NEWS AND VIEWS: Let's become sister parishes! (02/07/99)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Let's become sister parishes!

by Alexander Poletz

In the year 2000, St. Michael's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Minneapolis, will celebrate its 75th anniversary. In 1925, when the founders laid the cornerstone of our parish, they were building a monument to their religious faith, faith in themselves as Ukrainians, and a proclamation that Ukraine still lives. Those of us who had the opportunity to meet some of these wonderful people will attest to their unwavering desire to maintain close ties with Ukraine, their native land.

The organizing committee for the celebration of the 75th anniversary proposed - and the parish board approved - that our community forge ties with a sister parish community in Ukraine. Such a formal link will be beneficial to both parishes. On the one hand, as a highly assimilated Ukrainian American community, we need a direct link to parish communities in Ukraine in order to renew the spirit with which our founding pioneers built and maintained this community in Minneapolis. This will ensure that we will still be aware of and connected with our Ukrainian Orthodox roots when we celebrate our 100th jubilee. On the other hand, such a link will help the sister parish in Ukraine to grow.

Relations forged between communities are qualitatively different than relationships between individuals or families. In inter-parish relations, it is possible for any member to be involved regardless of whether or not they speak Ukrainian well, are of Ukrainian descent, or became parish members through marriage. As part of a community, its members are automatically involved in the activities of the community.

I had the opportunity recently to observe how the link between the sister cities of Newton, Iowa, and Smila in Cherkasy Oblast had a strong influence on a wide range of Newtonians through their sister city involvement. Another example is the many sister-parish links between Baptist congregations in Ukraine and the United States. Certainly, a link with one or several sister parishes in Ukraine, if done well, will raise the quality of our spiritual and cultural life.

By forging a sister parish relationship in Ukraine we will also be performing our Christian duty by helping Ukrainian Orthodox communities in Ukraine, which are only now beginning to stand on their feet. Those of us who have traveled to Ukraine may have witnessed firsthand or have learned from others (relatives, friends or acquaintances) about the negative pressures being applied on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine by ignorant Ukrainian subjects of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as by hostile, self-interested local governmental functionaries. If we take an active interest and assess the situation properly, we in the diaspora may be in a good position to deflect much of the damage being done there. American Baptist Churches, for example, are already doing this effectively by sending their parishioners to visit their sister churches in Ukraine, where through their visible presence and active participation in church life they help to repel the negative forces on congregations there and thus protect the growth of the Baptist communities in Ukraine. One branch of the Baptist Church in the North-Central states has already formed over 150 sister congregations in Ukraine.

This summer, during a two-month stay in Ukraine, I did some research into the current state of development of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I discovered that, depending on the local environment, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine can be found in situations varying from a stage of healthy growth, to complicated survival and outright persecution. My discussion with Father Andrij from the city of Skadovsk by the Black Sea is a representative account of the Church situation. Thousands of Ukrainian children come to play and rest at the summer camps located in this beautiful and ecologically safe city on the sea shore. Because St. Andrew's Parish is new and is still trying to get up on its feet, Father Andrij said that it is very painful to see all these Ukrainian children being served by the Russian Church that obtained all the church buildings as an inheritance from the former Soviet Union.

I share Father Andrij's concerns, and even though his church is under the jurisdiction of Patriarch Dymytrii, I advised him to meet with Patriarch Filaret, who has closer relations with the central government and may be in a better position to advise him how to find a solution to this situation. Besides, it is high time for all Ukrainian Orthodox to come together into one camp; we all know well that there is strength in unity.

Returning to the subject of creating sister parishes in diaspora with those in Ukraine, and making this act beneficial to the churches in Ukraine, I turned for advice to Father Borys, who is the head priest of St. Volodymyr's Sobor in Kyiv and head of the Patriarchal Chancery. Father Borys suggested that I discuss this topic directly with Patriarch Filaret. To expedite this idea, he set up an audience with the patriarch for me that same day. Patriarch Filaret approved the idea of creating sister parishes and advised on the initial steps to make sister parishes successful.

In cases where the diaspora parish has selected a parish or parishes in Ukraine with whom they wanted to form a sister relationship, the diaspora parish should write a letter to Patriarch Filaret informing him of such intent. The patriarch's office will then take appropriate steps to announce and advertise this relationship. The planning and execution of forming a sister bond between the two parishes will be left to the two parishes.

When a parish in the diaspora would like a sister parish, but does not have any ties to a parish in Ukraine, it should request a list or suggestions of possible candidate churches from the patriarch. Afterwards, the process will be the same as in the previous situation.

The most important part of creating a sister parish bond is to make it widely known in Ukraine. Once the link has been forged, it is imperative to celebrate a divine liturgy attended by a large representation from the diaspora. Local functionaries and officials must also be invited to participate in the program.

If you should have any questions about sister parishes, I urge you to write to Patriarch Filaret at the following address:

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