LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (12/20/98)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Kudos for report on UOC-U.S.A. Sobor

Dear Editor:

I want to compliment Irene Jarosewich on her excellent report about the recent Sobor of the UOC-U.S.A. The article accurately captured the varied opinions and concerns that were expressed by the delegates. Her job was not easy. Due to the regrettable fact that the press was banned from this watershed Sobor, she had to rely on interviews with delegates who did not always feel free to express their thoughts and feelings on the spiritual crisis in the leadership and direction of the UOC-U.S.A.

For someone so young and not affiliated with the UOC, she was very perceptive in recognizing that the division among the delegates was precipitated by the problematic "omophor" of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, under which our hierarchs placed our Church in 1995, without appropriate preparation and through an irregular process. They did this under the pretext that they would be in a better position to influence the ecumenical patriarch to serve as a catalyst in bringing about healing, unification and a long-overdue recognition of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine, with its own patriarchal throne in Kyiv. However, for some inexplicable reason, this main objective is not documented either in the "Points of Agreement" with Constantinople, nor in any other protocols. As a lifelong student of history, I cannot find even one example of the ecumenical patriarch rising to defend the Ukrainian Orthodox Church or the Ukrainian people. Why our hierarchs thought that this would change remains an unexplained mystery.

Unfortunately, once again history repeated itself, as the ecumenical patriarch collaborated with the Patriarch of Moscow, on the territory of a free Ukraine. During a joint meeting in Odesa in the fall of 1997, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was once again betrayed. At that time the ecumenical patriarch clearly demonstrated his lack of sympathy for the Ukrainian Church and his unwillingness to take a stand on its behalf against Moscow by refusing to meet with the representatives of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Churches, which were seeking his help in their time of need. He again reiterated that the only Church he recognizes in Ukraine is the Church headed by Metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan, under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow. In return for this reprehensible pronouncement, our hierarchs, instead of publicly voicing their condemnation, hosted the ecumenical patriarch at our spiritual center in Bound Brook and lavished him with hospitality.

But the most painful blow was inflicted when our hierarchs agreed to comply with the ecumenical patriarch's "canonical" rules and consented to not concelebrate the Eucharist with their brother bishops from Ukraine. Their unconscionable and unchristian position proved to be intolerable for many faithful. Thus, in desperation, some of the parishes decided not to wait until the Sobor, and appealed to Kyivan Patriarch Filaret to accept them under his jurisdiction. Their departure prompted our hierarchs to declare Patriarch Filaret "persona non grata" and to publish a threatening open letter.

Against this turbulent background, our Church administration, instead of focusing on "mending fences", proceeded to revise our Church Constitution in order to legitimize the new relationship with the ecumenical patriarch. This time the faithful organized their forces and derailed the adoption of the revised Constitution at the Sobor.

I saw a Sobor filled with tension, as some of the delegates agonized over the ecumenical omophor decision. I grieved with them and felt their pain caused by the disunity and degradation inflicted upon our Church both here and in Ukraine. Some of us recalled the wrods spoken by Archbishop Antony on July 15, 1990, in Bound Brook, when he welcomed the late Metropolitan Ioann (Bodnarchuk) from Ukraine: "We and you, with our bishops, priests, deacons, and brothers and sisters in Christ, form one spiritual body which no one will be able to separate." Unfortunately, today our Churc h is suffering a painful separation brought about by the ecumenical omophor. Let us hope and pray that the words of Archbishop Antony become a solemn pledge and a unalterable guide for all the future endeavors of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A.

I remain confident that as long as we have strong defenders of our heritage and tradition, like the young delegates from Clifton, Irvington, Trenton, Washington, Atlanta, Detroit, New Haven, and other parts of the U.S., together with a Church body devoted to Our Lord, and with the help and protection (omophor) of our Blessed Mother, we will be able to persevere and continue to preserve our unique Ukrainian Orthodox spiritual identity. United by faith and love we will continue to fight for our goal - a strong united Ukrainian Autocephalous Church with our own Ukrainian Patriarch in Kyiv.

Valentina Makohon
Rochester, N.Y.

Let's concentrate on families, children

Dear Editor:

Your November 8 issue carried an interesting letter by Ihor Lysyj, "Community service and the right stuff." There are some very valid points made in this letter concerning trends in the Ukrainian community.

However, I would like to take issue with the notion that the "right stuff" consists of the new and upcoming "secular" leadership. Let us have no illusions. The survival of the Ukrainian diaspora hinges on the survival of the Ukrainian American family. If there are no intact families, there will be no schools, churches, camps or any of those institutions that for centuries have kept nations and mankind in existence.

Modern technologies and modern interpretations of traditional values are ephemeral and do not offer lasting solutions. Along with the various observations derived from The Year 2020 Conference, let's concentrate on our families and our children, so that all those hopes and dreams that we have for our community and Ukraine can be realized by people dedicated to that vision.

Larissa M. Fontana
Potomac, Md.

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