Herald May 05/11.qxd - Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada

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24(continued from the March issue)n The rampant corruption of the So -viet bureaucracy actually allowed thewealthier parishes to buy protectionfrom police harassment.There is no question that in the post-war period, the Russian church wasused as an instrument of Soviet policy.Initially, the Moscow Patriar chate play -ed an important role in the Sovietiz -ation of Western Ukrainian and Be -lorus' lands that Stalin had taken fromPoland. The Ukrainian AutocephalousOrthodox Church, which had revivedduring the war, was forced into exilewhile the faithful were arbitrarily in -corporated into the Russian Church.The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,a bastion of Ukrainian nationalism inGalicia, was liquidated in 1946 by a pro -cess of enforced "reunification" withRus sian Orthodoxy. This move was in -spired by the renewed Moscow Patri -archate which coveted that chur ch’sholdings and faithful. As later eventsdemonstrated, the majority of Ukrain -ian Greek Catholics never reconciledthemselves with Russian Or thodoxyand remained closet Cathol ics, worshippingin the underground church orsimply pretending to be Or thodox.The gradual improvement in theinstitutional life of the Moscow Patri -archate was severely shaken by Khru -sh chev’s sudden and virulent anti-religiouscampaigns undertaken in the1960s. Although statistical data is im -precise, it is estimated that half of theworking Orthodox parishes were clos -ed down. In the 1970s the situation im -proved as the Kremlin began to use thechurch in the Cold War struggle. TheMoscow Patriarchate agreed to en dor -se the propaganda line about religiousfreedom in the Soviet Union and theKremlin’s peaceful intentions. As amember of the World Council ofChurch es, the patriarchate diligentlypro moted Soviet foreign policy—the le -gitimization of the Soviet empire inEastern Europe (detente) and the Kremlinversion of international peace.Historical CommentaryThe Experience of Christian Churchesin the Soviet EmpireCHURCH LIFE IN EASTERN EUROPETowards the end of World War II,communist regimes were establishedin Eastern Europe courtesy of the victoriousRed Army. Determined to createa loyal buffer zone, Stalin placedlocal communists in control of the oc -cupied lands. Schooled by the Krem lin,the new regimes set out to consolidatetheir power and then launch a so cialistrevolution modelled on the So viet system.Organized religion was con sidereda threat and as such had to be controlledand eventually eliminated.Eastern Europe represented a mixtureof Orthodox, Roman Catholic andProtestant faiths. In the pre-communistdays, these respective churches hadenjoyed privileged legal status, considerableinfluence and economic power.The newly imposed communist re -gimes attempted to establish firm controlover organized religion by restrictivelaws and intimidation. In the Ro -man Catholic countries of Poland,Hun gary and Czechoslovakia for in -stance, special effort was made to isolatelocal churches from the Vatican.The Vatican’s uncompromising anticommunistposture had made it a targetof the communist propaganda, de -nouncing the papacy as a tool ofAmer ican imperialism.As in tsarist Russia, the Orthodoxchurch had been an integral part of thestate as the national religion of pre-World War II Bulgaria, Romania and ofthe Serbian, Macedonian and Monte -ne gran republics of Yugoslavia. Assuch, the church in these countries de -fined the national identity of its adherentsand tended to reflect the politicalviews of the government in power. Thelong standing Byzantine tradition ofpolitical authoritarianism and cultural-religiousconformity in the Balkansinadvertently facilitated the relativelyrapid imposition of the communistsystem. But there was an importantdif ference in the attitude of the Bulgar -ian and Romanian governments to -wards the church. Their atheism wasnot militant but politically pragmatic.In fact, the Bulgarian and Romanianregimes understood the historical andstrategic importance of their Orthodoxchurches and, in the short term, theychose to use it for their own purposes.Thus, the survival of the church in Bul -garia and Romania was not immediatelythreatened, but its social missionand its traditional community leadershipcertainly were.The Bulgarian and Romanian chur -ches were purged of unreliable personneland the legal church-state relationshipwas reorganized along the lines ofthe Moscow Patriarchate. The churchesreluctantly became agents of thecom munist regime whose policies ef -fectively destroyed the churches’ po -tential of becoming centres of opposition.The