On Sunday, the town of Dolyna in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast celebrated its 1,035th anniversary. Two new monuments were opened within the framework of the festive program and consecrated by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
Since the early morning, parishioners from Dolyna and nearby villages gathered at the Church of Nativity of the Holy Virgin. People came with their families, wearing their best clothes, embroidered shirts, some brought sick children to receive blessing from the Greek Catholic Metropolitan. In his sermon during the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav called on to pray for peace in Ukraine. “Today we must ask mothers to perhaps bless their children for sacrifice in the name of the future life of Ukraine,” the priest said.
Besides, the metropolitan commemorated Liubachivsky, since today is the 100th birthday anniversary of the Church’s former leader. On this occasion, a monument was put up in Dolyna, which His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk consecrated during his visit. The current head of the Church awarded honor diplomas to those who initiated and actively participated in erecting the first monument to Cardinal Myroslav-Ivan Liubachivsky.
Also, a monument to the well-known patrons of the town, Tetiana and Omelian Antonovych, was opened at the very heart of Dolyna, near the regional Boikivshchyna Museum. “I have worked on the monument for about a year,” says sculptor Vasyl Zaliasko. “Partially it was related to events that are happening in Ukraine now. It was a very interesting work, because these people were intelligent, educated, charismatic, they had done a lot for the town and the future of each of us. There were many ideas of the sculpture’s appearance. When a sketch was made, all doubts disappeared, and this is exactly what the monument dedicated to the Antonovych spouses looks like now.”
