Among various events during the first couple of weeks in May, the “Faith and Love” benefit academic concert series deserves special notice. These concerts were staged in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Lviv, and Kyiv.
On May 5 the National Opera hosted a gala, the fourth charitable concert entitled “Faith and Love,” which was blessed, organized, and assisted by Liubomyr Huzar, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and involved prominent Ukrainian cultural figures. The proceeds were channeled into the construction of the UGCC’s Patriarchal Resurrection Cathedral in Kyiv. Practically everyone in Ukraine is aware of this construction project on the Left Bank of the Dnipro. This temple is being built in the hope that through it God’s grace will be bestowed on the entire Ukrainian people.
There are three basic aspects to the existence of every house of God: consecration and placement of the cornerstone; consecration of the crosses atop the domes; consecration of the temple, the altar, and the iconostasis. The UGCC Resurrection Cathedral is living through these phases. Its cornerstone was consecrated on Oct. 27, 2002. The Major UGCC Archbishop, Liubomyr Huzar, then said: “We thank our Lord for allowing us to place this cornerstone and build a temple to add to His glory, for this is something our Lord desires from His servants who are doing their best to contribute to this construction project; He will generously reward them with His heavenly riches; He will enhance the spirit of all those who are working on this project; He will keep them out of harm’s way.”
On Oct. 10, 2004, the crosses were consecrated and placed. I remember the divine service. It was freezing out on the street, yet there were many people and pickets staged by certain political parties, with their PA blaring. Somehow all dissenting, at times indecent, voices died down when the bells started ringing. That was when everyone realized that a cathedral was being built.
His Eminence Liubomyr Huzar started his sermon by thanking all the bishops, parish priests, and parishioners who were contributing to the project, thus spiritually joining the UGCC. Later on, he referred to history, telling the audience about how Soviet authorities had used a big cross [atop a temple] not far from an air base near Chernivtsi as a beacon for their aircraft. When at one point a blast of wind toppled the cross, the Soviet air base lost its beacon and had to restore it to keep it functioning. With regard to this event, Huzar declared: “The crosses topping the domes of our cathedral, the whole temple, will serve as our beacon. This is a very important event in the life of our Church. What we are after is not the construction of yet another temple; we want this house of God to become a beacon for all of us, people who live in Kyiv, elsewhere in Ukraine, and beyond its borders; [we want it to become] the leading light that will direct us to our Lord.”
Other events took place between these truly historic dates. On March 28, 2004, a chapel located not far from the Cathedral construction site was consecrated, so monks of the Studite Order could conduct services on a regular basis there. Some time between 5 and 6 a.m., Nov. 19, 2005, the chapel burned down. The night watchman on the site called the fire brigade, but the chapel was mostly made of wood, so by the time the fire truck arrived there was practically nothing to salvage. According to the hieromonk Vasyl (Zakharus), who was in charge of the chapel, the fire devoured the altar, the carved icons on the walls, the ciborium, draperies, books of prayers, etc.
The Divine Liturgy was offered in the cathedral on Jan. 19, 2006, marking the feast of Epiphany. The place for praying had been prepared in the basement of the temple. The Liturgy was performed by UGCC clergymen, among them His Eminence Liubomyr Huzar. In his sermon he said that the disaster had forced the community of the faithful — that had gained in size — to look for a proper place where they could pray while rallying even closer round the temple. At first they had used a railroad car and later conceived the idea of using the cathedral’s basement.
Liubomyr Huzar was the first to take the floor during the ceremony at the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv. As head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, he started by telling the audience that on someone’s birthday we shouldn’t wish this person that his/her dreams will come true. He said: “Sometimes, even more often than we know, things happen that are far better than our most cherished dreams,” adding that he had his own dream; he had wanted to collect enough money to finish the construction of the cathedral, but “my dream turned out too simple, yet our Lord had His mercy on me and allowed me to accomplish even more than that… Some will believe that the success of these concerts depends on the scope on which we can lend a sympathetic ear and contribute our money to the perception of beauty, to the perception of spiritual values that are secreted in this beauty.”
