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GREETINGS OF HIS BEATITUDE CARDINAL LUBOMYR HUSAR TO HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DIVINE LITURGY, BEATIFICATION CEREMONY
The grace of the Holy Spirit has today brought us together here with you, Most Holy Father, in common prayer at this Divine Liturgy. In the past few days you have been in the capital city of Ukraine, from which shone forth the light of the teaching of Christ over all of ancient Rus’. Today you are greeted by the land of Galicia – the regions of western Ukraine -- where in recent decades it was necessary to defend the faith in a special way with witness of faithfulness to the teaching of Christ. Lviv and the Galician land where, due to historical circumstances, the Catholic faith in its Byzantine tradition has been maintained and developed over the past two centuries, fell victim to the occupation of an atheist regime and all its terrible consequences, especially the persecution of religion in general and of our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in particular.
27.06.2001 (20:36) // Religious Information Service of Ukraine
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The masses of people present here today – and I am their spokesman – bear witness directly that our church has survived the persecution successfully, and has returned as soon as it was possible to a normal public existence. We are very proud of this, but we do not consider it to be our own accomplishment. Indeed, we are aware that divine grace has sustained us, revealing to the world a true miracle: the rebirth of our church. Divine grace has been particularly present in these brothers and sisters of ours, many of whom are present today: bishops, priests, monks, sisters and laypeople who received the overflowing gift from God and with his help witnessed to the whole world their faithfulness to God and his Church. Some of them, as the first fruits of countless other martyrs and confessors that this land has given, you, Most Holy Father, will proclaim blessed before those here present and all those who follow this liturgy. For this we are profoundly grateful.
We extend to you our most sincere acknowledgment, Most Holy Father, for the precious gift of your personal care for our Church, and in your person we thank also your predecessors who sustained us during the seemingly endless years of persecution. Unity with the Apostolic See of Rome became a spiritual treasure for our church and an unshakable support.
On this occasion we would like to express our filial gratitude to our great Metropolitans Andrey Sheptytsky and Josif Slipyj, who, by their solicitude, their preparatory teaching and their heroic example, sought to prepare the flock entrusted to them for times of cruelty so that they might overcome them.
It might seem strange, incomprehensible and even contradictory in this moment of the glorification of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to also recall that the history of the past century knew moments of darkness and spiritual tragedy, moments in which most unfortunately certain sons and daughters of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church consciously and voluntarily did evil things to their neighbors, both to their own people and to others. For all of them, in your presence, Most Holy Father, in the name of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, I wish to ask forgiveness from the Lord, the Creator and Father of us all, and also from those whom we, sons and daughters of this church, may have wronged in any way. So that the horrible past may not weigh down upon us, and not poison our life, for our part with all our hearts we forgive those who in any way have wronged us. We are convinced that in the spirit of mutual forgiveness we will be able to proceed in peace to the celebration of this Divine Liturgy with you, Your Holiness, with the expectation that in this way we are entering into a new and better century with sincere and unshakable hope.
Already today, most Holy Father, before you with love and humility, there stands a church ready to undertake new challenges that flow from our God-bearing Eastern tradition, from our ecclesial structures, and from the sense of responsibility we feel towards the universal Church.
For a better future in the new century, we bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church are preparing a program of pastoral activity, the essence of which is summarized in the following words: the holiness of a united people, in pilgrimage on the path towards the full reestablishment of ecclesial communion in order to fulfill the will of Christ our Savior.
We are crossing the threshold of this new millennium with full confidence, and with hope in the care of the Most Holy Theotokos, whose heavenly protection our people have always sought over the centuries.
Gathered together before the Lord, tested by tremendous sufferings, and thirsting for God, we ask for your loving support of our efforts and for your fatherly word.
“It is time to celebrate, Most Holy Father. Bless us.”
BEATIFICATION CEREMONY, June 27, 2001
His Beatitude Lubomyr, Major Archbishop of Lviv for Ukrainians, His Excellency Ivan Semedii, Bishop of Mukachiv of the Byzantine Rite, His Excellency Sofron Stefan Mudrii, Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislaviv) for Ukrainians and His Excellency Mykhail Koltun, Bishop of Sokal for Ukrainians, and the Postulators approach the Holy Father and ask him to proclaim as “Blessed” the following Servants of God: Mykola Charnetsky and 24 fellow martyrs, Theodore Romzha, Emilian Kovch and Josaphata Hordashevska.
His Beatitude Lubomyr:
Holy Father, the Major Archbishop of Lviv for Ukrainians, the Bishop of Mukachiv of the Byzantine Rite, the Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislaviv) for Ukrainians and the Bishop of Sokal for Ukrainians ask Your Holiness to add to the ranks of the Blessed the Servants of God: Mykola Charnetsky and 24 fellow martyrs, Theodore Romzha, Emilian Kovch and Josaphata Hordashevska.
