Ukrainians around the globe were elated to hear that the beloved Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky (1865-1944) was proclaimed by Pope Francis to be “venerable.” The news came in a papal decree of July 16 that recognized Sheptytsky’s heroic life of Christian virtue, a step in the beatification process that could lead to his canonization as a saint. (The next step involves the Vatican recognizing a miracle attributed to Sheptytsky’s intercession.)
As Bishop Borys Gudziak of Paris told Catholic News Service, “Metropolitan Sheptytsky lived in the house of the Lord and it had a high roof, open doors and open windows – he lived outside the box. …He reached out to the Orthodox when ecumenism was not official Church policy; he defended the Jews during the Holocaust; and he was close to artists, poets, intellectuals and writers.” The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at St. Paul University in Ottawa, in a statement reacting to the papal decree, underscored that “Sheptytsky demonstrated saintly courage when he sheltered more than 160 Jews during the Nazi Holocaust” and that he showed his commitment to the poor and the less fortunate by establishing a free medical clinic, providing scholarships and helping victims of famine, war and natural disasters.
Significantly, the Tablet – which describes itself as “a daily online magazine of Jewish news, ideas and culture” – notes that the process of Sheptytsky’s canonization has been held up for many years due to “Cold War sensitivities” and did not begin in earnest until the collapse of the USSR. The author of the article, Vladislav Davidzon, points out that in some quarters Sheptytsky remains “a controversial figure” because he “welcomed the Germans as liberators” during World War II, but explains that the hoped-for liberation was from Soviet occupation. “Later, along with his brother Klementiy, he personally hid more than a hundred Jewish children from slaughter.” The correspondent goes on to say: “…despite concerted lobbying on his behalf, Yad Vashem has consistently denied him the status of ‘Righteous’ among the nations, even though he is, in fact, likely the last great savior of Jews from the Nazis to lack recognition (which is of course the secular Jewish equivalent of sainted). This decision has perturbed many partisans the world over, including – to drop the mask of journalistic impartiality – me, or someone who has researched the case files and combed through much of the extant scholarship.” Mr. Davidzon reports that, fortunately, there are signs that Yad Vashem, the Jewish people’s living memorial to the Holocaust, is “realigning its position,” and he cites lobbying for Sheptytsky’s cause by survivors and other Jewish activists. (You can read the full article here: http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/192338/the-vatican-recognizes-heroic-virtue-of-andrey-sheptytsky.)
Sheptytsky’s heroism in saving Jews during the Holocaust was movingly and amply documented in the memoir “Lvov Ghetto Diary” (1990) by David Kahane, who himself was saved by the metropolitan, as were his wife and young daughter. In fact, the author, who later became chief rabbi in the Israeli Air Force, notes in the preface to his book that he began writing it while hiding in the metropolitan’s palace in Lviv in 1943. In the foreword to the memoir, Erich Goldhagen of Harvard emphasizes that Sheptytsky penned a pastoral letter “Thou Shalt Not Kill” addressed to the public and a personal letter to Himmler to protest the extermination of Jews. “No other ecclesiastical figure of equal rank in the whole of Europe displayed such sorrow for the fate of the Jews and acted so boldly on their behalf,” Mr. Goldhagen asserts.
Sheptytsky – who led the Ukrainian Catholic Church in 1900-1944 through two world wars and several occupations of western Ukraine – has long been revered by many Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians alike. Perhaps it is fitting that Sheptytsky’s recognition as venerable comes during the year when we are marking the 150th anniversary of his birth on July 29, 1865. We hope that Metropolitan Andrey’s heroic deeds will soon be recognized also by Yad Vashem, and we pray that this saintly leader will one day be canonized a saint of the Church.