St. Josaphat Eparchy remembers tragedy of 9/11 with special services (11/17/02)

St. Josaphat Eparchy remembers tragedy of 9/11 with special services

by Nadia Roussenko

PARMA, Ohio - The tragedy of September 11, 2001, was solemnly remembered at all four divine liturgies in St. Josaphat Cathedral in Parma, Ohio, on September 8.

Bishop Robert Moskal, Eparch of St. Josaphat Eparchy, composed a special prayer to the Mother of God, in English and Ukrainian, seeking her intercession before her Son, to preserve the United States from wars, attacks and terrorism.

Msgr. Michael Rewtiuk, pastor of St. Josaphat Cathedral, as well as the Rev. Canon Andrew Hanowsky, associate pastor, and Archdeacon Jeffrey Smolilo commemorated the event in a very special way by including special prayer, petitions and appropriate homilies at all the liturgies.

A unique icon of a sorrowful Mother of God was placed in a prominent area in front of the congregation. This special icon commemorating the events of 9/11 was commissioned by Jaroslav Rousenko, a recent immigrant from Ukraine, and was blessed by Msgr. Rewtiuk on January 6.

The background of the icon depicts a large American flag with the words "God Bless America - 9/11/01" emblazoned on it. The Mother of God is pictured with her hand extended over the burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and over two crosses, the larger one in the foreground symbolizing the tragedy at the Pentagon, and the smaller cross in the distance symbolizing the tragedy in Pennsylvania. With her other hand the Mother of God is wiping tears from her eyes. The Holy Spirit, symbolized by a white dove, is hovering over this scene. Worked into the inner garment of the Mother of God is the Statue of Liberty, symbolizing her protection over the United States.

The lower right-hand corner of the icon depicts a burning candle representing all those who perished as well as the yet unborn children.

The framed icon was placed on a pedestal and adorned with a red, white and blue bow and bunting. The flag of the United States was placed to the right of the icon and to the left of the icon was a large burning candle. At the foot of the icon was a large bouquet of red, white and blue carnations.

This solemn commemoration appropriately took place on the Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God (September 8).

At the last divine liturgy of the day the Ukrainian parish choir sang under the direction of Anna Keller. Children from the pre-school at St. Josaphat's Parish sponsored by the land branch of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America and their teacher, Nadia Roussenko, were all dressed in Ukrainian costumes and placed red, white and blue carnations before the icon of the Mother of God.

All the liturgies on that day ended with the prayer composed by Bishop Robert and the singing of "God Bless America."

On the exact date of the anniversary, Bishop Moskal celebrated the divine liturgy for the parish school children. The day ended with a moleben for world peace celebrated by the Msgr. Rewtiuk, the Rev. Hanowsky and Archdeacon Smolilo.

| Home Page |