Спочатку новостворена парафія (близько 1000 родин) користала з гостинности наших православних братів, у Катедральному Соборі Св. Князя Володимира..
Construction of the new church was completed between 1971 and 1973. Architect Jaroslav Korsunsky of Minneapolis designed the church, employing the ByzantineUkrainian style of 11-13th century Ukraine. During this period, Ukraine was under the cultural and religious influence of Byzantium. Churches of this style are traditionally cruciform, with the altar facing the East. The rounded gold dome, along with a strong preference for circular patterns?avoiding almost all angular designsis also typical of this style.
Members of the parish are proud of the fact that the Primate of the Ukrainian Church, Patriarch Josyf Slipyj, was involved in all significant events of the parish's development. Besides establishing the parish, Patriarch Josyf, who now resides in Rome, blessed the cornerstone of the church and, subsequently, in 1973 blessed the church itself. The reason for the parishioners' pride has to do with the Patriarch's position in the Catholic Church as a Confessor for the Faith. In 1945, as Metropolitan?Archbishop of Lviv, Western Ukraine, Patriarch Slipyj was arrested by the Soviet authorities and held prisoner in Siberian labor camps for 18 years. Refusing to give in to Soviet pressure to renounce the Catholic faith in favor of Russian Orthodoxy, Patriarch Josyf was repeatedly sentenced to harsh prison terms. Through the intervention of Pope John XXIII and President John F. Kennedy, Patriarch Slipyj was released from Siberian imprisonment in 1963. Since then, he has launched a renewal within the Ukrainian Church in the West, where about 1,500,000 Ukrainian Catholics reside. Taking the lead from his predecessor, Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky (t1944), as well as the decisions of the Second Vatican Council, Josyf Slipyj has worked to restore self?government to the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the form of a Patriarchate. In 1965, Patriarch Slipyj was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI.
As the early Church developed, diverse Christian communities gave rise to what is commonly called "Rites." The Church of Alexandria developed the Alexandrian Rite, that of Antioch the Antiochene Rite, that of Rome the Roman or "Latin" Rite, etc. Byzantium (Constantinople) gave rise to the Byzantine Rite. It was this Rite which was adopted in 988 by Volodymyr, the Grand?Duke of Kiev, when he decided to make Christianity the official religion of his realm. The milennium of this event, referred to as the "Baptism of Ukraine," will be celebrated in 1988. Christianity, however, was preached in Ukraine before Volodymyr's time. His grandmother, Olha (t969), for example, became a Christian in her adult years and was later canonized. It is in honor of these two great saints of Ukraine that the parish is named.
The term "Rite" does not only refer to external rituals. The Ukrainian Church is not only different from the Roman Church in her liturgy, but also in her spirituality, theological emphases, and canonical discipline. An example of each would be the Byzantine?Ukrainian Rite's distinctive approach to public and private prayer (spirituality), its greater emphasis on the divinity of Christ (theology), and its tradition of a married clergy (canonical discipline).
Among the most visible distinctive elements of the Rite are church art, architecture, music, and liturgy. Iconography is the term used when speaking of the paintings in the church. Since they are not painted for the sake of decoration or simple esthetic pleasure, they are not ordinary paintings. Rather, they are images?"icon" in Greek means "image"?of the world transfigured by the power of God. Viewers often note the abstraction of icons. This abstraction (e.g., a tampering with proportions and the composition of iconographic scenes) is usually an attempt to represent the otherness of the transfigured universe. The reality of which the saints partake is a transformed reality.
The angles drawn in the background of iconographic scenes illustrate how perspective and proportions are changed for the sake of a spiritual emphasis. Frequently, elements of the background?furniture, mountains, or the contours of secondary figures?are drawn in such a way as to point to the central character of the icon. By means of this effect, the eyes of the worshipper are attracted to that which is spiritually most important in the icon.
Also, icons are meant to be contemplated?used as modes of communion with God and His saints. Thus, the eyes of those depicted on icons are proportionately larger than ordinary human eyes. They are indeed meant to be looked into. In no way, however, do we worship icons. Rather, the reverence shown towards them is directed to the figures depicted.
Iconography is also a kind of language. Thus, certain elements have specific meanings. The colors employed, for example, are meant to convey a message. Christ, for example, is portrayed in a burgundy robe covered by another blue robe. Burgundy here denotes royalty?and, by extension, divinity?while blue symbolizes humanity. Jesus is God before all ages, thus the burgundy undergarment. In His nativity, however, He takes on humanity; thus, the blue outergarment. With the Mother of God it is just the opposite. Mary is a human (blue undergarment), who takes on divinity in bearing the Son of God (burgundy outergarment).
