LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (05/01/05)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Re: Ukraine's largest Orthodox Church

Dear Editor:

In his analysis "Is an Orthodox conflict brewing in Ukraine?" Roman Kupchinsky writes that the largest branch of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is "by far" the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate. He then proceeds to list the number of communities, monasteries and churches that each of the Churches owns or controls. Based on those numbers he correctly concludes that the UOC-MP is the largest branch and the UOC - Kyiv Patriarchate is a distant second.

While these facts are true, they conflict head-on with survey results obtained by InterMedia and other organizations that paint a completely different religious picture in Ukraine.

For example, in a 2003 nationwide survey (a sample of 4,006 respondents over age 15) the respondents were asked "Speaking about religious groups, which religious group do you consider yourself a member of or feel closest to?" The results showed that more than twice as many interviewees considered themselves members of or closer to the UOC-KP than the UOC-MP.

The disparity between "control of property" and what people say is striking. The actual results show the following breakdown among various religious denominations in Ukraine: Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church - 8 percent; Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate - 38 percent; Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate - 16 percent; Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church - 2 percent; Russian Orthodox Church - 5 percent; Roman Catholic Church - 1 percent; Protestant - 1 percent; Muslim - 1 percent; Jewish - 1 percent; other - 3 percent; do not feel close to any religion - 20 percent; don't know - 5 percent

Even if one includes those respondents who consider themselves Russian Orthodox (5 percent) to those who consider themselves UOC-MP (16 percent) the resulting ratio is still almost two-to-one in favor of the UOC-KP. These numbers are not new - they have been reported in the RFE/RL Research Report and The Ukrainian Weekly - and the relationship has been remarkably consistent since the early 1990s.

Unfortunately, the mantra "largest by far" has been repeated so many times that observers get a distorted picture of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Of course, there are some legitimate reasons for the differences - many respondents may attend UOC-MP churches because it's the only church in town, but their allegiance, when asked spontaneously in a face-to face interview, is clearly with the UOC-KP. Some respondents may not be aware of the differences between the two Patriarchates but instinctively respond Kyiv Patriarchate, etc., but all that is a subject for another discussion.

Jaroslaw Martyniuk
Washington

Ukraine doesn't need an "OSI analogue"

Dear Editor:

Dr. Myron Kuropas, in his April 10 column titled "Orange justice: Pora," discusses the concept of bringing the Soviet-era Ukrainian perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice.

Perhaps I am not qualified to comment, since I was born and raised in the United States, and have had the fortune to live in a peaceful and prosperous society. My paternal grandfather, Antin Deychakiwsky, and my wife's paternal grandfather, Father Hryhoriy Mostovych, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest, were both victims of Stalinist repression. My late father, Mykola, was imprisoned by the Gestapo for his activity in the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. Likewise, my father-in-law, Leonid Mostovych, was a political prisoner in Nazi concentration camps - Auschwitz, Ebensee and Mathausen - for his leadership role in the OUN.

I have visited my father's town, Yamnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, and heard many detailed stories from the now octogenarians recalling both the Soviet and Nazi repressions and executions-murders that affected nearly every family. I stood at the site of a Ukrainian Orthodox church in my father-in-law's village of Malyn, Volyn Oblast, where the entire population was corralled and burned alive by the Nazis. I stood at the edge of the ravine in Babyn Yar, and walked through the hallowed forest of Bykivnia.

I would agree that it would honor and pay tribute to the victims of Soviet and Stalinist repressions to study, document and memorialize these tragic events of history. Perhaps the answer is to build a museum analogous to the Holocaust museum, to produce more books, documentaries and educational materials.

I strongly disagree, however, with the suggestion that the diaspora request that President Viktor Yushchenko and the government of Ukraine set up a commission to hunt down and prosecute the perpetrators, whether they are living in Ukraine, the United States, Canada or Israel.

First of all, who would pay for the cost of such an investigation? The Ukrainian government is struggling with its economy and budget, and is dealing with the wreckage of the last 13 years. President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko already have many more immediate issues "on their plate." They need to deal with the present situation and help build a brighter future.

Just look at the results of the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations. What have the OSI and its supporters really accomplished? They successfully may have deported a handful of sick old men, many of whom were never proven to have committed atrocities or war crimes. Shame on them, they dishonored the victims of the Holocaust because, instead of securing justice, they succeeded only in propagating mutual hatreds and resentments between various ethnic communities in the U.S.

Should the Ukrainian government form its "Stalinist hunting" OSI analogue, I would be concerned that a similar result would be obtained. One could never hunt down and find all those who are guilty; many might already be dead anyway. Ethnic and inter-religious hatreds would surely be stirred up again.

I suggest that we truly never forget, but learn to forgive. That is what sets us apart as Christians from the cultures where "an eye for an eye..." drives a misguided concept of justice. Ukraine doesn't need to be financially and politically burdened with running an "OSI analogue." Instead, those resources could be better used in developing educational institutions such as the national universities of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Ostroh Academy, and the Ukrainian Catholic University.

Building bridges of understanding and healing old wounds would be a better way to honor the memory of the victims of both Stalinist and Nazi atrocities. While remembering the tragic past, we can focus on building a better future.

Dr. Yuri A. Deychakiwsky
North Potomac, Md.

| Home Page |