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From Presidents Desk

Reflections on Church Life...

Under the beloved icon of the Protection of the Mother of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the 15th Regular Sobor of our Holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA took place from 14-18 October 1998 at our Cultural Center in South Bound Brook/Somerset, NJ. From the opening prayer the Sobor took on a tone of love and conciliation, which led to a successful conclusion in unity and determination to continue the work of the Lord.

A few issues, which had been resolved at the previous Sobor, were mistakenly interpreted by some individuals over the past few years. This misinterpretation caused confusion in some parishes and in the minds of some faithful. It was the firm conviction of our Church leadership that the Sobor was the only proper forum at which such misinterpretation and confusion could be resolved - with the participation of representatives from ALL parishes and the clergy. To attempt to discuss them in any other forum would have been inappropriate and nonproductive.

This conviction proved to be proper during the 15th Sobor, where all who needed to question or comment on any topic had the opportunity to do so openly and without restriction. The participants in the Sobor expressed their satisfaction at the mature and Christian manner in which all issues were presented, discussed and decided upon by the delegates present.

Of singular importance to many is that the Sobor once again reaffirmed that ours is a Sobornapravna (Sobor governing) Church and that we continue to support the unification of the Church in Ukraine. Further, we continue undaunted in our efforts for world Orthodoxy’s recognition of an independent Church for the independent nation of Ukraine, which is her right according to Orthodox Tradition and Canon Law. Such recognition must come first in the granting of autocephaly from Ukraine’s Mother Church of Constantinople rather than from the Kyivan Metropolia’s daughter Church of Moscow. The Sobor confirmed that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA will never become part of any Church in Ukraine subjugated to or controlled by the Patriarchate of Moscow.

These were burning issues in the minds of some members of our Church, but there are other burning issues, which were studied during the Sobor. Among them are the continued existence of our Church here in the USA and how we go about retaining the youth we have and drawing back those lost for any number of reasons over the past several decades. Much emphasis was placed on our Youth Ministry Program and others like it in this regard. Since the Sobor we have attempted to enact most of the decisions made by the Sobor. It should understand that all these decisions were discussed thoroughly in Sobor Committees and then further discussed and voted upon during the Sobor general plenary sessions. As such they are binding upon the entire Church and we all need to pitch in together to ensure that they are carried out for the Glory of God and for the salvation of souls.

Please join with your brothers and sisters in Christ at the local parish level to do what you can to ensure the growth of our Church. Work closely with your parish pastor to bring your children and grandchildren home to Christ. Reach out into your communities to make your presence felt and desired so that others are drawn into your holy ministry – yes, ministry – for we all are called to utilize our talents in a positive and moral fashion in building God’s Kingdom.

1999 is, by declaration of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops beyond the Borders of Ukraine, the year of the Ukrainian Orthodox Family. Each member or our Holy Church is called upon to examine the life of his or her immediate family to determine what must be accomplished spiritually during this year to bring its members into close harmony and love in commitment to Christ our Lord.

Spiritual growth will not and cannot occur when we concentrate on the temporal and political issues of the day or on personalities prominent at any given moment in history. The histories of many a nation or national church exhibit abundantly what destruction is wrought when particular individuals delude themselves, thinking that the future of the nation or the church is inexorably tied to their person. This becomes nothing more than cult worship and such cults invariably crumble under the weight of their own deceit and the dishonesty and demagoguery employed to "motivate" the followers.

Christ’s message of love and His gift of salvation for mankind is what the Church is all about. The mission of the Church is the SALVATION OF SOULS. Anything which turns our attention as Ukrainian Orthodox Christian from this mission is inherently evil. Jesus Christ became incarnate to exemplify the ways and means - the commandments and the morality - by and in which we must conduct our life. It is an extremely narrow path which leads to the Kingdom of God. Much of what makes up this earthly life can, indeed, tempt us to stray away from that path in search of immediate physical pleasure or ego satisfaction. May our Ukrainian Orthodox families of the USA prove to be fertile ground in which the seeds of the Word of God are nurtured to maturity resulting in an abundant harvest for God - for God alone. May the coming new millennium witness our spiritual maturity and a harvest, which matches the standards of our ancestors and retains our children and grandchildren in the faith.

