Boston parish commemorates 75th anniversary of UAOC (03/09/97)

Boston parish commemorates 75th anniversary of UAOC

by Maria Kajko

BOSTON - The Ukrainian Orthodox Parish of St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle in Boston on November 17, 1996, solemnly commemorated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine (1921). The day began with celebration of the divine liturgy served by the pastor, the Rev. Archimandrite Andriy Partykevich, and the Rev. Patrick Yamniuk from Canada. The parish choir, under the direction of Eugene Moroz, sang the responses.

On the tetrapod, along with the traditional icon of the Apostle St. Andrew, stood a very large portrait of Metropolitan Vasyl Lypkivsky, the first bishop of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, who was consecrated in 1921 and died a martyr's death.

The sermon by the Rev. Partykevich was directed primarily at the children of the Sunday School who were present. He told the story of the life of Metropolitan Vasyl, who loved God and his Church. While holding pictures of the metropolitan for the children to view, the Rev. Partykevich urged the children to never give up their faith in God and their work in the Church, and take as an example the life of faith of Metropolitan Vasyl.

Following the divine liturgy, a memorial service was celebrated for the repose of the souls of Metropolitan Vasyl and all the martyred bishops, priests, monks and faithful of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

A commemorative dinner and program followed the divine services. A specially prepared 50-page commemorative book honored the occasion. Its cover was a rendering of St. Sophia Sobor in Kyiv with the words "75th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church"; the first page contained a color icon of the Protection of the Mother of God (Pokrova), as the events of 1921 took place around the feast day. The icon was accompanied with the words of the famous hymn, "Under thy refuge, o Mother of God, the Ukrainian Church seeks refuge."

Later pages, in both Ukrainian and English, contained articles and photographs: a biography of Metropolitan Lypkivsky, participants of the Sobor of 1921, the episcopacy of the Church, the two metropolitans who succeeded Metropolitan Vasyl (Mykola Boretsky and Ivan Pavlovsky), the original texts of the announcement of the Sobor of 1921, as well as the canonical establishment of the autocephalous Church, contained in a speech by the minister of religion of the Ukrainian government, Oleksander Lototsky. The book was prepared by the pastor of the parish who holds a Ph.D. in history.

The program was officially opened by the parish board president, Nicholas Geba, who thanked all for attending. The children's selections were organized by Olena Lisovych. Three bandura selections were played by Katya Perepelytsya, followed by recitation of a poem. Four children then recited poetry especially prepared for the program. The children then led the guests in prayer before the meal, by singing the Lord's prayer, "Our Father." They were prepared and directed by the assistant director of the church choir, Jane Yavarow.

As Father Partykevich blessed the food, the children sang "Amen" and then rushed to the kitchen to help serve the dinner prepared by members of the parish .

The main speaker of the program was Dr. Frank Sysyn, director of the Petro Jacyk Center for Historical Research at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies in Edmonton. He tied the events of 1921 to the original Ukrainian Orthodox parish in Boston, Holy Trinity, whose parishioners were motivated by the events in their homeland to join the Autocephalous Church and come under the leadership of Metropolitan John Theodorovych, who had been sent by Kyiv to shepherd Ukrainian Orthodox faithful in the U.S. and Canada.

The parish choir under the direction of Mr. Moroz sang four selections: "Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace," "The Angel Cried to the Virgin," "Noble Joseph" and "Wounded Mother." Over $5,000 was raised by the event, and a donation of $5,000 was made to the Ukrainian Orthodox Academy and Seminary in Kyiv.

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