Philadelphia celebrates success of Ukraine's Orange Revolution

by Jaroslav Zalipsky

PHILADELPHIA - The Ukrainian community of Philadelphia, joined by numerous guests from the neighboring states of Delaware and New Jersey as well as individuals from New York City, Baltimore, and Washington, on February 26 celebrated the success of the Orange Revolution.

The organizers of the event were the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy; the Philadelphia chapter of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, chaired by Dr. Jaroslav Zalipsky; and the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics, U.S.A., headed by Prof. Leonid Rudnytzky.

The day's program began in the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception with words of welcome delivered by Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka. It continued with a divine liturgy concelebrated by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar and the archbishop with the participation of several priests. A homily was delivered by Archbishop Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. The Philadelphia-based Prometheus choir, under the direction of Mr. Kyzymyshyn, sung the responses during the liturgy.

Ukraine's consul general in New York, Serhiy Pohoreltzev; members of the local chapter of the Order of the Knights of Malta headed by their chairman, Prof. Craig de Paulo; as well as students and faculty from numerous universities of the Greater Philadelphia area also attended the services.

Following a "Ukrainian lunch" hosted by Archbishop Soroka at the Cathedral Hall, a panel discussion was held on the topic "The Orange Revolution: Causes and Consequences." The moderator of the panel was Prof. Rudnytzky, former rector of the Ukrainian Free University of Munich and president of the World Council of the Shevchenko Scientific Society.

The keynote speaker of the day was Cardinal Husar, primate of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, who spoke at length on the topic "The Church and the Orange Revolution," analyzing in depth its spiritual significance.

He was followed by U.S. Federal Judge Bohdan Futey, whose remarks focused on the newly acquired judicial independence in Ukraine and the wholesome separation of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Ukrainian government.

Prof. Henry Teune, department of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, who for the last 15 years has been studying grassroots movements for democracy in Ukraine and Belarus, analyzed the implications of the Orange Revolution for global and local democracy. He concluded his talk with a hearty congratulations to the Ukrainian people for the courage and dedication displayed during the entire election period.

A question-and-answer session followed the three presentations. Thereupon the program continued with two talks on the recent events in Ukraine, delivered from the European and the American perspectives.

Attorney Stefan Myronjuk, a Ph.D. candidate at the Ukrainian Free University of Munich, expounded on the former, and Markian Dobczansky, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, on the latter. Both young men offered interesting, revealing, and somewhat contrasting insights into the mindset of Ukrainian youths here and abroad.

The program concluded with a presentation by Osip Roshka, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian Catholic daily newspaper America, on the role of the media in the Orange Revolution.

In his final summation, the moderator, Prof. Rudnytzky, expressed his gratitude to the members of the panel, the organizers of the event, and the audience of some 300 people, among whom were many distinguished Americans of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian descent.

All guests were afforded the opportunity to admire the largest Byzantine Catholic cathedral in the world and the magnificent statue of the Servant of God Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky located adjacent to it, and to acquaint themselves with Ukrainian religious culture.

Jaroslav Zalipsky is chairman of the Philadelphia chapter of the Shevchenko Scientific Society.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 27, 2005, No. 13, Vol. LXXIII

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