submissive behaviour of Or -thodox churches in Romania and Bul -garia was the reflection of the traditionalBalkan strategy of survival by outwardlyadapting to occupying powers.In the formative stage of the communistrule in Bulgaria, the primate ofthe local Orthodox church, ExarchStefan, did resist the stripping of thechurch’s traditional status and was re -moved from office. A number of priestswas also arrested but, by Soviet standards,the purge was rather mild. By1953, a mutually advantageous relationshipwas established between thegovernment and the church hierarchy.In return for complete obedience, thegovernment recognized the BulgarianOrthodox Church as "the historicchurch of the Bulgarian people". Fur -thermore, with the approval of Mos -cow, the communist regime elevatedthe church to the prestigious status ofthe patriarchate. The restoration of thepatriarchal office (Patriarch Kiril), lostin the 14th century when the MoslemTurks had conquered the Balkans, wasa wise political move as it appeased theBulgarian sense of patriotism and pride.In return for its steadfast publicsup port of the political system, theBul garian church remained the largestnon-communist institution in thecountry. In the 1970s, for instance, thechurch boasted nearly 4000 parishes,several monasteries, a seminary and atheological school. It had a small publishinghouse which produced limitedreligious literature. The church supporteditself by the donations of thefaithful and revenues from the mo no -poly of candle production and sales.Still, the church was controlled and ma -nipulated. It was prevented from ministeringto the young who, in turn, werepressured not to attend religious services.It was assumed by the regime thatin time, as the old religious generationdied out, the young generation, educatedin the spirit of Marxism-Le ninism,would have no need for religion andthe church would wither away.Romania had been a police state be -fore the war and continued as one af -ter. The communist regime here wasthe most repressive in the entire satellitesystem; however, the regime alsorecognized the historic importance ofits Orthodox church in the nationbuildingprocess and even provided thechurch with limited funding. Not asingle parish church was closed. No -netheless, the Ministry of Cults had ex -tensive discretionary powers to interfereand limit religious activities and itused those prerogatives.The Catholic and Protestant experienceunder communism ranged fromserious difficulties to reasonable ac -com modations. It was the Roman Ca -tholic Church of Poland, respected bythe Polish people as their national in -stitution, which defiantly refused tosub mit itself to the new communistauthority. Under the strong leadershipof its primate, Cardinal Wyszynski, thePolish church relied on public supportto withstand government pressure andeven to denounce atheism. In Hungary,too, the communist regime found re -sistance on the part of the Catholicchurch. But in Czechoslovakia, with itslong secular tradition, the Catholicchurch had been considerably weakerand as such experienced severe repressionuntil the Prague Spring of 1968.In Hungary (63% Roman Catholic,25% Protestant), the communist re -gime was led by a Moscow-trained lead -ership which strove to make Hun gary acarbon copy of its sponsor. As a result,Hungary experienced more terrorbetween 1948 and 1953 than any othersatellite. Cardinal Josef Mind zen ty, theconservative primate of the Ca tholicchurch, was an outspoken anti-communistand refused to cooperate withthe regime. The government ar restedhim and unleashed a crackdown onthe church. Religious orders were dissolved,several thousand monks, nunsand priests were imprisoned, churchproperty was confiscated, pa rochialschools were secularized and charitableorganizations were disbanded. Thedire situation for the Catholic churchimproved somewhat after Sta lin’s deathin 1953. A compromise was reachedwith the authorities by which Catholicbishops pledged loyalty to the state inreturn for the relaxation of anti -religiousregulations. Incidentally, Pro -testant denominations (Lutherans andCalvinists) fared better because theywere more cooperative and, more im -portantly, did not have external tieslike the Catholic church.Following the failed Hungarian re -volution of 1956, relations between thenew and pragmatic communist governmentand the Christian churchesВІСНИКтравень 2011Dr. Oleh Gerusimproved dramatically. In fact, the Ca -tholic and Protestant churches evenwon the right to offer limited religiouseducation in public schools afterhours. Although attendance was voluntary,now atheist indoctrination ofthe young could be legally counteredby religious instructions. For theirpart, the