LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (04/04/04)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Worries for safety of Patriarch Lubomyr

Dear Editor:

That the pope will not, anytime soon, be recognizing the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC) as a patriarchal Church is no surprise for watchers of West-East ecclesial developments. It's interesting, however, that Blazhennishyi Lubomyr, regardless of the outcome, believes the Pope to be a supporter of a Greek-Catholic Patriarchate in Kyiv (February 29). So, too, does another important Catholic voice.

Father Robert Taft, S.J., of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, portrays John Paul II as a willing party to such recognition, contingent on other considerations.

The Rev. Taft, described as "a pioneer in Eastern liturgical studies and a veteran of East/West dialogues" and "one of the leading [Catholic] experts on Orthodoxy" spoke at length on the plight of the UGCC in an interview posted on the National Catholic Reporter's online edition, http://www.natcath.com/mainpage/taft.htm. His views, however intemperately and definitely not very diplomatically expressed, will interest both partisans and opponents of patriarchal status for the UGCC.

Father Taft reminds us how most patriarchates that came into being after the establishment of the major historic sees of the Mediterranean world were uncanonical in their origins. Ukrainian historians have long known that the Muscovite Patriarchate existed uncanonically from the get-go, for more than a generation, and was recognized only under duress, after the visiting patriarch of Constantinople had been held hostage on orders of the tsar.

What is bold is Father Taft's suggestion that the UGCC also act on its own, declare itself a patriarchal Church and let recognition (and, therefore, full canonicity) come when it may. Novel is his added advice to Patriarch Lubomyr's office: accept no mail that is not properly addressed to the patriarch, to the Patriarchate; simply return to sender until they get it right.

Father Taft expresses one concern: that the UGCC first assure itself that all her bishops are supportive of the initative. Unity is important, but difficult: despite the efforts of the Kyivan Church in 1596, even then several bishops turned away from the Union at Brest.

My own bigger worry is for the safety of Patriarch Lubomyr as he navigates the shoals between Lviv and Kyiv and beyond. Father Taft speaks generally of a "lunatic fringe" in the Orthodox Church. Living in Russia almost two years now, I can attest to this. I've seen various media reports (see http://www.stremba.us/churchOutsItself.html) that make you wonder where are the lines demarking the real thinking of Church leadership from craziness among primitive elements.

It often seems the Muscovite Church leadership not only tolerates but humors or even, at worst, adopts as its own the craziness of its fringe. It truly pains me to see that, to say that, for there is much about the Russian Orthodox Church I find admirable.

That said, I still sense a murky milieu, stretching from Russia throughout what the Muscovite Church regards as its canonical territory, namely the whole Kyivan See. I hope our Church leaders will take the best security measures as they go from place to place in this vast area. The Greek-Catholic Churches don't need more martyrs now. Rather, we need men and women alive with intelligence, energy and conscience.

Matthew-Daniel Stremba
Yekaterinburg, Russia

1596 Union of Brest a bad miscalculation

Dear Editor:

Myron Kuropas in "Back to square one" (March 14) iterates the complicity of the Vatican with other agents in preventing the establishment of a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Patriarchate. Also is mentioned an earlier revolt of Ukrainian Catholics against Rome.

A more complete historical understanding of this consternating conflict may be obtained from the 33 Articles of the Union of Brest that defined the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in 1596, at a time when faithful Ukrainians suffered under Polish rule (www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1595brest.html).

Article 9 and others of that document insist on a married priesthood and unaltered liturgical practices. Articles 25, 10 and 32 ask for restitution for destroyed Ukrainian churches and monasteries, allow the selection of bishops by the Polish king, and request him to prevent entrance to Greek priests who are coming to excommunicate the clergy who signed these Articles of Union.

In an interview by Prof. Antoine Arjakovsky at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv on January 26 (www.risu.org.ua/content.php?pageid-164&1=en&print=yes) Cardinal Lubomyr Husar stated ambivalently: "If we take Uniatism in this classical way of trying to establish unity, we as well do not accept it. We were tricked into it. It was not the intention of our bishops at the end of the 16th century. But this was the political situation within the Polish kingdom of that time." He added, "Our attitude presently is that between the Orthodox and ourselves there is no difference in faith."

For nationalist Ukrainians who consider the Treaty of Pereiaslav (1654) to be a tragic mistake, then the Union of Brest is a bad miscalculation.

Alec Danylevich
Worcester, Mass.

Thanks for articles on Ukrainian philately

Dear Editor:

I would like to thank The Weekly and Ingert Kuzych for the marvelous philatelic articles, especially the one in the March 7 issue. Being a lifelong philatelist who in 1991 converted all his philatelic energy to collecting Ukraine. I needed a primer on the fine points of Ukrainian philately, and I found all I wanted in The Weekly.

The Weekly is truly a newspaper that has something for everybody be it community news and views, arts, Ukrainian sports, music review and, yes, stamps. I enjoy the well-written philatelic articles, which are well researched by Dr. Kuzych. Stamps teach us so much: Ukrainian history, arts, geography, traditions, historical figures and more. I save every article that is published.

Ukrainian stamp collecting should be encouraged in our Saturday schools, and at Plast and SUM meetings. Those boring "hutirky" can come alive with stamps of Ukraine. In this hobby you collect whatever interests you, and your imagination takes you to mythical places and events. Dr. Kuzych should be considered for the UCCA Shevchenko Prize for his philatelic service to the Ukrainian community.

Zenko Halkowycz
Teaneck N.J.

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