November is the month of commemoration to honor the victims of the 1932-1933 genocide-famine in Ukraine.
A website curating all sorts of events, resources, and reflections on the Holodomor can be found here. This website is work of the U.S. Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Awareness 1932-33.
This year it is the 85th Anniversary of this VERY tragic event of human history.
Father Ivan Kaszcak, PhD, presenting on Soter Stephen Ortynsky (1866-1916), first bishop of Ukrainian Greek Catholics in the USA beginning when he received jurisdiction on 3 January 1913.
The lecture was sponsored by American Russian Citizens Club of Shelton, The Lemko Association of the U.S.A., and The New England Chapter of the Carpato-Rusyn which took place at the American Russian Citizens’ Club, Shelton, CT.
A Basilian monk, Ortynsky was ordained bishop on 12 May 1907, in St George’s, Lviv. His cathedral in Philadelphia at the time of his ministry was the former St James Episcopal Church; now a new cathedral has been built where the bishop is in repose, under the title of the Immaculate Conception. Ortynsky was the only Eastern Catholic bishop in the Western world at the time.
Father Ivan is a priest of the Stamford Eparchy and pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Church in Kerhonkson, NY. He has made it his mission to teach and publish on historical matters of the Ukrainian Church in the USA.
Father Ivan gave great information but he also reminded us of the importance of one’s humanity. A terrific presentation!!!!
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Sunday, 10/22/17 20th Sunday after Pentecost —The Holy Wonderworker and Equal-to-the Apostles Abercius
9:00 a.m. +Hryhorij Dubno requested by the Family
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish
Epistle: Galatians 1:11:19
Gospel: Luke 16:19-31, Tone 3
Monday, 10/23/17 The Holy Apostle and Brother of the Lord in the Flesh James
5:00 p.m. +Michael, Eudokia, Vladimir (Pan.) requested by Stadnicky family
Tuesday, 10/24/17 The Holy Martyrs Aretas and companions
9:00 a.m. +Michael Kurylo (2nd Anniv. Pan.) requested by Pauline Kurylo
Wednesday, 10/25/17 The Holy Martyrs and Notaries Marcian and Martyrius
9:00 a.m. God’s blessing and health for Olga Mackew (105th birthday) requested by Sestrichi
Thursday, 10/26/17 The Holy and Glorious Great-Martyr Demetrius
8:00 a.m. no special intention for the Divine Liturgy
Friday, 10/27/17 The Holy Martyr Nestor
9:00 a.m. God’s blessing and health for Antonina Rotko requested by Kateryna Szymkiw
Saturday, 10/28/17 The Holy Martyrs Terentius and Neonila
9:00 a.m. no special intention for the Divine Liturgy
Sunday, 10/29/17 21st Sunday after Pentecost —The Holy Venerable-Martyr Anastasia
9:00 a.m. Special Intention
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish
Epistle: Galatians 2:16:20
Gospel: Luke 8:26-39, Tone 4
Christ is in our midst!
1. WELCOME! New parishioners are always welcome in our parish. If someone wishes to join, please contact Father Iura Godenciuc at 203 865-0388 or our Financial Secretary Natalie Chermak at 203 468-0367.
2. AFTER DIVINE LITURGY: Dear parishioners and guests, after each Divine Liturgy, coffee and hard rolls are available in the church hall.
3. VIGIL LIGHT: This week vigil light is offered to the glory of God by Michael and Vira Walnycky for God’s blessing and health for all members of their family.
4. FOOD DRIVE: Judy Ellis leads the mercy project which provides food items to the needy. A container is in our church vestibule for non-perishable food. This collection will be taken every week. Father Iura will distribute the food to those in need. Thanks for your support.
5. K of C: The Knights of Columbus Blessed Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Council will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, November 6, at 7:00 p.m. in the church hall. All men of parish are invited to attend to see what the Knights are all about and what they do and what you can do with them for your parish.
6. St. Michael’s Day: St. Michael’s day will be celebrated on November 12. On this day we will have only one (1) Divine Liturgy at 10:30 a.m. After the Divine Liturgy, we will have a dinner and short program. All parishioners are cordially invited to this celebration. Tickets will be available through Luba Dubno. Tickets are $20.00 for adults, $10.00 for youth between 14-18. 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 to donate cakes for a desert.
7. ROOF REPAIR FUND ROOF, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLEDGES: Please consider the immediate as well as the long term repair capital improvement projects, roof and physical plant. (i.e., parking lot) that has been planned, both now and for the future and make a generous contribution to allow us to protect our property. The church hall roof which is 34 years old has developed major leaks. We have conducted a temporary patch to the hall roof to give us time to build up a Roof Repair Fund in a restricted account. As well as repairing the various roofs that needed treatment, especially the sacristy roof which had serious problems. These roofs have been repaired and must be maintained to prevent further water damage to our property and we cannot pay for them from regular weekly collection. Roof Repair Fund as well as Capital Improvement Fund envelopes as well as the long term Pledge forms are available in the vestibule of our church for your special sacrificial gift. Thank you for helping to keep our physical structures in good condition for our use today and for the next generation tomorrow.
St Luke, convert, evangelist, physician, artistPyrohy is Saturday is coming this week on Saturday, October 21. Please place your order for Pyrohy TODAY for $6.00 per dozen.
To call your order in for pick up Saturday in St Michael’s church hall:
•Lydia Koziupa: 203-467-2285
•Alexis Hickerson: 475-221-8399
•Sophie DeCarlo: 203-468-2761
The final two Pyrohy Saturdays of 2017 are November 18 and December 16.