churches recognized the de -termining role of the government inthe area of senior church appointmentsand agreed to endorse the causeof socialism, except atheism. Furtherimprovement in church-state relationswas illustrated by the election of severalProtestant clergymen to the Hun -garian parliament.The religious situation in East Ger -many (GDR) differed most noticeablyfrom the rest of the Soviet empire. Inthe early stages of communist rule, theregime itself was comparatively moderate.Because it was sensitive about theNazi past and because Berlin was thefocal point in the emerging East-Westtensions, the East German communistleadership initially refrained from un -dertaking Stalin-like repression. Se -condly, East Germany, the historicalcradle of the Protestant Reformation,was the only communist state with alarge and dynamic Protestant church,the Evangelical Lutheran. The RomanCatholic Church here, in contrast toneighbouring Poland, tended to be are latively passive institution. Indeed,the Evangelical Lutheran Church wasallowed to perform a wide range of re -ligious, social and educational functions.However, as the Cold War intensified, the communist government initiallytried to assert firm control overreligious activities. After a decade oftension during which the church en -joyed strong public support, the governmenteased its policies and even re -affirmed the Evangelical and Catholicownership of extensive church properties.Furthermore, it provided fundingto establish Protestant theological facultiesat six state universities.The Protestant church leadership ofEast Germany, while cooperative, wasnot subservient in the manner of theOrthodox hierarchies. It not only de -fended religious freedom but periodicallyspoke out independently on na -tional issues. The difficulty the governmenthad in controlling the Lutheranchurch without resorting to repressionwas largely due to the Protestant traditionof putting individual conscienceabove institutional discipline. In the1980s, the regime revised its strategicapproach to religion when it no longercharacterized religion as a reactionaryforce but as a necessary part of a socialistsociety in its formative phase. Theend of religion, however, was still itsultimate ideological goal. The interwarCzechoslovakia had been the onlydemocratic state in Eastern Europe.The re was no state religion and religioustoleration was a way of life.(to be continued)ВІСНИК • THE HERALD Tel.: 1-877-586-3093 Fax: (204) 582-5241 E-mail: visnyk@uocc.ca web:www.uocc.ca
THE HERALDMay 2011УВАГА!Копії Метрик про Хрещення і ВінчанняOплата за пошук і видачу копії ме три ки про Хрещення чи Вінчаннястановить $30.00.Чек просимо виписувати на: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada,9 St. John’s Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R2W 1G8На пошук необxідно від 2 до 4 тижнів.ATTENTION!Duplicate Baptismal and Marriage certificatesThe cost for searching and issuing Dupli cate Baptismal or Marriage certificatesis $30.00. Please make your cheque payable to: Ukrainian OrthodoxChurch of Canada, 9 St. John’s Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R2W 1G8Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for processing.You can now pay with:Community NewsGenocide Revealed Wins for Best Documentaryn MONTREAL—The feature documentaryfilm "Genocide Revealed" hasjust won first prize, The Albert Statu et -te, at the 2011 Litchfield Hills FilmFest ival (formerly Kent Film Festival)for Best Documentary. Held at NewMilford, Connecticut from April 7 to10, the Award was presented at theAward’s ceremony on Saturday byfounders and directors Frank andPatrice Galterio.The Festival showcases films in variouscategories creating a platform forfilmmakers to reach the broadest possibleaudience."Genocide Revealed" had its festivalpublic screening on Saturday, April9, followed by a question and answerperiod with the film’s producer-directorYurij Luhovy, attending the Festiv -al. Participating also was Adriana Lu -hova, cameraperson on film’s production.Present in the audience was LanaBabij of the CT Holodomor committee,who has been working tirelesslywith her committee members to in -clude the famine-genocide in theState’s classroom curriculum for students."Gen ocide Revealed" is a welcomeaddition to be included into theteacher’s kit, as this documentary capturesthe broad scope of Sta lin’s genocideagainst the Ukrainian na tion.During the Festival Yurij Luhovywas interviewed on the CTV televisionprogram called Local Edition hostedby Philis Cortese about the making ofthe Famine-Genocide documentaryand the background of the Holodo -mor. Luhovy mentioned the Holodo -mor is also an American story as somefamine-genocide