Turning the pages back... July 14, 1995 (07/13/97)

Turning the pages back...

July 14, 1995

Two years ago on July 14, Patriarch Volodymyr (Vasyl Romaniuk), a political prisoner persecuted for his religious beliefs during decades of Soviet repression who later went on to be elected primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate died at the age of 69.

Patriarch Volodymyr (the name he chose for himself when he was consecrated a hierarch of the Church in 1990) was a Ukrainian Orthodox priest and member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. In 1992, when the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church merged with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by Metropolitan Filaret, he was consecrated archbishop of Lviv and Sokal, and later became metropolitan of Chernihiv and Sumy, and a member of the Church's Holy Sobor (Council).

Following the death in June 1993 of Patriarch Mstyslav, Volodymyr was elected in October of that year as the first patriarch of the newly created Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate. A promoter of unity between the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine, including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, in the last months of his life Patriarch Volodymyr had appealed to the former to break with Moscow. However, his calls fell on deaf ears.

Vasyl Romaniuk was, born on December 9, 1925, in western Ukraine. He was first arrested in 1944 at the age 19 for "nationalist and religious activities," and was subsequently exiled to Siberia for 10 years, along with his family. His father died there and his brother was shot while trying to escape. In 1946 he was convicted of "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda" on testimony coerced from other prisoners. After his release, Mr. Romaniuk began his theological training. He was ordained a deacon in 1959 and five years later became a priest.

As a priest, the Rev. Romaniuk fought against church corruption and state suppression of religion. After writing a letter in defense of political prisoner Valentyn Moroz in 1972, the Rev. Romaniuk was once again arrested. During his time in labor camp, the Rev. Romaniuk, a Ukrainian nationalist and a devout Orthodox Christian, addressed numerous appeals to Western organizations on behalf of other imprisoned believers - both Christian and Jewish - and human rights activists. He frequently went on hunger strikes and was punished for his recalcitrance.

In 1976, shortly before he was to go into exile, the Rev. Romaniuk renounced his Soviet citizenship and declared his desire to emigrate to the West, where he said he could worship freely. While in exile, he continued to appeal to Western organizations as a member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, which he joined in 1979.

In August of 1988, the Rev. Romaniuk and his son Taras (his wife, Maria Antoniuk, died in 1985) emigrated to Canada, settling briefly in Winnipeg. The Rev. Romaniuk returned to Ukraine in 1990, after Ukraine declared sovereignty.

* * *

Patriarch Volodymyr's funeral on July 18 in Kyiv was marred by violent clashes - first at the intersection of Shevchenko Boulevard and Volodymyr Street, and later at St. Sophia Square - between riot police and some 3,000 participants of the funeral procession. At issue was the clergy and laity's wish to bury the remains of their patriarch at St. Sophia Cathedral, despite the decision by the Presidium of the Cabinet of Ministers that Patriarch Volodymyr be interred at either Baikiv Cemetery or on the grounds of St. Volodymyr Cathedral. A grave was dug in the sidewalk next to the main gates of St. Sophia, and the body was interred there.

A memorial to the patriarch was later constructed on that site.

Source: "Ukrainian Orthodox Patriarch Volodymyr Dies"; "Riot police and mourners clash" by Khristina Lew; The Ukrainian Weekly, July 23, 1995 (Vol. LXIII, No. 30).

| Home Page |