Then His Beatitude Lubomyr, Major Archbishop of Lviv for Ukrainians, His Excellency Ivan Semedii, Bishop of Mukachiv of the Byzantine Rite, His Excellency Sofron Stefan Mudrii, Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislaviv) for Ukrainians and His Excellency Mykhail Koltun, Bishop of Sokal for Ukrainians read short biographies of the Servants of God:
The Servant of God Bishop Mykola (Charnetsky) was born on 14 December 1884 in the village of Semakivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk District. In 1903 he entered the seminary in Stanislaviv. He continued his theological studies in Rome, where he defended his doctorate and in 1909 he was ordained to the priesthood. After returning to his homeland he became a spiritual director and teacher at the seminary in Stanislaviv. In 1919 he entered the novitiate of the Redemptorist Fathers in Lviv. In 1926 he began work in Volyn, where the tsarist regime had destroyed the structures of the Greek Catholic Church in the 19th century. In 1931 he became Apostolic Visitator for Catholics of the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite in Poland. The Servant of God was ordained a bishop in Rome on 2 February 1931. He was arrested with other Greek Catholic bishops by the NKVD (KGB) on 11 April 1945. At first he was sentenced to six years of hard labor in Siberia and he spent 11 years in prison. He suffered terrible tortures and interrogations. He bore all with patience, finding the strength to pray for his persecutors and to comfort his fellow prisoners, for whom he was a spiritual leader. In 1956 the Servant of God Mykola Charnetsky, debilitated and terminally ill, was released from prison. In Lviv he became a pastor for the catacomb church. He died on 2 April 1959. From the very start the people considered him a saint and a martyr for the faith. There are constantly numerous faithful praying at his grave.
This group of 24 servants of God, martyrs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of the World War Two period who witnessed to their faith in God during persecution for the faith by the Communist regime is composed of: 7 bishops, 7 eparchial priests, 7 hieromonachs, 3 nuns and 1 layman.
The Servant of God Bishop Theodore Romzha was born on April 14, 1911 in the village of Velykyj Bychkiv, Transcarpathia into a railroad worker’s family. His theological studies were conducted at the Papal Gregorian University in Rome. In 1936 he was ordained to the priesthood. In 1938 he became pastor in villages of Berezevo and Nyzhnii Bystryi, Khust district. Beginning with the fall of 1939 he taught philosophy and was spiritual director at the Uzhorod Spiritual Academy. On 24 September 1944 he was ordained to the episcopacy. In accordance with plans drawn up from Stalin’s directives in 1945, the subjugation and then the total destruction of the Greek Catholic Church was foreseen. The clergy and laity would be assimilated into the Russian Orthodox Church. Because Bishop Theodore Romzha bravely refused to cooperate with the authorities and leave the unity of the Catholic Church and because he called his clergy and faithful to join him, he became an obstacle to the liquidation of the Greek Catholic Church. They could not find Bishop Theodore guilty of any charges, even fabricated ones. Therefore authorities at the highest level made the decision to destroy the bishop. They took advantage of a trip the bishop was taking: a large truck collided with the horse-drawn carriage in which he was riding. The bishop and his companions were wounded and taken to the hospital. But the General of the Security Services was already waiting there: he organized the bishop’s poisoning, which was successfully carried out on 1 November 1947. Bishop Theodore was aware that he was headed for a martyr’s death. Following his example, the majority of the priests and laity remained faithful to the Catholic Church and Bishop Theodore Romzha became a symbol of opposition to the Bolshevik power.
