Stamford Eparchy's Women's Day highlights Eastern Church traditions (04/24/05)

Stamford Eparchy's Women's Day highlights Eastern Church traditions

by Anisa Handzia Sawyckyj

STAMFORD, Conn. - "We're here because we love our Church" - this was the phrase heard over and over again at the Eparchial Women's Day celebration on Sunday, April 10, at St. Basil College in Stamford, Conn. The event drew about 150 women from across the eparchy, some from cities such as Buffalo in the western reaches of the eparchy, others from Long Island and some from as far north as Boston.

This is the third such women's event to be called by Bishop Basil Losten of the Stamford Eparchy to honor and celebrate the special contribution of women laity to the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

This year's conference had as its theme "Ukrainian Catholic Women: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." The goals of the program were to recall the contribution of generations of women to the life of the Church; to learn more about the uniqueness of the Kyivan Christian spiritual tradition; and to consider ways that the laity can help the Church respond to its needs now and in the future.

The program was structured in the form of morning discussion groups, as well as an afternoon keynote presentation, panel discussion and question and answer session.

Six morning discussion groups led by facilitators met simultaneously in the 75 minutes prior to an 11 a.m. divine liturgy. In those six sessions, the participants focused on different issues depending on their interests.

In one session, women talked about ways in which to engage children and youth in liturgical life and in activities in the parish. Other groups discussed the unique spiritual traditions of the Eastern Church, the power of liturgical prayer, the relationship between the Church and Ukrainian community life in the United States, as well as the role of the Church in the Orange Revolution.

In the different sessions, facilitators offered information on such important topics as: the concept of the family as a "domestic Church," the divine liturgy as dialogue and as a source of spirituality, Willow Sunday, the Paschal meal, the icon corner ("pokuttia"), the significance of parental blessing, "myrovannia" (anointing), metania (forgiveness), and other unique aspects of Ukrainian religious and traditional life. These concepts evoked interest because they offered new perspectives on spiritual issues in one's personal and family life.

The theme of the uniqueness of the Ukrainian Catholic Church's Kyivan spiritual traditions, which are worthy of reverence and celebration, was continued in the remarks of the keynote speaker, Iryna Galadza.

Dobrodiika (priest's wife) Iryna is a high school religion teacher and the mother of six grown children. Married to Father Roman Galadza, pastor of St. Elias the Prophet Ukrainian Catholic Church in Brampton, Ontario, she has worked for more than 25 years with children and youth. She is studying for a Certificate in Eastern Christian studies through the Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa, and has taught catechists in Ukraine through a program with the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.

Ms. Galadza's talk focused on the vital role of women in the spiritual life of each family (the domestic Church) and in the life of the Church as an institution, from ancient times to the present. She also highlighted the important role women are being called to play in the Ukrainian Catholic Church of today and tomorrow.

There is a great strength and spiritual insight that comes from the faithful practice of liturgical prayer, the speaker emphasized. This is what has sustained the faithful for a millennium and will ensure the Church's survival in the future.

The Church of tomorrow will need the intelligence and commitment of its women laity more than ever, said Ms. Galadza. She encouraged the gathered women to add education and spiritual self-development to the list of their goals and to "head for the library to learn more about the hidden spiritual treasures of our Church."

"Read, form prayer study groups, discuss and meditate," the speaker urged. "And take a fresh look at the matins ("utreni") and vespers ("vechirni"), which are both a beautiful and inspirational feature of our Church tradition."

Ms. Galadza also encouraged women to support their priests in trying to foster a better appreciation and practice of the Kyivan religious tradition, which is a part of the Ukrainian Catholic Church's rich spiritual inheritance and the source of her beauty and strength.

Another featured speaker at Women's Day 2005 who echoed this sentiment was Dr. Maureen Daddona of St. Andrew the Apostle Byzantine Catholic Church in Westbury, N.Y., who in her presentation spoke on the theme "Being Byzantine in a Western World."

Dr. Daddona, a college professor who holds a Ph.D. in neurology, speaks frequently on Eastern Church traditions. From her perspective as a member of the laity who came to the Eastern Church in her adult life from a background of Roman Catholicism, Dr. Daddona offered very interesting comparisons of the differences in theology and expressions of faith between the Eastern and Western Church.

She said this was vividly illustrated for her years ago when she saw the well-known Roman Catholic Bishop Fulton Sheen, who dramatically highlighted the difference in the two mainstreams of Christian tradition by holding up in one hand a crucifix with the figure of the crucified Christ and in the other hand an icon of the risen Christ.

These are contrasting visions of salvation as expressed in the Latin Church (the passion of Christ) vs. the Eastern Church (the glory of the risen Christ), says Dr. Daddona. This difference is apparent in liturgy, prayers, music and religious art of the Western and Eastern Churches.

According to Dr. Daddona, the emphasis of the Eastern Church is on the glory of Christ's resurrection, hence the golden glow of icons, the images of transformation and the absence of the tradition of Stations of the Cross in the Eastern Church.

These examples and others piqued the interest of many in the audience who are familiar with both Eastern and Western religious traditions.

During Women's Day 2005, the main celebrant at the divine liturgy held in the chapel of St. Basil College was Bishop Losten, with congregational singing led by Maria Olynec. Following the liturgy, a buffet luncheon and fellowship hour in the refectory gave an opportunity for women from far-flung parishes of the eparchy to meet old friends and make new acquaintances. Many women also took the opportunity to tour the impressive Ukrainian Museum on the eparchy's grounds with its curator, Lubow Wolynetz.

Women's Day was full in terms of its program, level of participation, spiritual insights and novel ideas, which many participants said they were eager to share with women in their parishes.

For Mary Ann Chomiak of Easton, Conn., the event highlighted "the importance of actively participating for the growth of the Church." Irene Jadlicky of Flushing, N.Y., said she felt she had learned much about the differences between the Eastern and Western Church traditions in general and the difference between their two versions of the "Hail Mary" prayer in particular. Irene Komarynsky of Stamford, Conn., said she was most interested in hearing about the concept of "the domestic Church" and also intrigued by examples from other parishes of "church services, which are bilingual yet able to retain their authenticity."

The Women's Day 2005 organizing committee was co-chaired by Roma Hayda and Father Jonathan Morse, with members from eight parishes in the eparchy. They were: Irene Badiak, Jennifer Chomiak, Jenny Czyrko, Irene D'Alessio, Ksenia Dragan, Dorette Gallan, Maryana German, Anna Maria Hirniak, Christine Majewski, Anisa Handzia Sawyckyj, Ms. Olynec, Myroslava Rozdolska and Cathy Pompetti-Szul.

The next Women's Day is slated to take place in 2007.

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