Christ is in our midst!
The next meeting of Knights of Columbus Blessed Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Council will be held TOMORROW at 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Name Room. All men of the parish are invited to attend.
St. Michael’s Day will be celebrated on November 24th. On this day we will have only One Divine Liturgy at 10:30 AM. After the Divine Liturgy, we will have a dinner and short program. All parishioners are cordially invited to this celebration. Tickets are available through Anya Rohmer Hanson. Tickets are $25.00 for adults, $10.00 for youth between 14 and 18. Free for students Ridna Shkola, altar boys and for children under 12. We will be running a raffle. If you would like to donate any items to be raffled, please bring them to our church hall on Sundays before our Feast Day. Also we ask for donations for dessert.
The next Pyrohy Saturday is November 16th. Anya Rohmer Hanson will be away for 2-3 months. For ordering pyrohy, call Alexis Hickerson at (475) 221-8399.
The Ukrainian Ridna Shkola of New Haven had started its school year with 3 classes: 1.) A nursery school program for children 3-5 years old; 2.) A class to teach Ukrainian to English language-speaking children ages 6-10; 3.) A class where instruction is only in the Ukrainian language for children 8-11 years old. Classes are from 9:30 to 11:30 each Saturday morning. Religious instruction follows at 11:30 am. We have dance instruction as well from 12:00 noon.
November 8 is the feast day of our patron, Saint Michael the Archangel. St. Michael, which means “Who is like unto God”, is mentioned four times in Scripture: Daniel 10:13 and 12:1, in Jude 9 and in Revelation 12:7. Scripture reveals to us that Saint Michael is known as the “Prince of the Heavenly Host,” hence the leader of all angels. It is to the Prince of the Heavenly Host that we owe a debt of gratitude for casting Lucifer and the evil spirits down to Hell; he is invoked for protection against Satan and all evil. Sacred Tradition teaches that there are four offices connected to Saint Michael: 1.) To fight against Satan, his minions and the power of evil; 2.) To rescue and protect the faithful from evil, especially at the hour of death; 3.) To lead the people of God to full communion with God Himself; 4.) To call our souls to judgement before God.
The Holodomor Remembrance in New York City will take place on Saturday, November 16. The cost for bus $40.00 for adults, $20.00 for students. To reserve seats call Halia Lodynsky 203 494-6278. The bus will stop in New Haven at 9:30 Ikea Parking Lot (rear) Brewery Street.
STAMFORD CHARITIES APPEAL
REMINDER: Please don’t forget to donate to the Charities Appeal. Kindly make checks payable to the Byzantine Rite Eparchy of Stamford. DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM TO THE CHANCERY OFFICE. We sincerely ask all parishioners to make generous contributions.
Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky
Venerable Andrey Sheptytsky was born in 1865 in a village 30 miles from Lviv, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. He entered the Order of St. Basil and was professed in 1889. In 1892, he made solemn profession and was ordained a priest. In 1899 he was consecrated a bishop, and appointed Bishop of the Ukrainian Eparchy of Stanislaviv (now Ivano-Frankivsk). Then in 1901 he was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Eparchy of Lviv, making him head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He remained in this position until his death on November 1, 1944, at the age of 79. His time as Metropolitan Archbishop was marked by conflict with and persecution by the successive governments that ruled Ukraine, including the Russian Empire, the Second Polish Republic, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union. Under the Russian Empire, he was jailed from 1914 to 1917 for his pro-Ukrainian position and his promotion of Catholicism. The Second Polish Republic twice held him for supporting an independent Ukrainian state and for opposing Latinization. When the Soviet Union occupied Poland in 1939, he opposed the atheist regime and supported an independent Ukraine, and at first welcomed Nazi armies as liberators when they pushed back the Soviets in 1941. However, he spoke up against Nazi policy towards Jews, encouraging his faithful to treat Jews well, with a 1942 pastoral letter. He also encouraged his priests and local abbots to follow his example, and shelter Jews. Archbishop Sheptytsky also promoted Christian unity: the Archbishop worked tirelessly throughout his lifetime for reconciliation between Ukrainians, Russians and Poles, as well as other nations and groups. Particularly legendary were his efforts to see Catholics and Orthodox overcome their historical estrangement as he was a precursor of the ecumenical movement long before the Catholic Church officially endorsed the movement. Concerned for the poor, Sheptytsky used his resources to create a free clinic, provide countless scholarships and help victims of famine, flooding and war. At the moment, the process of his beatification is ongoing. (From “The Way” – October 20, 2019)