On September 20, 2015 a ceremony of unveiling the first in the US monument to honor the Heavenly Hundred and all the killed heroes of Ukraine took place in Bloomingdale (Illinois), near the Ukrainian Orthodox Church named after St. Andrew First-Called. The ceremony of sanctifying was held by Most Holy Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine Filaret. The ceremony of unveiling was attended by Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalie Jaresko, General Consulate of Ukraine in Chicago Larysa Herasko, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, and Congressman Peter Roskam, according to the website of the General Consulate of Ukraine in Chicago. And Senators John McCain and Mark Kirk sent greeting letters.
For the first time the news on the erection of this memorial appeared back on February on the portal of Ukrainian Diaspora Vidia. “The first and largest project of this type in the diaspora is moving forward very fast,” Ivan Jaresko, who heads the parish council of the St. Andrew Church.
The design of the monument was developed by sculptor from Kyiv Yevhen Prokopov, who created a number of sculpture compositions and monuments in Ukraine and abroad. The architect is Orest Baranyk. This is not the first time the two US-based Ukrainian artists work together.
According to the idea of the initiators, the monument is honoring everyone who gave their lives for freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine. “The main idea of this monument is that the main symbol (the cross) includes 100 crosses. A hundred of human destinies were united by one belief which gave way to an immortal mass movement. Blue crosses symbolize the souls of the dead, the white ones – the heroes whose destiny was saved. They were standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the Maidan and were united by their heroism. The polished surface of the monument will reflect the sky, which is an allegory to the Heavenly Hundred,” Yevhen Prokopov was quoted as saying by ukrweekly.com.
Natalie Jaresko thanked the parishioners of the church and all the citizens who made a donation to erect the monument, by this “securing centuries’ long memory for real patriots and examples of civic awareness.”
“The memorial which looks like a Cossack cross made of stainless steel with small crosses depicted on it must resemble the numerous heroic deeds made by every of these real patriots,” Natalie Jaresko wrote on her Facebook page. She also added that this “symbolical tribute to the heroic devotion of our fellow countrymen” became possible owing to the efforts of the parish of St. Andrew’s Church, where she grew up and where her brother Ivan is serving now.
Previously, Vidia reported, the donors or groups that will donate over 1,000 dollars for erecting the monument will be included in the Hundred of the Thousand Donors. They will receive a memorable coin of the Heavenly Hundred from the National Bank of Ukraine and a certificate of gratitude.