Liubomyr Huzar went on to thank everyone, primarily all those involved in the project. Those directly involved were presented with special certificates. The Bronze Certificate went to Mykhailo Kostiuk, the Silver Certificate, to Vasyl Koshchyntsiv, and the Gold Certificate, to Ivan Vasiunuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine.
The rest were the performers who had decided to share their talents in return for token compensation, among them opera singers, virtuoso musicians, men of letters, and, of course, the stage director, production designer, and emcee. Words of gratitude were also conveyed to the enthusiastic audience.
It was a holiday of music and recital. The emcee correctly noted that voice is the tool with the aid of which man can communicate with the Lord. That soiree in Kyiv gathered international stars, among them the Harmonia Nobile Academic Chamber Orchestra (directed by Merited Artist of Ukraine Oleh Hereta). This orchestra was founded in 1985 by Merited Artist of Ukraine Ihor Pylatiuk, the current rector of Lviv’s Mykhailo Lysenko National Music Academy. In fact, Ihor Pylatiuk conducted throughout the soiree. There was the majestic performance of the Revutsky Municipal Male Choir (directed by People’s Artist of Ukraine Bohdan Antkiv and conducted by Merited Worker of Art Yurii Kurach). Other participants included the Ukrainian composer and pianist Oleksandr Kozarenko; the virtuoso violinist Nazarii Pylatiuk; National Opera soloists Pavlo and Petro Pryimak; National Opera and Bolshoi Theater soloist Taras Shtonda; the Lviv sister duet of Halyna and Natalia Datsko; Viktoria Lukianets, Merited Artist of Ukraine, soloist with the Taras Shevchenko National Opera of Ukraine and the Vienna Opera (she gave six concerts and received thunderous ovations); Vasyl Herasymiuk, laureate of the National Prize of Ukraine; the reputed Ukrainian publisher and writer Ivan Malkevych. The gala performance was directed by Serhii Arkhypchuk. The emcee was Merited Artist of Ukraine Yevhen Nyshchuk.
Liubomyr Huzar said during a press conference in Kyiv (Dec. 19, 2005) that the transfer of his UGCC diocese to Kyiv would help the interconfessional dialog. The construction of the UGCC Resurrection Cathedral would also be instrumental in the process. He added that building temples is more than a simple earthly business. True, it is created by human hands, but its aim is to glorify God and provide spiritual good to His flock.
I might as well quote Liubomyr Huzar as saying, when asked about his appointment as head of the UGCC, that he had received something he wished least of all. With time he must have felt the weight of the cross he is bearing, I believe. Bishop Dionisii (Liakhovych) said, in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of Liubomyr Huzar’s birth, that he remembered when a woman and her child sat next to Liubomyr Huzar at an airport and that the child, a girl, suddenly asked him: “Are you Saint Nicholas?” All adults who heard it laughed, of course, yet this apt analogy is worth being seriously considered. Liubomyr Huzar, as head of the UGCC, has a fluent command of several European languages. He can also understand child talk. We see that he understands the language of culture because he refers to high art while appealing us to build temples of Christian love and openheartedly contribute to such projects as much as we can.
On that festive occasion the Ukrainian Greek Catholics were supported by Eastern Orthodox adherents: there were many well-known figures in the audience. Yurii Lohush said his family was there to support Ukrainians because there is no exaggeration in identifying the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with everything Ukrainian. Let bygones be bygones and hope that Christians in Ukraine will eventually see eye to eye on their church history.
Faith and Love concerts are proof that Liubomyr Huzar is a wise shepherd. He is keenly aware of the times and challenges faced by the Christians. He knows his parishioners and talks to them using contemporary language. I believe his expectations came true: he wanted the people in the audience to emerge from these concerts as worthy individuals. They did just that. Now the important thing is for these people to retain and preserve this sense of cleansing and rejuvenation, and share it with others.
