1992: A LOOK BACK: Churches: spheres of influence (12/27/92)

1992: A LOOK BACK

Churches: spheres of influence

With both the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox and the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Churches legalized, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church becoming autonomous of Moscow, it would seem that religious freedom had truly arrived in Ukraine and that the faithful could now concentrate on their spiritual growth and well-being.

Although conflicts concerning buildings and church property in western Ukraine continued between the Orthodox and Catholics in 1992, the most serious problem became not inter-denominational but intra-denominational. Very little of the tension in the Orthodox Church centered on matters of doctrine and faith - the strife was between men of the cloth who struggled to lead the more than 35 million who profess the Orthodox faith in Ukraine.

The struggle began in the early spring, as Metropolitan Filaret of Kiev attempted to break free of Moscow only to be reprimanded by Patriarch Aleksey of the Russian Orthodox Church and later defrocked by a sobor of the ROC held on June 11 in Moscow.

Ignoring Metropolitan Filaret Denysenko's fight with Moscow, the Ukrainian Orthodox bishops of the Ukrainian Autonomous Church (formerly the ROC) held their own sobor in Kharkiv on May 27, electing Metropolitan Volodymyr as their leader. He arrived in Kiev from Moscow, greeted by hundreds of Orthodox believers on June 20.

Although Metropolitan Filaret continued to enjoy the support of President Leonid Kravchuk, as well as the Ukrainian Parliament's, whose presidium voted not to accept the decisions of the Kharkiv sobor, the faithful were overwhelmingly supportive of Metropolitan Volodymyr, who is a Ukrainian by birthright.

"Of course we want to be independent, but this must be done canonically; we must follow the rules of the Church. We will pray for our independence," a spokesman for Metropolitan Volodymyr said soon after the prelate's arrival in Kiev. To date, Metropolitan Volodymyr, whose residence is at the historic Monastery of the Caves (Pecherska Lavra), enjoys authority over the majority of Ukrainian Orthodox believers in Ukraine and has garnered the support of 30 bishops, claiming over 5,000 parishes.

However, Metropolitan Filaret was not going to relinquish the power he had in Ukraine since the early 1960s and in June, just one day before the sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, now headed by Metropolitan Volodymyr, Metropolitan Filaret joined forces with Metropolitan Antoniy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, uniting his faction of the UOC with the UAOC into one independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kiev Patriarchate.

But this hasty move was done without the consent of the head of the UAOC, the 94-year-old Patriarch Mstyslav, who has yet to recognize the existence of this newest Church.

Patriarch Mstyslav has kept his promise that the cannot cooperate or unite with Filaret, who throughout decades of Communist rule did little to inspire Christianity among the Ukrainian faithful. Accused of being an agent of the KGB, Filaret continues to hold onto the finances, real estate, churches and buildings he had under his jurisdiction as the prelate of the Ukrainian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Thus, a further schism has occurred between the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, headed by Patriarch Mstyslav, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, headed by Metropolitan Filaret and Antoniy, who was once the locum tenens for Patriarch Mstyslav but was dismissed from the episcopate by the patriarch on November 17.

Leaders in Ukrainian government circles, who claim a separation of Church and state, still hope that Patriarch Mstyslav and Metropolitan Filaret can come to some understanding for the good of the Ukrainian Orthodox faith. But, as the year was coming to a close, the demands by Patriarch Mstyslav to dismiss both Metropolitan Filaret and Antoniy were rejected by a sobor of bishops of the UOC-KP. The sobor expressed full confidence in the leadership of the Church, elected by the sobor in late June, and cautioned that the holy patriarch's declarations are valid only if they are issued with the consent of the Holy Synod and the Bishops' Sobor and signed by the patriarchal chancery in Kiev.

The resolution also contains an appeal to the patriarch not to exceed his jurisdiction: Patriarch Mstyslav, currently in Kiev, did not attend the sobor of the UOC-KP. During the sobor, Metropolitan Filaret declared, "the Kiev Patriarchate will follow its own course in creating a single Orthodox Church in Ukraine, no matter what position Patriarch Mstyslav chooses to adopt."

This indicates that he does not see Mstyslav as a serious opponent, but he has to pay attention to the fact that of the 1,650 parishes of the UAOC, only 350 have registered as UOC-KP members.

