Patriarch Bartholomew visits Ukrainian Orthodox Center (11/02/97)

Patriarch Bartholomew visits Ukrainian Orthodox Center

by Irene Jarosewich

SOUTH BOUND BROOK, N.J. - Flying in from New York, three helicopters carrying Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Con-stantinople and his delegation descended at dusk on October 27 to land on the grassy mall of the St. Andrew Archdiocesean Center of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. Against the backdrop of a fading sun, more than 1,200 Ortho-dox faithful, most from the Ukrainian and Greek Churches, greeted the patriarch, who had arrived in the United States on October 19 to begin a monthlong pastoral visit to Orthodox communities throughout 16 cities in the U.S., as well as to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Patriarch Bartholomew, 57, was enthroned in Istanbul (as Constantinople has been known since 1930) on November 2, 1991, and is considered to be the "first among equals" of the eight Orthodox patriarchs in the world and the spiritual leader of close to 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide who are divided among 15 Churches. It is his first visit to the United States, which is home to more than 5 million Orthodox Christians, and his first pastoral visit with the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and Diaspora since that Church accepted the omophor (spiritual authority) of the ecumenical patriarch in 1995.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Archdiocesean Center in New Jersey is a large complex, and during his five-hour visit the patriarch toured the seminary, the consistory, the cemetery, the museum and library, as well as the historic Henrick Fisher House, built in 1688, home of New Jersey's delegate to the Continental Congress and located on the property.

Under the night sky, a moleben (memorial service) was held outdoors on the steps of St. Andrew Memorial Church, and later in the evening, a banquet, attended by more than 500 guests representing Ukrainian, Greek and several other Orthodox Churches, was held in the patriarch's honor at the Ukrainian Cultural Center.

Patriarch Bartholomew's tenure has coincided with the break-up of the Soviet Union and its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, a region of the world where Orthodoxy dominated as a religion before the onset of communism. He actively promotes pan-Orthodox unity and the revival of Orthodoxy in its traditional homelands.

A Turkish citizen of Greek descent, Patriarch Bartholomew, speaks half a dozen languages fluently, including English, and has traveled extensively in the past several years with his message that Christian Orthodoxy is not a religion of the past, but a vibrant faith of the future. He predicts that millions will return, or convert, to Orthodoxy in the next century, especially in the former Communist countries that are only now becoming more fully aware of the moral and spiritual void in their lives.

In his blessing at the end of his pastoral visit at the Archdiocesean Center, he said, "We do not see our faith only as ancient, but as a living faith to guide us everyday and everywhere ... we see the next millennium not in terms of aging, but being young again ... we are entering the springtime of a new millennium."

Pursuing better relations

Relying on his moral authority as "first among equals" to encourage better relations among the Orthodox Churches, the patriarch has also approached Catholic, Jewish and Muslim leaders. Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope John Paul ll met in 1995 for three days, and relations between the Vatican and Constantinople are said to be good.

In an address several days ago at the Jesuit-run Georgetown University in Washington, Patriarch Bartholomew stated, "Our heart is opposed to the specter of everlasting separation ... our heart requires that we seek again our common foundations." He has traveled to Israel, and during a visit to the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington last week, referred to the victims of the Holocaust as martyrs who should be remembered for all eternity. The patriarch is also actively seeking to improve relations with Muslim leaders, since many Orthodox Christians now live in Muslim-dominated countries.

Though the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S. and Diaspora has united with the Mother Church of Constantinople, Orthodox in Ukraine divide their allegiance between the Moscow Patriarchate, the Kyiv Patriarchate or those that are autocephalous. Throughout the patriarch's pastoral visit, there was no direct mention of, or indirect allusion to, press reports released last month in Ukrainian and Russian media which stated that after a meeting in Odesa with Patriarch Aleksei of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew allegedly said that the various Orthodox Churches in Ukraine must unite under the Moscow Patriarchate, the Church that many Ukrainian Orthodox view as the chief oppressor of their faith.

Printed materials provided to the press in South Bound Brook offered excerpts from the ecumenical patriarch's statement with regard to that meeting, which included a call for ecclesiastical unity among the Orthodox Ukrainian people, but no statement that such unity must be under the aegis of the Moscow patriarch. Though the ecumenical patriarch recognizes the canonical jurisdiction of the patriarch of Moscow in Ukraine, he adds in the statement: "but we believe that this is not enough, that this does not solve the concrete problem which exists."

In his homily during the religious service, Patriarch Bartholomew urged patience and stated: "We recognize the sorrowful situation which has been created in your motherland. We feel deeply the pain of the local Orthodox Church as our own pain, for as your Mother Church we know when one member suffers, all members suffer with him. ... We will work all the more to find means of reconciliation and agreement. This requires great patience ... the heart must mature so that we may be guided to the correct solution for all."

Unity plus autocephaly

Whereas Patriarch Bartholomew stressed unity and reconciliation among the Churches in Ukraine, Ukrainian Orthodox hierarchs and laity, while desiring unity, expressed their fervent desire for autocephaly as well.

In his address during the moleben, Metropolitan Constantine appealed to the patriarch: "Like Estonia, small in number but mighty in faith, Ukraine, no less mighty in faith, also prays and works for the day when it will receive the blessing of the Mother Church of Constantinople to take her rightful place in the Orthodox world. ... We are confident that the see of St. Andrew will be that pastoral agent which will heal the wounds and pave the way for the Church in Ukraine - an independent nation - to be restored to its rightful place."

Helen Greenleaf, president of the Senior Ukrainian Orthodox League, in her banquet greeting to the patriarch stated, "the motto of our organization is 'dedicated to our Church and devoted to its youth,' and it is with devotion and dedication that we are praying for a united Orthodox Church in Ukraine and for its autocephaly to be recognized by world Orthodoxy." Mrs. Greenleaf received a standing ovation from many of the Ukrainian Orthodox guests.

During his homily and blessing, Patriarch Bartholomew several times addressed his Ukrainian faithful in Ukrainian, and frequently acknowledged the suffering of the Ukrainian people. He praised the deep faith that has sustained Ukraine for generations and alluded to the ancient bond between Kyiv and Constantinople, between the people of Ukraine and the ecumenical patriarch.

Seated at the head table with the patriarch were hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the U.S., Canada and South America, as well as hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church worldwide, and of the Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox Church in the U.S. Metropolitan Stephen Sulyk, as well as Bishop Basil Losten and Bishop Robert Moskal of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Newark and several other Roman Catholic bishops also were seated with the patriarch.

Viktor Bondarenko, chairman of Ukraine's State Committee on Religious Matters, delivered a greeting on behalf of the government of Ukraine and appealed for the patriarch's help to unify all the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine into one "pomisna" (particular) Church.

At the end of the banquet, Emil Skocypeck, treasurer of the consistory and property manager for the centers received a special recognition from the patriarch for his exceptional effort in preparing the center for the pastoral visit.

After the visit, Ukrainian Orthodox hierarchs stated that they were grateful for the patriarch's visit, his message and his recognition of the struggle of Ukraine's people.

Patriarch Bartholomew has traveled to Washington, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. For a schedule of the patriarch's public activities in other cities in the U.S., contact the press office of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New York, (212) 570-3500.

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