Placement also conveys a message. Icons are not placed haphazardly throughout the church. Rather, their placement follows a definite scheme. In the dome, which represents heaven, we see Christ, the All?Ruler (Pantocrator). Descending we see the events of salvation history, until finally, on ground level, we find ourselves in the company of our forebearers, the saints. This suggests that the church is the union of heaven and earth, as well as the past and the present.
The Crucifixion is portrayed in the northern apse, while in the southern apse we see events relating to the Resurrection. This placement emphasizes that they are two aspects of a single reality.
Kharkiv region of Eastern Ukraine. Upon completion of his studies, Mr. Dykyj traveled to the monasteries of Mount Athos, Greece, for further inspiration. After the Soviets occupied Ukraine in 1921, Mr. Dykyj fled to Yugoslavia where he became renowned for his iconography, painting more than 100 churches. In 1974, the "Midwest Magazine" of the Chicago Sun?Times referred to him as the "Michelangelo of Chicago." The ikonostas, or icon?screen, is also a distinctive element of Eastern?Rite churches. It reminds us that the area around the altar is the Holy of Holies. But although the ikonostas separates, it also unites, for the icons placed therein unite the worshipper with God. Here again placement has its symbolism. On the central doors ("royal gates") are depicted the four evangelists, whileover the gates we see the Last Supper. Thus, it is through the Gospel and participation in the eucharistic life of the Church that we enter the Kingdom of God.
The wooden frame of the ikonostas was hand?carved from oak by Paul Mozes of New York.
The stained?glass windows are the work of Jaroslav Baransky, Yonkers, New York. Those in the southern apse portray the Protection of the Mother of God flanked by Sts. Volodymyr and Olha while those in the northern apse depict patron saints of Ukraine: St. Andrew, St. Michael and St. George.
A copy of the miracle?working icon of Zarvanycia, Western Ukraine. The icon depicts the Mother of God holding the Christ child.
The original icon dating from the 13th century, was protectively hidden in 1944, on the eve of the Soviet occupation of Western Ukraine.
In 1979, Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Parish commissioned this copy of the Zarvanycia icon. In that year it was blessed by Patriarch Josyf in Rome. Since that time the parish has been the site of an annual pilgrimage on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God (October 14). On that day, thousands of worshippers gather to beseech the Mother of God for a better future for their homeland Ukraine.
|
Initially, the congregation of 1,000 families found a temporary home at St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral (Oakley and Cortez sts.). This strengthened ecumenical ties with the Orthodox brethren which continue to this day..
Construction of the new church was completed between 1971 and 1973. Architect Jaroslav Korsunsky of Minneapolis designed the church, employing the ByzantineUkrainian style of 11-13th century Ukraine. During this period, Ukraine was under the cultural and religious influence of Byzantium. Churches of this style are traditionally cruciform, with the altar facing the East. The rounded gold dome, along with a strong preference for circular patterns?avoiding almost all angular designsis also typical of this style.
Members of the parish are proud of the fact that the Primate of the Ukrainian Church, Patriarch Josyf Slipyj, was involved in all significant events of the parish's development. Besides establishing the parish, Patriarch Josyf, who now resides in Rome, blessed the cornerstone of the church and, subsequently, in 1973 blessed the church itself. The reason for the parishioners' pride has to do with the Patriarch's position in the Catholic Church as a Confessor for the Faith. In 1945, as Metropolitan?Archbishop of Lviv, Western Ukraine, Patriarch Slipyj was arrested by the Soviet authorities and held prisoner in Siberian labor camps for 18 years. Refusing to give in to Soviet pressure to renounce the Catholic faith in favor of Russian Orthodoxy, Patriarch Josyf was repeatedly sentenced to harsh prison terms. Through the intervention of Pope John XXIII and President John F. Kennedy, Patriarch Slipyj was released from Siberian imprisonment in 1963. Since then, he has launched a renewal within the Ukrainian Church in the West, where about 1,500,000 Ukrainian Catholics reside. Taking the lead from his predecessor, Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky (t1944), as well as the decisions of the Second Vatican Council, Josyf Slipyj has worked to restore self?government to the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the form of a Patriarchate. In 1965, Patriarch Slipyj was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI.
As the early Church developed, diverse Christian communities gave rise to what is commonly called "Rites." The Church of Alexandria developed the Alexandrian Rite, that of Antioch the Antiochene Rite, that of Rome the Roman or "Latin" Rite, etc. Byzantium (Constantinople) gave rise to the Byzantine Rite. It was this Rite which was adopted in 988 by Volodymyr, the Grand?Duke of Kiev, when he decided to make Christianity the official religion of his realm. The milennium of this event, referred to as the "Baptism of Ukraine," will be celebrated in 1988. Christianity, however, was preached in Ukraine before Volodymyr's time. His grandmother, Olha (t969), for example, became a Christian in her adult years and was later canonized. It is in honor of these two great saints of Ukraine that the parish is named.
