One year later, memorial to be erected for Patriarch Volodymyr (07/14/96)

One year later, memorial to be erected for Patriarch Volodymyr

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - The Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate will observe the first anniversary of the death of Patriarch Volodymyr with a liturgy and memorial service (panakhyda) at the Sobor of St. Volodymyr on Sunday, July 14, Patriarch Filaret told reporters at a news conference on July 10.

Later, at 1 p.m., another memorial service will be held at the gravesite of Patriarch Volodymyr, near the entrance to the St. Sophia Cathedral, where a memorial will be unveiled and blessed in memory of the late Ukrainian Orthodox Church leader, whose remains lay buried in the sidewalk outside the gates of this 10th century treasure.

At the gravesite, Patriarch Filaret will deliver a message, as will Kyiv's Acting Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko, whose office financed the memorial. .

According to Patriarch Filaret, the memorial, which should be completed by July 14, was proposed by the Church hierarchy; it was supported fully by the Ukrainian government and personally by President Leonid Kuchma.

After reviewing numerous projects, the UOC-KP chose a memorial of red granite with a black alabaster pedestal and a white Italian marble tombstone, which will be inscribed with the words "His Holiness Patriarch Volodymyr of Kyiv and all Rus', 1925-1995" and an Orthodox cross. Its more than $70,000 cost is financed by the Kyiv City Administration.

On the day of the memorial there will be no procession from St. Volodymyr Cathedral to St. Sophia Square, in order not to evoke the grisly memories of the summer of 1995.

It was one year ago - on July 18, 1995 - during Patriarch Volodymyr's funeral procession that riot police and mourners clashed on the streets of Kyiv in violence that strained Church-State relations for months. At issue was the clergy and faithful's wish to bury Patriarch Volodymyr's body at St. Sophia, despite the decision by the Cabinet of Ministers that the patriarch be interred either at Baikiv Cemetery, near the grave of Mykhailo Hrushevsky, the first president of Ukraine, or on the grounds of St. Volodymyr Cathedral.

This summer, city officials planned to mark the July 18 date, but Patriarch Filaret said the Church was categorically against this, explaining that the Church would like to help foster peace and harmony in Ukraine and not highlight events that served to divide society.

"Only peace and harmony, the consolidation of our society - after the adoption of the new Constitution - can solidify our Ukrainian state," noted the Ukrainian religious leader.

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