Ukrainian Catholic University's rector on tour of U.S. communities (10/31/04)

Ukrainian Catholic University's rector on tour of U.S. communities

by Roman Kyzyk and Matthew Matuszak

NEW YORK - Ukrainian Catholic Bishops Basil Losten and Richard Seminack of the Stamford and Chicago eparchies, respectively, have started a campaign to support Catholic education in Ukraine. The upcoming November tour of the Rev. Borys Gudziak, rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, is the first stage of the campaign. "The Ukrainian Catholic University is our intellectual and theological bastion, which will insure the highest moral and Christian standards of our faithful," said Bishop Losten. "Let us wholeheartedly support this project by giving our moral and financial support."

Father Gudziak will concelebrate a divine liturgy at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York on Saturday, November 6, followed by a rector's dinner in the school auditorium. In Chicago, Father Gudziak will be the guest of honor at a rector's luncheon to be held in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood.

The story of UCU

The Ukrainian Catholic University first appeared as an idea in the mind of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the first half of the 20th century. The first step was the opening of the Lviv Theological Academy in 1929, "a sure foundation for the spiritual rebirth of our people," as the metropolitan said. Then Father Josyf Slipyj was the academy's first rector.

The Soviet invasion of 1944 dashed the ailing metropolitan's hopes for further development. The academy was closed, the Church was declared illegal, and countless bishops, priests and faithful were sent to labor camps in Siberia. Metropolitan Sheptytsky himself died on November 1, 1944.

To honor the memory of Metropolitan Sheptytsky on the 60th anniversary of his death and to express his gratitude for the metropolitan's great spiritual patrimony, Bishop Losten is launching the Stamford Eparchy Catholic Education Campaign for Ukraine.

Prototype university created

Patriarch Josyf Slipyj's fire was not quenched by 18 years in the Soviet gulag. When he was released in 1963 and exiled from Ukraine, Patriarch Josyf set to work on establishing a Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome. "May the Ukrainian Catholic University," he said, "be for us an example and a stimulus for new quests and scholarly and educational efforts!"

One of the young seminarians who gathered around the patriarch in Rome was Borys Gudziak. Many doubted the possibility of achieving the patriarch's vision: a free Ukraine, where Sheptytsky's dream could come true. Patriarch Josyf felt that this was a debt that the Church owed to the new martyrs who sacrificed their lives in faith in the face of Nazi and Soviet persecution. Patriarch Josyf was convinced that a full-fledged Catholic university would eventually appear, in full flower, in an independent Ukraine.

Father Gudziak took the establishment of a Ukrainian Catholic University in Ukraine as his life's work. The challenge of providing the best education for future leaders of the Ukrainian Catholic Church became a part of his plans, prayers, and thoughts.

The idea for the project was clear, but the question was how to make this dream a concrete reality, how to put it together with nuts and bolts. Father Gudziak sought guidance from a Studite monk, then Father Lubomyr Husar (now cardinal and head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church). Together, they prayed for courage, strength and faith.

Building the dream

Against all odds, Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, and Father Gudziak set out to bring the dream to the land of his forefathers. With the support of Church officials, he took part in the re-opening and revival of the Lviv Theological Academy in 1994, 60 years after the Communists had barred the Academy's doors.

The late Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky urged on Father Gudziak in this important work of honoring and giving witness to Church fathers and martyrs for the faith of the underground.

The Lord in His Divine Providence works in mysterious ways, and He entrusted the fate of the Ukrainian Catholic University even to some non-Ukrainians. Roman Catholic Prof. Jeffrey Wills left behind a tenured position at the University of Wisconsin to assist Father Gudziak in establishing the university. One of Prof. Wills' first major moves was the founding of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation in 1997 to raise money to support the university. To do so, he asked a non-Ukrainian friend of his who was a lawyer, John Kurey, to establish the UCEF. Mr. Kurey did so, free of charge, and succeeded Prof. Wills as president of the UCEF six years later.