Office of Development Created

We are happy to inform the faithful that we have established an Office of Development as part of our continuing effort to update and expand our administrative procedures in the Consistory. The Office of Development will be responsible for the majority of all fund-raising efforts throughout the year. These efforts include our Endowment Fund, Seminary, All Saints Camp, the new Museum Fund, the Youth Ministry Fund Missions Fund and much more.

Serving as Director of the Office of Development is Dr. Stephen Sivulich who has met with considerable success in fund raising for various programs of the Ukrainian Orthodox League of the USA – in particular, the Lynn Sawchuk /Sharon Kuzbyt Scholarship Fund and the UOL Youth Ministry Fund. The scholarship Fund has awarded over $75,000 in scholarships over the past 20 years and the Youth Ministry Fund has contributed over $61,000 to our Church’s Youth Ministry Campaign over the past two years.

Dr. Sivulich will be assisted in his work by a Financial Advisory Commission, the membership of which will be announced in our next Consistory Circular. This Commission will consist of several Church members from around the nation who have particular expertise in financial matters and investment activities. It will meet at least once a year to review the financial investments and fund raising activity of the Consistory and offer recommendations for change or addition to these programs.

Under development are programs to educate our faithful about the ways in which they can assist their Church by remembering her in their wills, through insurance plans, through government matching contribution programs, revocable and irrevocable trusts, etc. If there are individual members of the Church who would like to have further information about setting up a program of giving to their Church to ensure a financially unburdened future, please feel free to contact the Office of Development in care of the Consistory.

Stewardship is the manner in which we care for and utilize the gifts given to us in Christ’s Vineyard. The Office of Development will strive to ensure that our Church acts in the most appropriate manner in this regard and to protect our future - in temporal terms - as the Body of Christ We pray that our membership response will prove us to be up to the task as "good and faithful servants".

Office of Religious Education Expanded

Rev. Deacon Joseph Kreta has been appointed by the Consistory to head the Office of Religious Education under the auspices of the Consistory. The Office will bear responsibility for the organization of an National Church School Teachers’ Conference each year, have oversite of all educational programs in the Church and will attempt to publish a quarterly newsletter for the benefit of our Church School Teachers.

Appointed to serve with Fr. Deacon Joseph in the office are: V. Rev. Gerald Ozlansky, Dean of the Mid-Atlanic Deanery; Mr. Homer Kline, a retired Public School Superintendent of St. Mary Parish, Arnold, PA; Mrs. Karen Osmun, a full-time teacher from Assumption of the Virgin Mary Parish, Northampton, PA; and Ann and Francis Dimente, public school teachers from St. Andrew Parish, South Bound Brook, NJ and Lucy Komichak, Chairperson of the Youth Committee and Director of Vacation Church School at St. Vladimir Cathedral, Parma, OH.

This Office of Religious Education will review the current Orthodox educational materials published today – in particular those of the Orthodox Christian Education Commission, amongst others, and make recommendations about them to the church school teachers. The national conference will be an opportunity for the teachers to exchange ideas with their colleagues from around the country and to fortify themselves for their parish work by attending specific lectures and/or seminars designed to address their needs and concerns. Much more about the activities of this office will appear in upcoming issues of the UOW.

$45,000 Collected and Distributed to Assist Flood Victims in Trans-Carpathia

Thanks to the incredible generosity of the faithful of our church we have received over $45,000 here at the Consistory to aid the victims of the horrible flooding in Trans-Carpathia, Ukraine a few months ago. These funds were distributed by our Church’s representatives - Dr. and Mrs. Anatolij Lysyj - to individuals and groups in the area of far-western Ukraine and to a few orphanages in other parts of Ukraine, whose standard of living even prior to the natural disaster, was among the lowest in Ukraine.