The Servant of God Father Emilian Kovch, was a victim of the Nazis, a priest of the Stanislaviv eparchy, married, the father of 6 children. He was born on 20 August 1884, in Kosmach near Kosiv into a priest’s family. He prepared for the priesthood at the Roman College of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, studying theology at the Urbanian University. In 1911he was ordained to the priesthood. At first he worked in western Ukraine, later in Bosnia, where he volunteered to minister to Ukrainian settlers. In 1919 he became field chaplain for the Ukrainian Galician Army. In these stormy years in the life of the Servant of God Emilian there were many situations which, on first glance, seemed hopeless; one might say that only a miracle rescued Father Kovch at these times. In 1922 Fr. Kovch was appointed pastor in Peremyshliani. He began actively organizing the religious, social and cultural life of the Greek Catholic community. His house was a refuge for orphans, a shelter for the poor. “Angels fly over this house.” Thus spoke the parishioners in Peremyshliani about the humble building in which the Kovch family lived. During the German occupation Fr. Emilian bravely fought anti-Semitism. He baptized those Jews who requested it. On 30 December 1942 he was arrested for this activity. At first he was in a prison in Lviv, but in August 1943 he was taken to the Majdanek concentration camp. Learning that his family was trying to have him freed, he wrote: “I am asking you not to do anything. Yesterday they killed 50 persons here. If I were not here, who would help them to endure these sufferings?” About his experience of suffering with the prison community he said: “ Except heaven, this is the only place I would want to be. We are all equal here: Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, Russians, Latvians and Estonians. Here I see God, God Who is the same for all of us, regardless of the religious differences which exist among us.” The Servant of God Emilian Kovch died on 25 March 1944 in the concentration camp’s infirmary. In one of his letters to his family he wrote: “Pray for those who created this concentration camp and this system. They are the only ones who need prayers… May God have mercy on them…”
The Servant of God Sister Josaphata Hordashevska was born in Lviv in 1869 into a poor family. From a young age Josaphata manifested piety and clear signs of virtue. At the age of 18 she participated in a retreat conducted by Father Yeremia Lomnytskyi, OSBM, who became her spiritual director. In 1892 Josaphata, together with Father Lomnytskyi and Fr. Kyryl Seletskyi, established the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, the first female religious congregation called to an active apostolate among the people. Josaphata wanted this congregation to become a light for her poor fellow countrymen, who at that time were spiritually and socially neglected. The Sisters Servants had a great field for the apostolate: they took care of the sick, established shelters for children, taught catechism to young and old, looked after the cleanliness of village churches, sewed ecclesiastical vestments and took an active part in parish life. The growth of the congregation was unprecedented. In 10 years there were 123 sisters in 23 centers. In those years the Sisters traveled to Canada, Yugoslavia and Brazil. Now the Sisters Servants work in 16 countries and the newest mission is in Kazakstan. Sister Josaphata’s holiness showed itself in her total dedication to her calling, in constantly embodying in her life Christ’s command to love God and neighbor. Calling Christ to mind every day gave her the strength to accept all the hardships of life peacefully. The Servant of God passed into eternity in 1919. Sister Josaphata speaks to modern humanity about the beauty of radical evangelical life and about the need for compassion and active love towards the needy.
After the short biographies of the Servants of God have been read, all rise. The Holy Father, sitting, ceremoniously pronounces
The Formula of Beatification
Carrying out the request of our brothers, Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, Major Archbishop of Lviv for Ukrainians, His Excellency Ivan Semedii, Bishop of Mukachiv of the Byzantine Rite, His Excellency Sofron Stefan Mudrii, Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislaviv) for Ukrainians, His Excellency Mykhail Koltun, Bishop of Sokal for Ukrainians, and many other episcopal brothers and many faithful, after hearing the opinion of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints,
by our apostolic authority we allow from this moment on the most honored Servants of God:
Mykola Charnetsky and 24 fellow martyrs,
Theodore Romzha, Emilian Kovch and Josaphata Hordashevska,
to be honored as Blessed and their feasts to be celebrated every year in the months and according to the following designated rule, namely:
Mykola Charnetsky and 24 fellow martyrs on 27 June;
Theodore Romzha on 1 November;
Emilian Kovch on 27 June
and Josaphata Hordashevska on 20 November.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Faithful:
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Choir:
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
The icons of the new blesseds are brought forward.
Choir:
We glorify you, holy passion-bearers, and we honor your suffering, which you endured for Christ!
We glorify you, bishop and martyr Theodore, and we honor your true suffering, which you endured for Christ.
We glorify you, passion-bearer Emilian, and we honor your true sufferings, which you endured for Christ.
You glorify you, Mother Josaphata, and we honor your holy memory, because you pray to Christ our God for us.
His Beatitude Lubomyr thanks the Holy Father:
Holy Father, we thank Your Holiness for today proclaiming blessed these most honored Servants of God: Mykola Charnetsky and 24 fellow martyrs, Theodore Romzha, Emilian Kovch and Josaphata Hordashevska.
His Beatitude Lubomyr, His Excellency Ivan Semedii, His Excellency Sofron Stefan Mudrii, His Excellency Mykhail Koltun and Postulators exchange the kiss of peace with the Holy Father.
The choir sings the following troparion:
Apostles, martyrs and prophets, holy, blessed and righteous, who accomplished great deeds and kept the faith!
Having the courage to pray to the Savior for us, ask Him, the Gracious One, to save our souls.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.
The universe offers the God-bearing martyrs, to You, Lord, the Creator of nature, as the first-fruits of creation; by their prayers, through the Mother of God, preserve Your Church in great peace, o Most Merciful One.
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