Peremyshl's Basilian complex now undergoing restoration (08/17/97)

Peremyshl's Basilian complex now undergoing restoration

by the Rev. Volodymyr Jushchak

WARSAW - After more than five decades of forced silence, the Basilian church and monastery in Peremyshl were returned to their original owners on October 25, 1996. The monastery had been converted to meet the standards of an administrative bureau; the church, stripped of its crosses and crippled with three levels of concrete stairs and floors, was used as a warehouse for state archives.

With the blessing of Bishop Josaphat Kotsylovsky in 1935, the church had served the needs of its faithful for only 10 years. Today, 50 years after the criminal "Akcja Wisla," the Peremyshl church and monastery are reborn. In the church building the intrusive concrete floors have been removed; the monastery, which will serve the Basilian brothers-students, mainly from Ukraine, is being readied to accept, its first monks. This is expected to happen in October of this year. It is hoped that the church will begin to function according to its original, intended purpose by the end of the year.

As part of the Ukrainian Festival of Culture, held in Peremyshl this year, a concert of the Zhuravlii choir, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Akcja Wisla, was held in the Basilian church.

We hope the second Ukrainian Greek-Catholic church in Peremyshl will help awaken and solidify the Christian spirit among our Ukrainians. Time has shown that, 50 years after Akcja Wisla, we have not disappeared, as was intended by those who organized that operation. Instead we live and with great effort continue to renew that which was destroyed. The Basilian church is an excellent example of such rebirth, especially now since the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic cathedral in Peremyshlwas disfigured with the spiteful removal by Polish authorities of the cupola above the cathedral.

The Basilian complex is large, with an impressive cupola, a church building, and a three-story monastery building in which up to 30 monks can live. The cost to renovate the entire complex is projected at $600,000. Approximately $100,000 has been invested in the renovation, and approximately $500,000 is still needed.

To all people of sincere heart, to those who consider Peremyshl to be their homeland and to those who are fond of Peremyshl, we appeal to you to help us return life to the church and monastery in Peremyshl and to be included in the protection of this unique Ukrainian monument. For those who donated money to originally build the church, and for those who will donate to renovate the complex, a divine liturgy will be celebrated every year in the Peremyshl church on the feast day of St. Josaphat.

Your contribution can be sent to: Klasztor Ojcow Bazylianow, ul. Miodowa 16, 00-246 Warsaw, Poland; Acct. No.: PKO BP X/O Warszawa Nr 102011101-711674-270-2161787 (USD).

| Home Page |