Monument erected at site of patriarch's place of burial (07/28/96)

Monument erected at site of patriarch's place of burial

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Close to 1,000 people gathered near the Cathedral of St. Sophia on Sunday afternoon, July 14, to pay tribute to Patriarch Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine on the first anniversary of his death.

Led by Patriarch Filaret and concelebrated by tens of Ukrainian Orthodox priests of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the memorial service and blessing of the white marble tombstone lasted a little over an hour.

But many of the Orthodox faithful stayed past the official ceremonies, peacefully praying, lighting candles and leaving bouquets of flowers on what is now the final resting place of Patriarch Volodymyr (Vasyl Romaniuk), who prior to becoming the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate, spent many decades in the Soviet gulag as a defender of the Ukrainian Orthodox faith and Ukrainian national rights.

The memorial service contrasted greatly with events a year ago, on July 18, 1995, when Patriarch Volodymyr's funeral procession was disrupted as riot police and mourners clashed on the streets of Kyiv, in violence that strained Church-State relations for months to follow. Many of the faithful attending the memorial service this year could not help but recall the violence of last summer.

Many talked about what they had seen last July and wondered why no charges had been pressed against the riot police who attacked mourners when they were refused permission by the government to bury the late patriarch's body on the grounds of the St. Sophia Cathedral complex.

They recalled how members of Ukrainian National Assembly/Ukrainian National Self-Defense Organization, a radical right-wing group, took upon themselves the role of special bodyguards for the funeral procession, and then helped dig a grave in the sidewalk outside the gates to St. Sophia.

Oleksander Zarubytsky, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior in Kyiv, who attended the memorial service on July 14, said no special precautions were taken this year to maintain order and that he did not expect any violence to erupt. However, wandering around the periphery of St. Sophia Square were civilian guards, making sure there were no disruptions during the solemn ceremony.

Though acknowledging the fact that the events of July 18, 1995, had taken on a political character, he said there was no court case because after the procuracy examined the details of the case they said there were no grounds for filing a suit.

Dmytro Korchynsky, leader of the Ukrainian National Assembly, who along with another UNA activist, former dissident Anatoliy Lupynis, was present at the memorial on July 14, said he never believed that criminal charges would be pressed in the July 1995 incidents because then not only would Kyiv's militia have to be held accountable for these actions, but also various high-ranking politicians in the current government.

There was a tense moment at the start of the service on July 14 when tens of UNA members, dressed in army fatigues, waving bright black-and-red banners, the official flags of the Ukrainian National Assembly, demonstratively made their way to take up the front ranks near the grave. But, the memorial service proceeded peacefully.

"This place is suited as the burial ground for Patriarch Volodymyr," said Mr. Korchynsky. "It is a holy place," he noted, although the gravesite is outside the gates of the 10th century cathedral.

He also explained that this grave, which people will pass by everyday as they wait for buses and trolleys at the public transportation stop just a few yards away, will serve as a constant reminder of the gruesome events of July 18, 1995.

Mr. Korchynsky criticized President Leonid Kuchma and his government for failing to pay tribute to Patriarch Volodymyr on the first anniversary of his death, adding that he expects the Ukrainian president to be at St. Sophia next year - on his knees.

The only government representative at the memorial service was Oleksander Omelchenko, currently the acting mayor of Kyiv. It was the city administration that financed and constructed the memorial for over $70,000 (U.S.).

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