CHICAGO – The Very Rev. Myron Wasyl Panchuk, Ph.D., an associate pastor of St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Catholic Church in Chicago, passed away on March 9. He was 64.
He served as the vice-president of the Ukrainian Genocide Famine Foundation U.S.A. and was a member of the Kyiv Committee of Chicago Sister City International, where he focused on Social Services Exchanges.
Father Panchuk was born on April 26, 1954; he was the first child of Wasyl and Juliana Panchuk. He grew up with his two siblings on the northwest side of Chicago.
After finishing eighth grade at St. Nicholas School in 1968, he attended St. Ignatius High School and then went on to Loyola University, where he earned a bachelor of science in psychology and a bachelor of arts in philosophy in 1976. Recognizing that it is never to late to learn, or pursue higher education, he completed graduate theological studies at Catholic Theological Union. In 2007 he earned an M.A. in counseling from the Adler School of Profesional Psychology and in 2010 an M.A. in psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Depth Psychology. In 2017 he defended his doctoral dissertation titled “Shattered Images, Broken Lives: Social Dreaming in Healing Ukraine’s Historical Trauma.”
In his youth, he was a member of the Ss. Cyril and Methodious Youth Brotherhood and Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization. He also attended summer courses at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome.
In July 1982 he became the first priest to be ordained by Bishop Innocent Lotocky for the Chicago Eparchy of Ukrainian Catholics and actively served the community for nearly 37 years in a variety of capacities. He designed and facilitated retreats and conferences for both the clergy and the laity, professional development, conflict resolution and social advocacy.
Immediatately after ordination, he was appointed to serve at Ss. Volodymyr and Olha Parish, where he stayed over two decades. While there, he served as spiritual dirctor of the Ss. Cyril and Methodious Brotherhood, was director of priestly formation for half a dozen seminarians, and in 1988 worked with the Rt. Rev. Marian Butrynsky on the development and construction of the Ukrainian Cultural Center, which was built to commemorate the Millennium of Ukrainian Christianity.
For a number of years, Father Panchuk also served the Ukrainian Catholic parish in Denver, commuting between Chicago and Denver on a regular basis. Since 2007 he served at St. Joseph the Betrothed Church.
Having traveled to Ukraine numerous times over the decades, he visited Chornobyl in 2010 in order to conduct research and in 2011 produced a documentary called “Block4,” to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. On that same visit, he established a relationship with a group of artists at the Pechersk Artists Workshop and produced a film that prevented the eviction of the artists from the Kyiv Pecherska Lavra. This led him to engage in activist research with the All Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV.
On a subsequent trip, in May 2012, he traveled to Kyiv, where he presented at the World Psychoanalytic Conference, being the only one to present a paper in the Ukrainian language. Most recently he participated in a funeral service and reburial of remains from the 1708 Baturyn Massacre in which as many as 15,000 Ukrainians, including 7,000 civilians, were killed at the hands of the rising Russian Empire. This last trip abroad took place in November 2013, just days before the beginning of the Euro-Maidan.
In Chicago, going back to the early 1970s, Father Panchuk was a teacher at the School of Ukrainian Studies, touching the lives of hundreds if not thousands of students, with his anecdotes, views on religion and faith, and analyses of modern Ukrainian history.
An ambassador for Ukrainian causes, he was a co-founder and member of Starving For Color, a humanitarian organization that provides baby formula for orphans in Ukraine. In addition, he was a former board member of the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art and supported the work of Ukrainian American Veterans.
A longtime member of Plast and its Lisovy Chorty fraternity, he served divine liturgy and counseled youths at numerous summer camps, weekend festivals and other scouting activities. And, although not an official member of the American Ukrainian Youth Association, he also participated in its gatherings, interacted with youngsters and celebrated liturgies at summer camps.
Father Panchuk was devoted to ecumenical causes, the reunificaton of churches, defending the marginalized and breaking down barriers. In his nearly 65 years of life he touched the lives of many; he officiated at dozens of weddings, baptized more children than can be counted, and buried loved ones of all faiths and backgrounds.
Surviving are his brother, Orest (Zena) Panchuk, and his sister, Andrea (John) DiSanti; and his two nieces, Danielle and Natalie DiSanti.
The funeral service was held on March 15 at St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Catholic Church, with interment at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations were requested for the Rev. Myron Panchuk Memorial Fund, Account No. 171443, Selfreliance Federal Credit Union, 5000 N. Cumberland Ave. Chicago IL 60656. Funds will be given to non-profit Ukrainian organizations in which Father Panchuk was involved.
Sources: Panchuk family members, Muzyka & Son Funeral Home.