Patriarch Mstyslav's 100th anniversary of birth commemorated (05/31/98)

Patriarch Mstyslav's 100th anniversary of birth commemorated

by Natalia Honcharenko

SOUTH BOUND BROOK, N.J. - On Sunday, May 17, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. honored the archpastoral ministry of its second metropolitan and the first patriarch of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Mstyslav, on the 100th anniversary of his birth on April 10, 1898, and the fifth year of his blessed repose, June 10, 1993.

Solemnities marking the occasion began with the celebration of the Eucharist in St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle Memorial Church. The principal celebrant of the archpastoral liturgy was Metropolitan Constantine. Concelebrating Orthodox hierarchs were Archbishop Antony, and Archbishop Vsevolod. Local and visiting clergy also served as concelebrants. Present for the solemnities and representing the Ukrainian Catholic Church was Bishop Basil Losten. Liturgical responses were rendered by the Memorial Church Choir under the direction of Taras Pavlovsky.

In his homily prior to the panakhyda (memorial service), Metropolitan Constantine focused on the archpastoral ministry and many contributions to the growth and development of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the U.S., the diaspora and in independent Ukraine, of his consecrator and spiritual mentor, Patriarch Mstyslav.

The panakhyda for the repose of the soul of Patriarch Mstyslav was celebrated in the memorial church crypt in which his mortal remains rest, and was followed by the solemn dedication of a granite stone and bronze plaque, a personal donation of Ilarion and Raisa Chejlyk, marking the sacred precincts that house Patriarch Mstyslav's remains.

The liturgical solemnities were followed by a dinner and program. The task of master of ceremonies was fulfilled by Dr. George Krywolap, a member of the Consistory and Metropolitan Council, who spoke of the life, times and accomplishments of Patriarch Mstyslav.

Greetings were received from the late Patriarch's son, Yaroslav Skrypnyk; Hennadii Udovenko, president of the U.N. General Assembly and member of the Ukrainian Parliament; the United Ukrainian Orthodox Sisterhoods; Ukrainian credit unions; the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in the U.S.; and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

Archbishop Vsevolod, in eulogizing the departed patriarch, focused on the patriarch's ancestral Ukrainian roots and Orthodox Christian upbringing, all of which shaped the life of one whom God called to witness the truth of the Gospel and the vitality of the Ukrainian spirit in the turbulent years of this 20th century.

The concert portion of the day's solemnities was presented by the joint choirs of the St. Andrew Memorial Church Choir, under the direction of Taras Pavlovsky, and the Cantabile Chamber Choir, directed by Rebecca Scott, which rendered several sacred selections, among them "With the saints, repose, O Lord ..."

Tamara Yarovenko, daughter of the late patriarch, addressed the gathering on behalf of the family, and spoke of her father's love for God, family, Ukraine and the Church that God entrusted to his care. The patriarch's daughter was followed by Archbishop Antony, who noted that it was a singular blessing for him to have been consecrated by the late patriarch, a dynamic servant of God and visionary, a person who was a living link between pre- and post-Communist Ukraine, one who believed that Ukraine would be free, when others doubted. Archbishop Antony noted that the clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are the seal of the late patriarch's apostolate, an apostolate that challenges us to labor with zeal for the Gospel and the good estate of the Church in Ukraine and in the countries of the diaspora.

The program concluded with benediction and the singing of "Eternal Memory" (Vichnaia Pamiat) by the combined choir.