Fifteen years ago, on August 21, 2005, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church – in a historic move – transferred its headquarters from Lviv to Kyiv.
More than 3,000 faithful joined Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, major-archbishop of Kyiv-Halych, and the leadership of the Church to attend the milestone event.
Threats from Russian Orthodox radicals to stop the divine liturgy proved hollow, largely because of heavy security provided by more than 1,000 police officers and Berkut Special Forces, who protected the Catholics.
Cardinal Husar’s sermon focused on Christian love, while more than 800 Russian Orthodox yelled anti-Halychyna slurs and heckled the faithful as they entered the worship area, which was an outdoor altar next to the Patriarchal Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection that was under construction.
“May our hearts feel that love of God that flowed onto this place and all the nations of Eastern Europe a thousand years ago,” Cardinal Husar said. “But may it be a love that doesn’t stop – one that is living, persistent, active and for us.”
The move for the Church from Lviv to Kyiv marked the realization of a centuries-long vision of establishing its see in Ukraine’s capital city. The patriarchal cathedral is located on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, on the bank-side just opposite the Kyivan Caves Monastery (Pecherska Lavra).
The Rev. Borys Gudziak (at the time, rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv), who is now archbishop-metropolitan of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, said, “Today, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, who have sacrificed so much over the centuries, but particularly in the 20th century, for their spiritual freedom and for the development of the Ukrainian people, can also be in Kyiv and have a Kyiv address and be close to the front of our Christian origins.”
The Rev. Gudziak and the Rev. Ihumen Yevstratiy Zorya, press secretary to Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate, both characterized the protesters as political provocateurs who did not represent the followers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. “These are not believers of the Moscow Patriarchate – these are political party members who present themselves as Orthodox Christians,” the Rev. Zorya said. “Orthodox Christians don’t do these things because God said, ‘They will recognize that you are my students because you have love within you.’ ”
However, not all were political protesters, as a handful of Russian Orthodox priests participated in the protest and even held a liturgy at the protest site, on their side of the fence barricade. The political nature of the protest was evident with the variety of political flags that were waved, including the Progressive Socialist Party, the Derzhava political party and Bratstvo, as well as the Party of the Regions. One young man even blatantly waved the Russian flag.
Hate speech from the protesters was disruptive during the divine liturgy, especially during quiet moments of prayer, during Cardinal Husar’s sermon, as well as during the recitation of the Creed.
Source: “Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church transfers its headquarters to Kyiv,” by Zenon Zawada, The Ukrainian Weekly, August 28, 2005.