LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (07/12/98)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Fedynsky column elicits memories

Dear Editor:

Andrew Fedynsky's article in The Ukrainian Weekly of June 21 brought back many old memories. For example, there was a song, the first verse of which could be translated as follows:

June 22nd, as the clock struck four,
Kyiv was bombed,
And we were told
It was the start of the war.

Even though I was only a young child, I remember those days quite vividly.

Generally, I agree with Mr. Fedynsky's comments, although with some variation. In particular, I believe that his description of Ukrainian patriotism during the war is somewhat exaggerated. In my view, it was not so much Stalin's "evil genius" that won what is still today called "Russia's War" (cf. the recent TV series on PBS), but Hitler's stupidity.

Initially, German troops had no trouble entering and crossing Ukraine. At the start of the war, Hitler's propaganda was that the Germans came as liberators and, at first, the Ukrainian people believed them and welcomed German soldiers with "bread and salt." However, Ukrainians found out very quickly that the Nazis were just another group of murderous oppressors and, after that, there were no more surrenders. I personally remember how Ukrainian prisoners were marched on the street where I lived in my grandparents' home in eastern Ukraine, and my grandmother threw a lot of bread for them, which fell on the ground. One of the prisoners picked it up and was immediately shot dead by the German guard. In the end, Germans paid very dearly for such behavior in Ukraine.

During most of the war, Stalin was hiding somewhere in Siberia and his influence was minimal. It was not he who was "giving people what they wanted," but rather the people themselves who decided to fight for their country. I agree, however, that many Ukrainian soldiers who were in the Red Army fought primarily for Ukraine - rather than Russia or the Soviet Union.

As far as today's Ukraine is concerned, it has indeed become independent, at least in name. Whether it is so in reality is another matter. If Ukrainians were truly independent and as patriotic as implied by Mr. Fedynsky, would the president of Ukraine be giving medals to World War II veterans named after Marshal Zhukov? Would Ukraine still have so many statues and monuments of Lenin and other Soviet heroes? Would it still have so many towns and cities with names such as Illich, Dzerzhinsky, Kirov and Sverdlov? Today, after seven years of independence, where is Ukraine's pride?

George Primak
Pierrefonds, Quebec

Sincere thanks for Tennis Camp

Dear Editor:

Our community is not always ready to say thank you or recognize many of the special things our members do. Sometimes I think it is because we are taught to go the the extra mile - all those years Ukraine was not independent - and perhaps it was thought that the extra mile was just part of what we all had to do. But not everyone did the extra mile.

I'd like to remind you of two men and their wives who did so much for our youngsters for so many years, people who went well beyond that "mile" - they are Zenon Snylyk and George Sawczak. While they were busy professionals all year long, every summer, for over 20 years, they ran the Soyuzivka Tennis Camp. Few of us know many people who either didn't attend the camp themselves or whose children weren't part of it.

They've always done a good and thorough job at training our youngsters in the sport - and in good sportsmanship. Their wives, Yarka Snylyk and Petrusia Sawczak, were always at their sides serving as friends and confidants to the camp's enrollees. Homesick campers often turned to them for comfort and counsel. Both teachers, they also extended personal advice and guidance to the children and their families.

Now, rumor has it, this is the last year the Tennis Camp will be held.

Surely now is the time to say thank you to these families for all they have done for us and try to persuade them to continue. I know that my own daughters always looked forward to attending the camp and meeting old and new friends there. They have so many good memories - thanks to the dedication of the Snylyks and the Sawczaks. Thank you all so very much.

Camilla Huk
Nutley, N.J.

UOC controversy is about power

Dear Editor:

For many months now I have been following your excellent and even-handed coverage of discussion about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in U.S. The issues raised on the editorial pages of your newspaper not only have far-reaching impact on the future direction of Ukrainian Church life in the diaspora, but may also impact the nature and the character of the Church in Ukraine.

On the surface, the dispute appears to be about the canonical status of the Church, and subordination of the status to the supervision of the patriarch of a non-existing city. This superficial part of the dispute has the surreal quality of the medieval scholastic dispute about the number of angels on the head of a pin.

The real issue appears just below the surface of the argument. This issue repeats itself like the leitmotif of a Wagnerian opera in almost every letter to the editor. And like the main theme of "Der Ring," it is not about spirituality, but about power and money - or more exactly about control, and the ultimate use of money generated by the sweat and toil of many generations of Church members.

The real issue of the dispute, so clearly illustrated in a recent letter by Anna Wojtiuk, is who is going to inherit and control the fiscal resources of the Church, now under the new management.

The tragedy of all of this is that the trust between the laity and the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America, so long taken for granted under the stewardship of Patriarch Mstyslav, no longer exists. And one cannot but realize that without such trust the future of the Church is doomed.

The fundamental question of missing trust between the laity and the hierarchy, as well as of control of fiscal resources, deserves serious and honest considerations by all the delegates to the Church's forthcoming Synod.

Ihor Lysyj
Austin, Texas