You should have already seen in past issues of the Ukrainian Orthodox Word a complete listing of the donors to this aid campaign. Any further donations received will be published also. In the current and the next issue of the UOW you will find a detailed description of the distribution of your gifts of love. We want to express special gratitude here to one particular donor – Rev. Fr. Volodymyr Wronskyj and his family – for a generous contribution of $5,000 to aid our brothers and sisters in need. This is an example of extremely unselfish generosity, which fills the heart and soul of any loving and mature Christian with admiration and gratitude. We thank you, Fr. Volodymyr and pray that you and all the donors to this worthy cause, although far from the scene, will feel the depth of gratitude in the hearts of those who benefit from your help.

Protest and Concern Expressed to President of Ukraine

Our Council of Bishops has written to the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, on 4 May 1999, protesting the physical attack on the head of the Kyivan Patriarchate, Filaret and those accompanying him during the blessing of the bell tower for a new church in Mariupoli, Ukraine. The letter expressed outrage that such an attack could occur and concern that the incident is a manifestation of a deep rooted immorality in those who committed it and sponsored it. A demand was made for a thorough investigation of the matter to bring to justice those responsible.

In a related public statement the Bishops expressed sympathy to those attacked and also urged a resolution to the disunity in church life, which leads to such incidents.

The Bishops have also expressed their concern to the Ukrainian government through members of the Ukrainian diplomatic corps in the USA about the pilgrimage through Ukraine and other former soviet republics being conducted by the Patriarchate of Moscow in order to promote "Slavic unity" amongst the people of those republics. This seems to be a thinly veiled attempt to reconstitute the decrepid idea of a new union of republics which will again threaten the independence of each of the newly independent states.

It is important for those of us here in the West to keep our eyes open and our attention peaked to such events so that Ukraine does not casually slip backward in history. Our vigilance can and does have an effect on the life of Ukraine.

Church History Project Inaugurated

A long, long overdue project of research and writing of the history of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA has been inaugurated as of 1 June 1999. The Consistory has appointed V. Rev. Fr. Dr. Archimandrite Andriy, Professor of St. Sophia Seminary with his Ph. D. in History, as our Church Historian. Fr. Andriy is the Pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Boston, MA and will continue in this capacity while working on the history project.

This monumental project is expected to take at least five years to complete. It will be funded through the generosity of His Beatitude of Blessed Memory, Andrew Kuschak, whose bequest to our Church in his last Will and Testament provided funds for such scholarship and research. Just the research portion of the project will take a minimum of three years requiring Fr. Andriy to visit several archives - including those located here in our Metropolia Center and in several parishes throughout the country. All the parish pastors and boards of administration will be asked to cooperate fully with any information Fr. Andriy might request of them in order to make this effort a complete success.

During the course of his work, Fr. Andriy will publish articles in the Ukrainian Orthodox Word and perhaps other venues, which will not only provide a glimpse into his progress, but also be very informative for our faithful.

OMCC and YMP to Coordinate Month-long Visit of Students from Ukraine

The Consistory has long been in contact with various groups from Ukraine, most especially those which work closely with our combined efforts with the Children of Chornobyl Foundation. On 24 July of this year we are expecting the arrival of a group of 30 Ukrainian students from various parts of Eastern Ukraine at Kennedy Airport in New York City. The Consistory Offices of Youth Ministry and Missions and Charity will coordinate their efforts in hosting these students for a one month visit, which will include participation in the Church School Camp and the Teenage Conference at All Saints Camp.

Following the encampments, the students will return to the Metropolia Center in South Bound Brook, where they will be lodged at St. Sophia Seminary and visit several parishes and tourist attractions in the New York/New Jersey area. We will be approaching our central Church organizations and local parishes for their support and sponsorship of outings for our visitors, who are coming to us for a respite from the difficulties of current life in Ukraine. More information about the visit will be published in the UOW and certainly in letters to the parishes in the next few weeks.

For more information: http://www.uocofusa.org/
Email: uocofusa@aol.com

Tel: 1 732 356 0090
Fax: 1 732 356 5556
Address: P.O. Box 495, South Bound Brook, NJ 08880

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