Bishop Chomnycky celebrates Pokrova feast day with Connecticut parish (11/12/06)

Bishop Chomnycky celebrates Pokrova feast day with Connecticut parish

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church celebrated its annual patron saint's day on October 8. The pastor, Father Ivan Bilyk, invited Bishop Paul Chomnycky of Stamford, Conn. to attend. Prior to the divine liturgy, children of the parish and the parishioners greeted the bishop on the front steps of the church with the traditional bread, salt and flowers.

Bishop Chomnycky started the services with the blessing of the beautiful vestments gifted to the bishop by the parish in remembrance of his visit that day.

Joining the bishop in offering the liturgical service were Father Bilyk, Father Stefan Bilyk, pastor of the parish in Spring Valley, N.Y. (he is the brother of Father Ivan); Father Stepan Bereza from St. Josephat Church in New Britain, Conn.; and Father Ihor Papka, past administrator of the Willimantic parish.

The sermon was given in Ukrainian and English by Bishop Chomnycky. The divine liturgy was sung by the church choir under the direction of Olha Bilyk, wife of the pastor.

At the end of the divine liturgy Bishop Chomnycky greeted all the parishioners and guests on this special holy day, and he expressed thanks for the gift of the vestments. Then all of the parishioners approached the bishop to be anointed with holy oil and to receive special holy cards commemorating this special day.

The celebrations continued with lunch in the parish hall and performances by the children of the parish. Bishop Chomnycky started the event with a prayer.

After the main course the pastor invited Michael Koziupa, second vice-president of the Ukrainian National Association, to give a speech. Mr. Koziupa went over a short history of the parish and described how the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian Catholic Church were both actively involved in the history of the parish, which started in 1950 under the organized leadership of Father Andriy Nazarewych, first pastor and founder of the church in Willimantic. Mr. Koziupa praised the parisioners for their many years of community activities and encouraged all to support their church.

Mr. Koziupa underscored the fraternal benefits of the UNA, such as Soyuzivka, the newspapers Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, and student scholarships for members. He encouraged all to buy insurance from the UNA for the good of their families and to support the UNA, which has always given back to the community. Only when the community supports its organizations and its church will the community stay strong and prosperous, he noted.

Nadia Kukler of Philadelphia, who was adopted and raised by Father Nazarewych, the founder of the parish, also addressed the audience. She reminisced about how wonderful her childhood was growing up in the parish.

During lunch, the people were treated to a performance by the parish children. Under the direction of Nadiya Stechshyn and Mrs. Bilyk, the children sang and recited poems praising the Blessed Virgin Mary. The concert was enjoyed by the audience.

The main speech was given by Bishop Chomnycky, who underscored the continual protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the Ukrainian nation throughout its history. "The Orange Revolution is a recent example in that there was not one drop of blood spilled," said the bishop.

He spoke also of the history of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in America, reminding everyone of the 100th anniversary celebrations that will be taking place in 2007 and 2008.

The day's festivities ended with the singing of "Our God is great ..." and "Mnohaya Lita." Pastor Ivan Bilyk thanked the bishop for joining the parish this day, the guests for coming to celebrate with the parishioners, the ladies who prepared a wonderful meal, the children for their performance, and all the guests and parishioners for their attendance in large numbers.

The parishioners were then able to spend some time speaking with Bishop Chomnycky and receiving his blessings.

Translated by Michael Koziupa from the Ukrainian article by Irene Olinyk, Secretary of UNA Branch 387.

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