The term "Rite" does not only refer to external rituals. The Ukrainian Church is not only different from the Roman Church in her liturgy, but also in her spirituality, theological emphases, and canonical discipline. An example of each would be the Byzantine?Ukrainian Rite's distinctive approach to public and private prayer (spirituality), its greater emphasis on the divinity of Christ (theology), and its tradition of a married clergy (canonical discipline).
Among the most visible distinctive elements of the Rite are church art, architecture, music, and liturgy. Iconography is the term used when speaking of the paintings in the church. Since they are not painted for the sake of decoration or simple esthetic pleasure, they are not ordinary paintings. Rather, they are images?"icon" in Greek means "image"?of the world transfigured by the power of God. Viewers often note the abstraction of icons. This abstraction (e.g., a tampering with proportions and the composition of iconographic scenes) is usually an attempt to represent the otherness of the transfigured universe. The reality of which the saints partake is a transformed reality.
The angles drawn in the background of iconographic scenes illustrate how perspective and proportions are changed for the sake of a spiritual emphasis. Frequently, elements of the background?furniture, mountains, or the contours of secondary figures?are drawn in such a way as to point to the central character of the icon. By means of this effect, the eyes of the worshipper are attracted to that which is spiritually most important in the icon.
Also, icons are meant to be contemplated?used as modes of communion with God and His saints. Thus, the eyes of those depicted on icons are proportionately larger than ordinary human eyes. They are indeed meant to be looked into. In no way, however, do we worship icons. Rather, the reverence shown towards them is directed to the figures depicted.
Iconography is also a kind of language. Thus, certain elements have specific meanings. The colors employed, for example, are meant to convey a message. Christ, for example, is portrayed in a burgundy robe covered by another blue robe. Burgundy here denotes royalty?and, by extension, divinity?while blue symbolizes humanity. Jesus is God before all ages, thus the burgundy undergarment. In His nativity, however, He takes on humanity; thus, the blue outergarment. With the Mother of God it is just the opposite. Mary is a human (blue undergarment), who takes on divinity in bearing the Son of God (burgundy outergarment).
Placement also conveys a message. Icons are not placed haphazardly throughout the church. Rather, their placement follows a definite scheme. In the dome, which represents heaven, we see Christ, the All?Ruler (Pantocrator). Descending we see the events of salvation history, until finally, on ground level, we find ourselves in the company of our forebearers, the saints. This suggests that the church is the union of heaven and earth, as well as the past and the present.
The Crucifixion is portrayed in the northern apse, while in the southern apse we see events relating to the Resurrection. This placement emphasizes that they are two aspects of a single reality.
Kharkiv region of Eastern Ukraine. Upon completion of his studies, Mr. Dykyj traveled to the monasteries of Mount Athos, Greece, for further inspiration. After the Soviets occupied Ukraine in 1921, Mr. Dykyj fled to Yugoslavia where he became renowned for his iconography, painting more than 100 churches. In 1974, the "Midwest Magazine" of the Chicago Sun?Times referred to him as the "Michelangelo of Chicago." The ikonostas, or icon?screen, is also a distinctive element of Eastern?Rite churches. It reminds us that the area around the altar is the Holy of Holies. But although the ikonostas separates, it also unites, for the icons placed therein unite the worshipper with God. Here again placement has its symbolism. On the central doors ("royal gates") are depicted the four evangelists, whileover the gates we see the Last Supper. Thus, it is through the Gospel and participation in the eucharistic life of the Church that we enter the Kingdom of God.
The wooden frame of the ikonostas was hand?carved from oak by Paul Mozes of New York.
The stained?glass windows are the work of Jaroslav Baransky, Yonkers, New York. Those in the southern apse portray the Protection of the Mother of God flanked by Sts. Volodymyr and Olha while those in the northern apse depict patron saints of Ukraine: St. Andrew, St. Michael and St. George.
A copy of the miracle?working icon of Zarvanycia, Western Ukraine. The icon depicts the Mother of God holding the Christ child.
The original icon dating from the 13th century, was protectively hidden in 1944, on the eve of the Soviet occupation of Western Ukraine.
In 1979, Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Parish commissioned this copy of the Zarvanycia icon. In that year it was blessed by Patriarch Josyf in Rome. Since that time the parish has been the site of an annual pilgrimage on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God (October 14). On that day, thousands of worshippers gather to beseech the Mother of God for a better future for their homeland Ukraine.
|
