THE 1970s - A LOOK BACK: Religion (12/30/79)

THE 1970s - A LOOK BACK

Religion

Probably the most memorable event in church affairs during the 1970s was the historic visit by Pope John Paul II to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia in October of 1979. The Holy Father spent some 30 minutes with Ukrainian Catholics and in his bilingual homily reminded them of their glorious heritage and of their unity with Rome.

History was again made when in November of 1979 Pope John Paul personally presided over the consecration of Msgr. Myroslav J. Lubachivsky in the 15th century Sistine Chapel. Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj and Archbishop-Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk also concelebrated the ceremony which elevated Msgr. Lubachivsky to the rank of archbishop.

The life of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, at least in the United States, was marked by several turnovers in the 1970s. Archbishop-Metropolitan Ambrose Senyshyn, the second spiritual leader for Ukrainian Catholics in the United States and head of the Philadelphia Archeparchy, died in September 1976. In December 1977 Bishop Joseph Schmondiuk of the Stamford Eparchy was installed as metropolitan and Auxiliary Bishop Basil Losten of Philadelphia was installed as eparch of Stamford.

Metropolitan Schmondiuk served in his office for 12 months before he died. After nearly a yearlong search, which was marred by controversy, a successor was found, but opposition to the selection process, voiced by Patriarch Josyf, some clergy and laity, persisted. In a letter to the archbishop-designate, Patriarch Josyf, citing Church canons, wrote that he voids his selection by the pope, but keeping in mind the welfare of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, he said that he appoints Msgr. Lubachivsky as the spiritual leader for Ukrainian Catholics in the United States. Archbishop Lubachivsky was installed as metropolitan by the apostolic delegate, Archbishop Jean Jadot.

In the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Mstyslav Skrypnyk became the spiritual leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. in 1971 upon the death of Archbishop John Theodorovich, who was the first Ukrainian Orthodox metropolitan in the United States.

Over the years Metropolitan Mstyslav organized several meetings with Ukrainian Orthodox hierarchs in Canada in hopes of Bringing the two metropolitan sees closer together.

This hope of a greater rapprochement in Church life was carried over into general Church affairs with the first ecumenical moleben concelebrated by hierarchs of the Ukrainian Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical-Baptist Churches at the World Congresses of Free Ukrainians. The rapprochement was also evident in many other joint initiatives and in actions in defense of Ukraine.

In the 1970s The Ukrainian Evangelical-Baptist congregations also showed greater activity and frequently raised their voices in defense of Ukrainian Baptist dissidents behind the Iron Curtain.

The construction of a Ukrainian Catholic national shrine in Washington, D.C., came a step closer to reality with the groundbreaking ceremonies in August 1977. Dedicated to the Holy Family, the national shrine is scheduled for completion in the early 1980s.

The Ukrainian Churches continued to be the main bulwark of community life, serving the faithful in line with the age-old tradition. This past year also saw the initiatives on the joint observances of the millennium of Christianity in Ukraine in 1988.

One aspect of the Ukrainian Catholic community's life that spilled over from the previous decade into the 1970s has been the struggle for autonomy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the recognition of its patriarchal status within the Holy Universal Church. The question was raised at the Vatican Council II by Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj and it continues to be with us as we enter the new decade.

The issue has raised as much controversy vis-a-vis the Vatican, as it did within the ranks of the Ukrainian Catholic community. It gave rise to sharp cleavages which surfaced at such events as the nominations and consecrations of Bishop Basil Losten and the late Bishop John Stock in 1971, culminating in a memorably sad scene in and near Philadelphia's Immaculate Conception Cathedral. At the heart of the problem was the Vatican's repeated intransigence to accede to the pleas of Patriarch Josyf, some of the clergy and a substantial part of the laity to grant the Ukrainian Catholic Church its traditional rights of autonomy or "pomisnist," including the right to hold synods, to nominate bishops and to have a greater say in the internal affairs of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

While there was little disagreement on the objectives, there were sharp divisions as to the methods used in an effort to attain them. The gamut ranged from apathy to stringent militancy that left many a scar on the life of the Ukrainian Catholic community. Despite the Vatican's refusal to recognize Cardinal Slipyj as patriarch, he calls himself such and has elicited such recognition by many faithful and clergy.

Certainly, Patriarch Josyf's first arrival in the United States and Canada in 1968, and then again in 1973 and 1976, attested to the high esteem that he commands among Ukrainians of all faiths. His historic meeting with the late Metropolitan John Theodorovich added a new dimension to the relations between the Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox faithful, casting into oblivion the earlier animosities and misunderstandings. Thousands upon thousands turned out to greet Patriarch Josyf during his pilgrimages in the various countries of Ukrainian settlement, seeing in him the symbol of undaunted Ukraine, of the Ukrainian people's profound religiosity and attachment to their unique rite that constitute an integral part of total Ukrainianism. Thus the faithful's ire when their spiritual leader was barred by the Vatican from attending the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. They saw in it yet another attempt by the Roman Curia to put curbs on the Ukrainian prelate, apparently in the name of its Ostpolitik and rapprochement with Moscow.

With the election of Pope John II in 1978, the hopes of the Ukrainian Catholic faithful swelled in that this first Slavic pontiff would be more sensitive and responsive to the needs of the Ukrainian Catholic Church on both sides of the Iron Curtain. These hopes persist despite the latest controversy surrounding the procedure of nominating the new metropolitan in the United States. Certainly, there is reason to believe that these hopes will spill over into the new year and that the Vatican will be more responsive to the needs and concerns of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

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