Commentary

Archbishop calls for common date for Easter

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The year 2025 will mark the 1,700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council, the council of Nicaea (325), which initiated a new chapter in the history of Christianity. On this occasion, the World Council of Churches is planning to organize a World Conference of the Faith and Order Commission in order to celebrate this anniversary and to reflect on the transmission of the apostolic faith today. The purpose of this conference will not be to study the history of the council nor to study its theology, but rather to reflect on what “visible unity” means today to different Christian Churches and how Christians can collectively promote, preach and live the apostolic faith today in the context of so many contemporary challenges, such as secularization and religious pluralism.

Commentary

Trust the medical and public health experts

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The following commentary is signed by the authors at the conclusion of this piece.

For public health and medical professionals, there is nothing more frustrating than knowing that members of our own community will fall victim to a deadly disease for which a vaccine is readily available.  Using 21st century technology, we’ve developed life-saving vaccines against the COVID-19 virus – vaccines that have been proven to be both safe and effective in preventing or limiting the impact of this disease.

Community Chronicle

Symposium dedicated to St. John Paul II and Ukrainians held in Philadelphia

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PHILADELPHIA – Year 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Ukraine. To commemorate the event, a symposium titled “St. John Paul II and Ukrainians” was held on April 17 in Philadelphia. The event was organized by the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics, Inc., the Basilian Spirituality Center and Sisters of St. Basil the Great, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union. Students of the Ukrainian Heritage School participated in the event via Zoom.

Ukraine

Dzherelo in Lviv set to open new branches, continuing to help the city’s special needs children

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TORONTO – Dzherelo Children’s Rehab Center in Lviv is growing by offering new, smaller branches. No longer are all programs being delivered from the one center on Chervonoyi Kalyny Avenue. Dzherelo continues to expand and develop with smaller compact settings, and a new sixth satellite branch will offer improved programming to Lviv’s children with special needs.

For over 25 years, Dzherelo Children’s Rehabilitation Center has been operating as an independent facility in Lviv, focusing on the consultation, rehabilitation treatment, education and counselling of both children with special needs and their families.

Community Chronicle

St. Sophia Association holds virtual poetry recital contest honoring Natalka Bilotserkivets at St. Basil Academy

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JENKINTOWN, Pa. – Students of St. Basil Academy in Jenkintown, Pa., participated in a virtual poetry recital contest honoring Ukrainian poetess Natalka Bilotserkivets on April 13.  The competition was organized by the Josyf Slipyj Research Center under the aegis of St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics, Inc.

Anastasiya Bloshchynska (grade 12) won the competition, while Madeline Zetick (grade 12) took second place and Natalie Hrytsay (grade 11) won third place.

Community Chronicle

Philadelphia community collects winter jackets for children in Ukraine

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PHILADELPHIA – St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Philadelphia announces a “Jackets for Children” drive that aims to collect more than 500 new winter jackets for boys and girls ages 2-8 to send to children in Ukraine.

Donations began to be collected in March, and the collection period ends in May. The jackets will be shipped in July. Readers are also invited to donate funds so jackets can be purchased on your behalf or to offset the cost of shipping.

Sports

SPORTSSHORTS

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FENCING

Ukraine’s cadets and juniors win bronze

Ukraine’s junior women’s foil team (Kateryna Budenko, Kristina Petrova, Alina Poloziuk and Olga Sopit) won bronze at the 2021 Junior and Cadet World Fencing Championships on April 3-11 in Cairo. The women’s team lost the semifinal against Russia 37-45. Anastasiia Zelentsova tied with Kim So-hui of South Korea for bronze in the junior women’s individual épée event, and Valeriia Prochenko tied for bronze with Dariya Drozd of Russia in the junior women’s individual saber event. Zelentsova lost 11-15 against Jessica Lin of the U.S.A. in the semifinal, and Prochenko lost 13-15 in the semifinal against Hayoung Jeon of South Korea.

Sports

Ukrainian pro sports update: football
Chrebet is the ultimate rags-to-riches story

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Coming out of high school in Garfield, N.J., he was not recruited by any Division I football schools, so he settled on nearby Hofstra University, only to become a surprise star, setting numerous receiving records. He was not regarded as an NFL prospect and thus was not selected in the 1995 NFL draft. He secured a tryout with the Canadian Football League’s Baltimore Stallions, but was released after one day. He earned a long-shot walk-on opportunity with the New York Jets where he was listed 11th out of 11 on the team’s wide receiver depth chart. To add insult to injury, Wayne Chrebet was detained at the front gate on his first day of training camp by a veteran Jets security guard who did not believe Chrebet was a football player due to his smallish frame. It took a New York Jet team official to authorize him as a legitimate walk-on and gain him entrance to the training complex.

A woman ordering a beverage at a coffee stand in Kyiv
Homepage Featured

Ukrainians now legally entitled to service in Ukrainian

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KYIV – Starting on January 16, a provision in Ukraine’s language law went into force that stipulates all public service providers must first address their customers in Ukrainian and they must provide information for customers while browsing or shopping in the state language.

Aside from commercial transactions, the provision also applies to educational, medical and social services, the office of the language ombudsman’s website says. At the customer’s request, service may be provided in another language, such as Russian or English, if it is mutually acceptable to both parties.

Ukraine
Ukrainian soldier searching for dead bodies at Donetsk airport in October 2015

Ukraine honors “cyborg” troops who withstood Russia’s 242-day siege of Donetsk airport

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KYIV – Ukraine commemorated Donetsk Airport Remembrance Day on January 16 and honored the soldiers who – outnumbered, and for eight months – withstood superior Russian-led forces in the Donbas War.

Known as the second battle of the now-destroyed airport – named after Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev – the siege lasted 242 days from May 26, 2014, to January 20, 2015.

Despite dogged efforts to defend the strategic site’s two terminals, including the Ukrainian air traffic control tower atop which steadfastly stood a Ukrainian flag, the airport soon became a symbol of Ukraine’s struggle to defend itself amid Russia’s unprovoked aggression.