Month: December 18, 2020 4:36 am

Thirty years ago, on December 26, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR adjourned its second session by adopting a law making Christmas, Easter and the Feast of the Holy Trinity (Theophany) legal holidays in the republic.

The law was introduced by deputies of the democratic bloc, who acted on a request by both the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

Christmas Pastoral of the Ukrainian Catholic Hierarchy of the U.S.A. to our Clergy, Religious, Seminarians and Beloved Faithful.

Christ is born!

“…all at once with the angel there appeared a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God with the words: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’” (Luke 2:13-14)

The criminal political trial of Ukrainian historian and dissident Valentyn Moroz was taking place on November 17, 1970. Several dissidents were called by the Soviet government to testify for the prosecution against the defendant.  Among them was the dissident Shestydesiatnyk artist Alla Horska. Alla refused to testify, as did the others. Nevertheless, with no evidence, which was not a problem in Soviet trials, Valentyn Moroz was convicted of anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda and sentenced to 14 years.

On November 28, 1970, Alla traveled to the village of Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region near the city of Fastiv to the home of her father-in-law to pick up a sewing machine. She did not return home. Her husband Viktor Zaretsky panicked and went after her the following day. The house in Vasylkiv was locked. The police declined to allow forcible entry. That same day, Mr. Zaretsky’s father was found decapitated near the tracks at the nearby Fastiv train station.

The election is over and I have a few thoughts, but I’ll wait until Joe Biden’s inauguration to share those. For now, I’d like to reflect on a favorite topic: Ukrainian literature and the beauty and complexity of the Ukrainian word, as well as the horrific associated politics, with the language frequently banned, writers arrested, indeed killed.  And revel in how the culture, the literature has nonetheless survived and is blossoming today. 

So, for respite from the most horrible American election (and post-election) I’ve ever experienced, allow me to share a Sunday relaxation:  The New York Times Book Review, where authors relate their reading history, the interview ending: “You’re organizing a literary dinner party.  Which three authors, dead or alive, would you invite?”  Invariably, the list includes those whose works I’ve read with pleasure: Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Virgil, Emily Dickenson, James Baldwin and others.

CLIFTON, N.J. – The Organization for the Defense of Lemkivshchyna (OOL) in the U.S.A. announced on December 3 that its “Lemkivshchyna” magazine is modernizing and transitioning to an electronic format. The fall 2020 edition is OOL’s first-ever “Lemkivshchyna” e-magazine, and can now be found on OOL’s website: https://lemko-ool.com.

Additionally, in the spirit of maximizing the reach of “Lemkivshchyna” moving forward, OOL has eliminated the publication’s subscription fee and will distribute current issues free of charge. As new issues of the magazine are published, previous editions will be housed in an online library of all “Lemkivshchyna” magazines dating back to 1979, which is also accessible on OOL’s website to OOL members as part of their membership benefits. 

Philadelphia Police Officer Andriy Smerechanskyy was interviewed by Matthew Dubas of The Ukrainian Weekly after being informed by Taras Smerechanskyy, Andriy’s twin brother, about Andriy’s work with the Philadelphia Police Department. Officer Smerechanskyy and his brother Taras expressed their hopes that other members of the Ukrainian community may be inspired to work in public service or law enforcement. Below are the responses to questions that were posed to Officer Smerechanskyy.

CHICAGO – Ukraine’s country-messaging and country-branding is an important factor in the current environment of disinformation. One of the most effective methods to promote a nation’s positive reputation is through cultural diplomacy. Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs established, respectively, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and the Ukrainian Institute to increase this type of soft power that influences a country’s reputation.

FOX CHASE MANOR, Pa. – The Sisters of St. Basil the Great gathered recently to celebrate the lives and labor of two members of the order: Sister Judith Piszyk and Sister Irenea Hankewych.

The festivities on September 25 began with divine liturgy in Holy Trinity Chapel celebrated by Metropolitan-Archbishop Borys Gudziak, along with the sisters’ chaplain, Father John Ciurpita, with Volodymyr Radko serving as deacon.

BOXING

Usyk expects fight against Joshua

Alexander Krassyuk, general director of K2 Promotions, announced that he expects heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk (18-0, 13 KO) will fight against heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22 KO) of Great Britain. The title unification fight for the WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles could happen in April or May 2021. This is based on mandatory title defenses that Joshua must fulfill. K2 Promotions also was skeptical about a projected fight between Joshua and heavyweight WBC title holder Tyson Fury of Great Britain. All of this news comes following Joshua’s ninth-round knockout win against Kubrat Pulev (28-2, 14 KO) of Bulgaria on December 12. 

NEW YORK – A massive fire that destroyed a historic church in the heart of the Ukrainian neighborhood in the East Village here on December 5 also resulted in physical damage to the Selfreliance New York Federal Credit Union’s main office at 108 Second Avenue.

Bohdan Kurczak, president and CEO of the credit union, said that the fire did not spread to the building at 108 Second Avenue.  However, firefighters needed to access the credit union’s roof in their effort to extinguish the six-alarm inferno, which was first reported just before 5 a.m.

KYIV – The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine fast-tracked the adoption of a bill on December 4 that reinstates an integral law designed to combat graft, safeguard financial transparency and hold public officials and lawmakers accountable regarding their asset holdings.

An uproar ensued as corruption watchdogs and think tanks criticized the bill for being too soft on Ukraine’s international commitments to fight graft on a systemic level as Kyiv faces a budget deficit of more than $2.7 billion for the end of the year and questions regarding whether a stalled multi-billion dollar lending program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be renewed.

KYIV – This week members of the Party of Hungarians walked out of the inaugural session of the newly elected Zakarpattia regional council in Uzhhorod over what they called political persecution.

By doing so, they abstained from voting for a council head in the westernmost Ukrainian oblast where some 80 percent of the 150,000 ethnic Hungarians live in the country.

It was the latest flare up of tension between Ukraine and Hungary, the latter of which took issue with a raid on a Hungarian charity in the region late last month by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).