survivors came toAmerica after WW2, and with thecom munity, tried to alert the Americangovernment and public of Stalin’scrimes against the Ukrainian people inSoviet Ukraine. This television program,whose executive producer isGre gory Van Antwerp, serves 14 townsof Western Connecticut."During these international festivals,"Genocide Revealed" is being seenby the general public, most learningabut the Holodomor for the very firsttime. There are no monetary prizes forwinning but a win for this documentaryhelps spark more public awareness.Winning for Best Documentary,WISDOM OF OUR FATHERS“It is impossible for an impure soul to obtain spiritual knowledge……‘For the Spirit of God does not dwell in a body that is subject to sin’(Wisdom 1:5). ”—Saint John Cassian25Left to right Festival directors Frank and Patrice Galterio presenting Best Documentary win toYurij Luhovy for Genocide Revealed.Photo credit: Adriana Luhovygenerates more interest in the subjectand helps get this story into the mainstream",said filmmaker Luhovy.To arrange a showing of "GenocideRevealed" or to help support this project,please write Yurij Luhovy, MMLInc, 2330 Beaconsfield Ave., MontrealQuebecH4A 2G8; email mmlinc@hotmail.com; tel. 514 481 5871 or visit the Website www.yluhovy.com.‘Encountering the Mystery’to be translated into Ukrainiann The Ukrain ian Orthodox Church of Canada is ver y proud to be a partner inseeing this book published in Ukrainian, for Uk raine and for Ukrainians aroundthe world. We are committed to supporting the work of the Ecumenical Patri -archate and encourage our faithful, parishes and Ukrainian organizations todonate towards the costs of this Uk rainian translation.Donations towards the printing costs may be made to the UOCC, 9 St.John’s Avenue, Winnipeg MB R2W 1G8. Please designate your donation by statingthat it is to "En countering the Mystery".Вічная Пам’ять!Свя щен но служителям, що спо чи ли в Бозі в травні місяці.Митрополит Іоан (Теодорович) † 03. 05. 71Митрополит Михаїл (Хороший) † 18. 05. 77Протоієрей Варфоломій Войтович † 03. 05. 44Протоієрей Іван Дмитрів † 23. 05. 54Протоієрей Константин Желішкевич † 11. 05. 60Протоієрей Григорій Кришталович † 03. 05. 63Протоієрей Юрій Цукорник † 19. 05. 68Протоієрей Миколай Пахолків † 30. 05. 75Архипресвітер Григорій Василів † 05. 05. 93Протоієрей Іван Чинченко † 28. 05. 93Iєрей Олександер Кравченко † 31. 05. 97Протоієрей Теодот Глуханюк † 23. 05. 98Iєрей Василь Попович † 30. 05. 99Протопресвітер д-р Григорій Удод † 31. 05. 00Протопресвітер Максим Олесюк † 13. 05. 06Протопресвітер Тимофій Міненко † 30. 05. 06Добродійкам, що спо чи ли в Бозі в травні місяці.Добр. Домініка Огієнко † 19. 05. 37Добр. Клеоніка Квасніцька † 23. 05. 73Добр. Ксеня Хруставка † 22. 05. 75Добр. Софія Стратійчук † 29. 05. 92Шановні Читачі! Будемо щиро вдячні, якщо, завваживши помилку чи пропускв цій колонці, повідомите нас.Memory Eternal!“Memory Eternal!” to all UOCC clergy who fell asleep in the Lord in May.Metropolitan Ioann Theodorovich † 03. 05. 1971Metropolitan Michael (Khoroshy) † 18. 05. 1977Archpriest Bartolomew Woytowich † 03. 05. 1944Archpriest Ivan Dmytriw † 23. 05. 1954Archpriest Kost’ Zelishkewych † 11. 05. 1960Archpriest Hyrhoriy Kryshtanovich † 03. 05. 1963Archpriest George Tsukornyk † 19. 05. 1968Archpriest Mykolaj Pacholkiw † 30. 05. 1975Archpresbyter Hryhory Wasyliw † 05. 05. 1993Archpriest John Chinchenko † 28. 05. 1993Priest Alexander Krawchenko † 31. 05. 1997Archpriest Teodot Hluchaniuk † 23. 05. 1998Priest Vasili Popovich † 30. 05. 1999Protopresbyter Hryhory Udod † 31. 05. 2000Protopresbyter Maxim Olesiuk † 13. 05. 2006Protopresbyter Tymofy Minenko † 30. 05. 2006“Memory Eternal!” to all UOCC Dobrodiykas who fell asleep in the Lord in May.Dobr. Dominica Ohienko † 19. 05. 1937Dobr. Cleonica Kwasnytska † 23. 05. 1973Dobr. Ksenia Chrustawka † 23. 05. 1982Dobr. Sofia Stratychuk † 29. 05. 1992Dear Readers! If there are errors or omissions in this column, please let us know.Thank You.ВІСНИК • THE HERALD Tel.: 1-877-586-3093 Fax: (204) 582-5241 E-mail: visnyk@uocc.ca web:www.uocc.ca
Page 2 and 3: 2BARTHOLOMEW IBY THE MERCY OF GODAR
Page 4 and 5: 4Пастирське Послан
Page 6 and 7: 6“The coat is warm, but it’s no
Page 8 and 9: 8Camp Veselka 2010It was yet anothe
Page 10 and 11: 10good of the Church.The Minutes of
Page 12 and 13: 12(continued from the March issue)n
Page 14 and 15: 14From Our ParishesВІСНИКтр
Page 16 and 17: 16From Our ParishesВІСНИКтр
Page 18 and 19: 18ReflectionsВІСНИКтраве
Page 20 and 21: 20St. Andrew’s College in Winnipe
Page 22 and 23: 22A Mother’s LoveМатеринс
Page 26 and 27: 26Give Rest with the Saints…Walte
Page 28: 28ВІСНИКтравень 2011CO

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