FACES AND PLACES: Jewel of Ukrainian village (11/27/05)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Jewel of Ukrainian village

It was a bitterly cold December 31 Chicago evening in 1905 when 51 Rusyns from western Ukraine gathered at 939 Robey (now Damen) to establish the St. Nicholas Ruthenian Catholic Parish.

Those attending included Father Viktor Kovalicki, the future pastor, and two leading community intellectuals, the venerable Volodymyr Sieminowicz, a medical doctor and one-time editor of Ameryka - America's first Ukrainian language newspaper - and Stefan Janowicz, an attorney.

Learning that a Danish Lutheran Church located at the intersection Superior and Bickersdicke (now Nobel) was for sale, those present voted to purchase it for $8,000. A motion was approved to prevent the parish from falling into "alien" (Latin-rite) hands by stipulating that: "all property of said church which may hereafter be acquired be held in the name of its incorporated name but under no circumstances shall said church or its priests or pastors be under the jurisdiction of bishop or bishops except those of the same faith and rite."

At a meeting on February 11, 1906, the newly formed parish council ruled that in addition to a "religious-moral" aspect, the church also had a "national-educational" goal.

"The aim of the religious-moral purpose," it was written, "is to cultivate among ourselves mutual love, a law-abiding life, and to live a more honest and moral life, and to develop the discipline required to cultivate a spiritual life which can contribute to the preservation and growth of our Holy Church."

"The aim of the national-educational goal was: To elevate ourselves through the support of a school, a reading room, political clubs and whatever else is deemed necessary."

The pastor, of course, was expected to "live up to the religious-moral and national educational purposes of the parish" and he was to be respected as the "head of the community; he must be consulted in all matters pertaining to the community and he must be obeyed."

The pastor able to live up to these laudatory goals was Father Mykola Strutynsky, a patriot-priest who arrived in 1907 and remained at St. Nicholas for 14 years. In a series of articles titled "Understand, Rusyn, Which Road is Yours," appearing in Svoboda from August through October, 1902, he carefully explained that in Galicia, "Rusyns" were beginning to call themselves "Rus'-Ukrainians." "They call themselves this name," he wrote, "because they realize that even though they are in Galicia, our country is the child of Ukraine. Just as we came to America, the Rus'-Ukrainians came to Galicia." His articles were revolutionary, a significant contribution to the efforts of Ukrainian Catholic priests to "Ukrainianize" our early Rusyn immigrants.

As more immigrants from Ukraine began to find jobs in Chicago, it was soon apparent that a larger church was needed. "Let us move west, where much land is still available," urged Dr. Sieminowicz, during a March 19, 1911, parish meeting. "We can build a glorious new church, we can all purchase lots near the church, we can eventually build our homes on these lots and, with God's help, we can have our own, new Rus right here in Chicago."

An entire block was eventually purchased for the new edifice, and construction began soon thereafter. The cornerstone was blessed by Bishop Soter Ortynsky on November 27, 1913. The first divine liturgy was celebrated on Christmas Day, January 7, 1915. St. Nicholas still stands as the architectural jewel of the "New Rus'," officially designated "Ukrainian Village" on January 18, 1983, by then Mayor Jane Byrne.

As in all pioneer Ukrainian communities in America, the Ukrainian National Association (UNA) played a significant role. The first UNA branch in Chicago was the Brotherhood of St. Nicholas, established by Father Strutynsky and Dr. Sieminowycz in 1906. The branch eventually created a library and a citizens' club. Two more UNA branches were established with the help of Father Strutynsky in 1908: the Sisterhood of the Blessed Mother and the Brotherhood of St. Stephen. All three branches were associated with St. Nicholas and contributed mightily to the early national-educational development of the parish.

St. Nicholas was also the home of the famed Lysenko Chorus, which won first place in a city-wide choral competition in 1930.

The first "Ridna Shkola" was established at St. Nicholas in 1907 with one teacher (a "diak-uchytel") and 10 students. By 1922, there were four teachers, some 300 students, and a Ukrainianization program that was in operation five days a week - Monday through Friday, at 4 to 6 p.m. A full-time day school was built and opened in 1936. A second school building opened in 1954. Today St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School has an enrollment of some 150 students.

Also worthy of mention is the role played by Emily Strutynsky, wife of Father Mykola. Inspired by the American feminist movement then sweeping the country, as well as her personal acquaintance with Jane Addams of Hull House, Mrs. Strutynsky helped organize a national congress of Ukrainian women in hopes of forming a national Ukrainian mutual benefit insurance society for women. Held in Chicago in 1917, the congress gave birth to the Ukrainian Women's Alliance of America, an organization headquartered at St. Nicholas rectory. A year later, the Alliance began publishing Ranna Zorya, which listed among its many goals the hard task of creating a new "free, independent state of ours, Ukraine."

In 1961 Chicago's prestige as an important center of Ukrainian Catholic life, was enhanced when the Holy See established an episcopal seat in the city. Msgr. Jaroslaw Gabro, who was born and raised in the Ukrainian Village, became the first bishop of the newly created Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy.

Next year, St. Nicholas Cathedral parish will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. A yearlong series of events have been planned by the centennial committee that has been working for over a year. Chicago's Ukrainians are looking forward to 2006 as the year that will strenghten the religious-moral and national-cultural committment of all segments of our unique Ukrainian community.

Myron Kuropas's e-mail address is: [email protected].

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