When he was named head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Cardinal Husar blessed, encouraged, and supported the work of this new wave of leadership, which had much work ahead of it to put Ukraine back on a solid moral footing.

The Universal Church showed its concern for the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and Pope John Paul II blessed the UCU cornerstone during his visit to Lviv in June 2001. Later, Father Gudziak met with the holy father in Rome and prayed that the dream become a reality. The Vatican encourages and supports the university and is in regular contact as new programs, like a graduate degree (licentiate) in theology, are developed.

University is inaugurated

One year after receiving the papal blessing, the Ukrainian Catholic University was inaugurated in Lviv. Cardinal Husar spoke on the occasion in June 2002.

"Today, the dream becomes a reality," said the cardinal in June 2002. "And today it is high time for us to reflect upon what the university is all about. The university means the realization of great values, achieved through hard work, study, sharing opinions and thoughts. The university is a forge, in which the human being exerts great effort to come to know himself, his Creator and his brothers and sisters. It is a powerful means that helps us to perceive the truth, which makes us free, lets us see beauty, inspires us, and fulfills us with purifying good."

The Ukrainian Catholic University is now established. Young men at Holy Spirit Seminary in Lviv are taught by UCU professors, to ensure that the spiritual and intellectual level of the Ukrainian Catholic priesthood is elevated. The university's new Faculty of Philosophy and Theology Building is under construction as part of a new Theological Center in Lviv. Female religious and laity study at the university as well, ensuring well-educated religious and laity to lead the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the 21st century.

Ukraine is indeed free, but it needs help to become "a normal, developing, and prosperous country," said Olena Dzhedzhora. Ms. Dzhedzhora is the acting dean of the university's Faculty of the Humanities, and this year a Fulbright scholar at Columbia University in New York. "The best way to invest in Ukraine is to invest in the reform of education," she explained.

Moral and intellectual education

The University is a great sign of unity between Ukrainians in Ukraine and those outside the country. "Starting with Ukrainian independence," continued Ms. Dzhedzhora, "there is no more 'diaspora and Ukraine.' There are not two parts, but there is one nation on both parts of the ocean. And we have common needs. And these needs include having modern, educated, moral, devoted young people who will live and work for their people everywhere in the world."

"It's very clear that if we want a strong Ukrainian Church in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world we must have a strong church in Ukraine," John Fedkiw, a parishioner at Holy Family Shrine in Washington, said.

At present, the Ukrainian Catholic University offers bachelor's degrees in theology and in history to seminarians, nuns and laypeople. It also has a graduate-degree theology program. A school of social work, to address the ills in modern Ukrainian society, and various disciplines in the humanities are planned for the university's future.

Because the Soviet regime caused such havoc in the moral structure of Ukraine, pastoral ministry to the needy and catechizing young and old alike are also important activities of university students and staff. The university's Institute of Marriage and Family Life, Catechetical Institute and Emmaus Center for the developmentally delayed are just a few of the ongoing programs addressing these needs.

Gudziak in New York, Chicago

Bishop Losten and Father Gudziak will be concelebrating a divine liturgy to be held at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York City on November 6. Liturgy will begin at 5 p.m. Then, at 6:30 p.m., a UCU Rector's Dinner will be held in the school gym. Admission, which includes the dinner, is $100 per person, though additional gifts are encouraged. Tax-deductible checks should be made out to the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF). Ticket requests should be made by October 30 and sent to St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church, 30 E. 7th Street, New York, NY 10003.

Bishop Richard Seminack invites the faithful to a Rector's Luncheon for Father Borys Gudziak rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. The luncheon is to benefit the university and will be held at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Chicago, 2247 W. Chicago Ave., on Sunday, November 14, at 1 p.m. Tickets are available for $25 per person, though additional gifts are encouraged. To order tickets or for further information, contact the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, (773) 235-8462.

For those who are unable to greet Father Gudziak personally, donations may also be sent to the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, 2247 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60622; phone, (773) 235-8462; website: www.ucef.org.

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