Lviv mourns U.S. victims of terrorism (09/23/01)

Lviv mourns U.S. victims of terrorism

by R. L. Chomiak
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

LVIV - An open-air memorial service and a requiem for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attack in New York was held in the center of Lviv, near the Shevchenko monument, on September 17.

It was organized by the Rev. Borys Gudziak, rector of Lviv Theological Academy, a native of Syracuse, N.Y. The participants were the Academy faculty and students, members of the Youth for Christ organization and Lviv citizens.

The Rev. Gudziak explained that the purpose of the "spontaneously arranged gathering" was threefold: to express sympathy for the victims, to show "our responsibility for the planet Earth" and "to pray for peace that [the terrorist act] would not begin a chain reaction" of further violence.

"Although these events took place far from here," the Rev. Gudziak said in a statement to the press, "we cannot stand idle. They have affected and disturbed us. Today, Ukrainian students see themselves as citizens of the world and they pay particular attention to these dramatic and profound events of the world."

Nine priests of the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Churches joined the Rev. Gudziak in a concelebration of the requiem service (panakhyda) for the victims of the attack in New York. Young people held the flags of Ukraine and the United States, and banners of the Youth for Christ organization.

Another member of the organization held a sign reading: "The tragedy in America calls for a rethinking of the direction in which humanity is heading today. Ukrainian Youth for Christ."

At the end of the gathering the Rev. Gudziak called on those present "to carry our solidarity to the rest of the city. Let us be witnesses to peace in our world."

A stirring rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" played over the sound system ended the early afternoon memorial service in the heart of the 745-year-old city of Lviv.

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