While the Ukrainian Orthodox tackled their many problems, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church attempted to expand its influence outside the traditional western Ukrainian stronghold, establishing parishes in Kiev and eastern Ukraine. With more than 5 million faithful, it lacks enough priests to serve them adequately, but continues to move along with a seminary in Lviv, which in the last academic year registered more than 330 students. Reopened by Archbishop Volodymyr Sterniuk in September 1990 in Rudno, it also qualifies for a portion of the $6 million donated by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office to Aid the Catholic Church in Central and Eastern Europe, including the former Soviet Union. A 50,000-watt radio transmitter purchased for religious broadcasts in Ukraine has been bought for the money, which will also fund projects supporting seminarians and publishing catechetical materials.

In 1992, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church observed the centennial of the birth of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj. Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky launched yearlong festivities in February, which culminated in the transfer of the remains of this great Catholic leader and devoted son of Ukraine to Lviv. In keeping with his wishes and testament, the patriarch, who passed away in 1984, was reburied in the crypt of the Cathedral of St. George in Lviv. With great solemnity, respect and admiration, hundreds of thousands honored the memory of the patriarch in late August. Although his remains were scheduled to lay in state for only two days, the special viewing at St. George's was extended for another eight days to give the more than 1 million faithful who arrived in Lviv specifically to pay tribute to the Ukrainian Church leader to do so, before he was interred in the crypt.

Another Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church leader, who played a significant role in keeping his faithful spiritually rich during the decades of the catacomb Ukrainian Catholic Church (1946-1988), Archbishop Volodymyr Sterniuk, marked his 85th birthday with a pontifical liturgy at St. George's. On this occasion, he was greeted by Pope John Paul II.

And, although the Vatican has yet to recognize the Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, a new era of Ukraine-Vatican relations began in early 1992, as the two states exchanged diplomatic notes "to foster bilateral ties for the benefit of Catholics in Ukraine and of all the Ukrainian people."

The first synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Church since 1946 was held on the territory of Ukraine on May 18. Opened by Cardinal Lubachivsky, it was attended by 28 of the 30 Ukrainian Catholic bishops in the world. In the synod's closing pastoral letter, the bishops of the Church unanimously asked Pope John Paul II to finally "realize the decree of the Second Vatican Council and, not create, but rather recognize the Kiev-Halych Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church."

Besides the Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic faithful, a growing number of Protestant groups exist in Ukraine. According to Keston College, the Protestant communities are noted for moral strictness, and the Protestant believers have a reputation for honesty and charity. Statistics on the number of communities are not available.

Keston has also reported that about 200 Roman Catholic parishes exist in Ukraine; this year Pope John Paul II appointed five bishops to organize dioceses. The Roman Catholic faithful are mainly Poles and Hungarians who live in Ukraine.

There is a substantial Jewish community in Ukraine and recently synagogues have been reopened in several cities - including two in Kiev. The Ukrainian government has made notable efforts to cultivate good relations with Israel and to reassure Jewish citizens (who have been leaving the former Soviet Union in large numbers) that they are fully welcome and secure in Ukraine.

Ukraine is also home to some Muslims, particularly in the Crimea, where there are mosques and Islamic schools. There are also Buddhists and animists, though there seems to be no organized expression of these religions.

Outside the territory of Ukraine, in Peremyshl, home to thousands of Ukrainians faithful, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Peremyshl was made a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Warsaw, by order of a papal bull. The Eparchy of Peremyshl, the oldest Ukrainian eparchy, is historically and canonically a suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Lviv and an integral member of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The St. Sophia Religious Association in Canada in March sent letters to Ukrainian Catholic bishops urging them to protest the pope's order.

Back in the United States, Msgr. Walter Paska was named auxiliary bishop to U.S. Metropolitan-Archbishop Stephen Sulyk of the Ukrainian Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was appointed by Pope John Paul II on February 4.

And in celebration of the centennial of Ukrainians in Canada, Auxiliary Bishop Myron Daciuk was named Ukrainian Catholic eparch of Edmonton and installed on January 16.

Ukrainian Catholics in Canada suffered a loss for their Church with the death of Bishop Jerome Chimy of New Westminister who passed away on September 19, at the age of 73.

Evangelical Baptists in the United States elected the Rev. Jaroslav Paprockyj of Philadelphia as president of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention of Churches in the U.S.A. over Labor Day weekend, in Chicago.

And the Ukrainian Orthodox community in the United States named Archbishop Constantine, also of Chicago, as the new metropolitan for the United States. The sobor, held in South Bound Brook, N.J., on May 21-23, witnessed the establishment of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church's Kievan Patriarchate and the proclamation of Ukraine's independence as a democratic nation.

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