Kovbasa Dinner: The Knights of Columbus Council will be making fresh ¾ kielbasa (kovbasa) baked and fried, with 1+ pound of fresh cooked cabbage with a vegetable mix. A good meal for two people. These meals will be available when you pick up your pyrohy’s on October 21. The price for the meal this time will be $12.00. Cash or check payable to the “KofC Council 16253.”
The kovbasa is coming from the Lasowiak Deli (63 Derby Avenue, Derby). It will be the “REGULAR” Kielbasa.
Please pre-order to ensure that we make enough for everyone. Call (203) 789-9554 only and leave a message with your order.
Anne Applebaum’s book, Red Famine is spoken of as a major contribution to the public recognition of the state-orchestrated famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine during which estimated 4 million Ukrainian died. The book puts the story of the forced famine (Holodomor) in the context of the Russian imperial, early Soviet (Leninist and Stalinist), as well as post-Soviet attempts to subjugate Ukraine. Red Famine integrates newly available archival evidence into an account that is compelling and well-written. Of special value is Applebaum’s attention to the politics of memory and the relentless attempts by the Soviet and the present-day Russian government to distort, diminish, and suppress the memory of the genocide against the Ukrainian nation.
One reviewer said, “If you want to have one book in your library on the Ukrainian Holocaust of 1932-1933, this is the book to own and read. Get a copy of Red Famine.
The author is a columnist for the Washington Post and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. Applebaum is a Professor of Practice at the London School of Economics’s Institute of Global Affairs where she runs Arena, a program on disinformation and 21st century propaganda. Previous history books include Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956, Gulag: A History (for which she won a Pulitzer in 2004); as a cookbook author she has From a Polish Country House Kitchen, and a travelogue writer, Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe.
Anne Applebaum, 53, is a native of Washington, DC, she graduated from Yale University, was a Marshall Scholar at the LSE and St. Antony’s College, Oxford. Anne is married to Radoslaw Sikorski, a Polish politician and writer. They have two children, Alexander and Tadeusz.
Rosemary Orifice Brezicki, 58, of Northford, reposed in the Lord on Wednesday, October 11, 2017. She was the beloved wife of 34 years to Rudolph Brezicki, Jr.
Let us pray for the peaceful repose Rosemary and for the consolation of her family. It is the Brezicki family who have been the Church’s benefactors of the pussy willows used on Hosanna Sunday.
Her funeral procession will leave the North Haven Funeral Home, 36 Washington Avenue, Monday morning at 9:15. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated in St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church, New Haven at 10:00. Interment will follow in Northford Cemetery. The visiting hours will be Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. with a Panachyda service at 5:00.
Eternal Memory.
[be sure to watch the video linked below]
Why is the Seventh Ecumenical Council important to Christians? Is the consideration of the Council relevant to us today? This council was held in Nicaea, Asia Minor in AD 787 under the presidency of Empress Irene and history tells us that 367 bishops were present. It is also called Second Council of Nicaea.
The Iconoclast Controversy: The very heated debated centered around the use of icons in the Church and the controversy between the iconoclasts and iconophiles. The Iconoclasts (“icon-smashers”), started by the Emperor Leo III, were suspicious of religious art especially sacred art that depicted Trinity, saints, biblical acts, and humans; they demanded that the Church rid itself of such art and that it be destroyed or broken (as the term “iconoclast” implies). Philosophically, the Iconoclasts were very likely influenced by the Jewish and Muslim thinking that prohibits the creation and use of sacred images. For them, the fear was idolatry —the worship of things over the worship of God. And we ought to avoid wrong and false worship.
The controversy over images spilled over into matters concerning what it means to say (1) that Jesus is the “image of the Father,” the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity,” and that we are redeemed. we are “persons”; and (2) that man and woman are persons (not mere individuals). Curiously, we are still fighting many of these issues in 2017.
The Church’s response: The people who love icons (“iconophilles”) believed that icons served to preserve the doctrinal teachings of the Church; they considered icons to be man’s dynamic way of expressing the divine through art and beauty. Iconophilles remind us that idolatry is wrong, and false. The veneration of icons is not false worship but images are not the problem. There is a difference between worship and veneration. We worship God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) the creator of all things. We venerate (give honor to) the Cross, the saints, the Bible because these things and people are connected to Jesus Christ.
On this Sunday, we also remember the Nicea II Council in 787, which defined that we can make images (icons) of our Lord and the saints, and venerate them. This council was held in the midst of the iconoclastic (the “image breaking”) controversy, the first phase from 726-787, and the second phase from 814-842. It draws attention to how important images are for us. I know of few homes that do not have a picture, today usually a photograph but sometimes a portrait or drawing, of those we love.
If we love Christ first with our whole heart and mind and soul, the image helps us to focus that love. We know these images are only paper or wood and ink or paint, but through the eyes of our body they make the person present in spirit. Yet some people hate images. There is a danger of idolatry, and the council did dialogue with those people who had that fear of idol-worship, and so defined clearly how images are to be venerated: “For the more they are contemplated, the more they move to fervent memory of their prototypes. Therefore, it is proper to accord to them a fervent and reverent adoration, not, however, the veritable worship which, according to our faith, belongs to the Divine Being alone — for the honor accorded to the image passes over to its prototype, and whoever adores the image adores in it the reality of what is there represented.” This is the Christian faith. We cannot make images of the divine nature, but the mystery of the incarnation, in which the Word of God became truly a human being, the two natures united in one person, allows us to make images of Jesus, who was like us in every way except sin. This leads us to a deeper mystery, that we are created in the image of God, and that “all of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)” And the glory and the wisdom of the Lord is his emptying, his love, his cross and his resurrection.
Meditation by Archpriest David Petras