dan Peleschuk recounts his harrowing experience covering the opposition protests in Belarus following the rigged presidential election. The story appeared on BuzzFeed.News on August 20.

Mr. Peleschuk writes:

“For anyone on the streets of Minsk and other cities around the country, the sound of Alexander Lukashenko’s [Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s] Belarus has now become the roar of crowds demanding his ouster, fair elections and a freer country.

If there is one minister in Canada’s Cabinet that stands head and shoulders above all others – it is our Chrystia.

I say “our” Chrystia, because Deputy Prime Minster Chrystia Freeland is of Ukrainian origin and very proud of it. She has also been a very effective voice within Canada’s government for both our community in Canada and Ukraine in general.

Her grandfather, Mykhailo Chomiak, served as an editor with Lviv’s Dilo, Krakivski Visti and, at the end of his career, preceded me as editor of Ukrainian News in Edmonton. Ms. Freeland decided to follow in his footsteps and began her journalistic career freelancing from Ukraine in the late 1980s. This led to a variety of editorial positions at the Financial Times, The Globe and Mail and Thomson Reuters, but early in her career she also contributed to this paper and Ukrainian News.

Part I

During meals at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome in the spring semester of 1971, I was impressed by the porcelain water pitchers inscribed with lines from St. Francis’ Canticle of All Created Things: “Laudato si’, mi Signore, per sor’aqua/la quale è multo utile et humile et pretiosa et casta” (“Be praised, my Lord, for sister water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste”). Forty-four years later, the title of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment “Laudato Si’” reminded me of those ornate Italian vessels. This shows not only how an ordinary household object can leave a lifelong impression on the undergraduate imagination, but also how the Franciscan vision inspires environmental awareness. The pope writes of his namesake, “His response to the world around him was so much more than intellectual appreciation or economic calculus, for to him each and every creature was a sister united to him by bonds of affection. That is why he felt called to care for all that exists.” (LS, no. 11)

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Cinematographer Andrij Parekh, with 20 years of experience in that role, was nominated for an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series” for directing the HBO series “Succession,” specifically the “Hunting” episode.

He also worked as director on the “Vaulter” and “Which Side Are You On?” episodes, from the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Mr. Parekh also worked on the series as director of photography for three episodes in 2018.

NEW YORK – This November marks the first time a Ukrainian American, Tamara Lashchyk, will be on the ballot for New York State Assembly in the crucial Manhattan District 66. Ms. Lashchyk was born in the Big Apple and currently resides in Soho. A veteran of over 26 years on Wall Street, she is passionate about her birthplace and people. Over several interviews, exclusively for The Ukrainian Weekly, Ms. Lashchyk detailed her vision and remedies for New York, stressing the importance of this election – especially for the Ukrainian American community.

Always riding her rented Citi Bike, Ms. Lashchyk is a familiar sight throughout her district, which extends south from 14th Street to include the East and West Villages, Tribeca and Soho. Daily, she hears the residents’ primary concerns: jump-starting small businesses and restaurants, crime and safety. During COVID, she continues visiting hospitals to support doctors and staff, thanking them for their bravery.

NORTH PORT, Fla. – The Ukrainian American community of Southwest Florida, with its center in North Port, celebrated the 29th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence on Monday, August 24, at North Port City Hall.

The solemn occasion began with the raising of the American and Ukrainian flags by Ukrainian American Veterans of Post 40, while the attending community members sang the American and Ukrainian national anthems.

CLEVELAND – When the going gets tough, the tough pull out their rolling pins. The specter of coronavirus may have extinguished this year’s Ukrainian Independence Day festivities in Cleveland, but it could not squelch the spirit of two industrious Ukrainian teens, Sofia Kosmos Zunt and Kalyna Kulchytsky, who found an innovative way to commemorate the holiday.

As a project for Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, the girls baked 100 cookies from scratch and decorated each with blue and yellow frosting to resemble the Ukrainian flag and the tryzub. Over the next couple of days, Sofia and Kalyna dressed in Plast uniforms and, in partnership with their mothers, delivered cookies to the mailboxes of about 50 senior registered members of the Plast scouting community who live in various suburbs of Cleveland.

The dress rehearsal was at the Grand Slam Paris on February 9 when a victory over Japan’s Wahana Koga won Daria Bilodid still another gold medal. A normal training regimen over the following five-plus months would have culminated this summer on her sport’s ultimate competitive stage in Tokyo, the birthplace of judo.

For the last several years or even longer, the focus has been on winning Olympic gold, the only feat the 19-year-old athlete has not yet accomplished. She was set to enter her first Olympics as the clear favorite, ranked No. 1 in her weight class (48 kg) since 2018. Now there must be a re-focus, dedicated training for more than another year and hopefully a challenging competition with the cancellation of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

TORONTO – “Pause in Plight,” a 17-piece art exhibit created by artist Kerri Parnell reveals Canada’s first world war-era national security fears and wartime prejudice, which led to the internment of more than 8,000 men, women and children, primarily of Ukrainian and East European descent, who were deemed “enemy aliens.” The exhibit is on view at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation’s (UCAF) KUMF Gallery through October 11.

The KUMF Gallery hosted an introduction by the artist, via video message, and special remarks at an outdoor commemoration by guest speaker Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk on Sunday, September 13.

KYIV – On September 6, on the 42nd day of the “full and comprehensive ceasefire,” armed forces of the Russian Federation violated the agreements reached by the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) and twice attacked Ukrainian positions. As a result of the second breach of the truce, one serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was killed.

The enemy opened fire with small arms on the Joint Forces units’ positions near Prychepylivka in the Luhansk region. As the Joint Forces Operation press center reported, “In response to the shelling, Joint Forces used available firearms and repulsed the Russian armed forces. The losses of the enemy are being clarified.”