www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Transcarpathians send letter to Pope Benedict XVI

www.rusynmedia.org/News/2007/rimc140607.html [rusynmedia.org]

Very interesting.

Ungcsertezs

As so often happens, we are confronted with a serious inaccuracy. It is simply not true that Bishop Milan "has abolished the use of the Church Slavonic language in all our church services and introduced Ukrainian instead".

A complete reprinting of the entire series of the Recensio Ruthena service books in Church-Slavonic has just been completed at the direct order of Bishop Milan; His Grace would hardly have done this and simultaneously abolished the use of the Church-Slavonic language!

What is true is that often the Gospel is read in Ukrainian, and sermons are often preached in Ukrainian. It seems unlikely that anyone would understand a sermon preached in Church-Slavonic, which is not and never was a spoken language of ordinary communication. But the corresponding practice is allowed for parishes where the usual language is Hungarian or Romanian, for example.

Just for the record: I enjoy Church-Slavonic and have made some contributions of my own towards the use of that lovely language. I am not an ethnic Ukrainian or an ethnic Rusyn/Carpatho-Russian/Ruthenian and I have no axe to grind on those real or fabricated ethnic issues. Anyone who wants to get an ethno-lingustic rise out of me has only to attack the Irish language.

These rumors persist. It might be well to organize a delegation of reasonably impartial and objective people, including those who can actually distinguish by ear Church-Slavonic from Ukrainian, and those who speak Ukrainian and/or Rusyn/Carpatho-Russian/Ruthenian in its Transcarpathian form. This group could spend a few weeks in the Eparchy of Mukachevo and observe at first hand what is happening - it's too late now to get there in time for Dormition, but there are other occasions for pilgrimages and so forth, and it would be nice to spend some time with the faculty and students at the seminary in Uzhhorod.

Fr. Serge

Yes, lets send in the U.N Inspectors to detemine if there exists in the Mukachevo Eparchy WMU's (Weapons of Mass Ukrainianization)! Just a little humor!

Ungcsertezs

From the letter -
"Ukrainians migrated to our region mainly after 1944". Wow! How interesting! Sounds like "Scots came and snatched Glasgow from English"...

"This policy was implemented at the end of the 20th century in Slovakia by Bishop Hirka. He changed the Church Slavonic language to Slovak in all our church services in the former Czechoslovakia. This resulted in a decrease in the number of Rusyns in Slovakia from about 200,000 in 1920 to about 60,000 in 2002".
Does it mean that the number of the Byzantine Catholics also decreased because of this linguistic switch?

At least the Orthodox Churches in Transcarpathia still use Church Slavonic as the liturgical language. Sermons are given in the Rusyn dialect.

Ungcsertezs

His Grace Vladyka Milan uses Church Slavonic in Podkarpatskaja Rus. As to the Orthodox parishes, many parishes use Church Slavonic in the "Muscovite" way. Not Hospodi but Gospodi. Even at the Orthodox Cathedral in Uzhorod the high-back vestments are in style. It is true that Vladyka Milan is an ethnic Slovak, but he works very hard in the service of Our Lord and for his people. This reminds when the servant of God Metropolitan Andrey became Archbishop of Lviv, Metropolitan of Halych...at his instaltion many complained that now we have a "POLAK" for our Archbishop! Now we are praying for his glorification!

Well said, Father. It is true about Orthodox using Muscovite Slavonic and, I believe, Muscovite Russian in preaching. It seems that many political Rusyns cling to pro-Moscow forces in Zakarpattia (like Vitrenko party) being blinded by their dislike of Ukrainian state and culture. They tend to forget their own history - e.g. how Russian NKVD dealt with Ruthenian activists during post 2WW turmoil.

Only being part of Ukrainian state Transcarpathian Rusyns may have any future.

Priests in the Transcarpathian Orthodox Church (MP) may be Russified, but the people definitely use the Subcarpathian Rusyn pronunciation of Church Slavonic. I attended Orthodox liturgies in Transcarpathia several times during my three visits. The Rusyn Orthodox congregations definitely say "Hospodi"!

Ungcsertezs (Ja Rusyn byl, jesm budu!)

Because they cannot physically say otherwise. it's like me and English "th" sound. I sound like zee Germanz.

To re-inforce Father Serge's comments about Bishop Milan directing that the entire Ruthenian Recension books in Church Slavonic, I would like to confirm this and that these books are now available on the Eastern Christian Publications website.

Also, Bishop Milan has recently printed 500 hardbound copies of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in CHURCH SLAVONIC based on the 1952 Roman edition with some additional petitions and prayers in the back. I understand that this is now the official text for use by all priests and parishes in the Eparchy of Mukachevo. I know this to be fact because 1) I have a copy, 2) I donated the money to produce them and 3) I am honored that the Bishop has commemorated the book to the memory of my grandparents, John and Mary Figel and John and Mary Katchur -- all whom loved Church Slavonic.

Perhaps if more funding was available, more Church Slavonic service books and prayer books could be made available to the priests and lay persons of the Eparchy of Mukachevo.

I know the priest from the Orthodox Cathedral in Uzhorod. His name is the Reverend Protopresbytor Dimitri Sydor, he is one of the leaders of the Union of Subcarpathian Rusyns (Сойм Подкарпатськых Русинов) in Transcarpathia.

His services at the Cathedral in Uzhorod are in Church Slavonic, Rusyn pronunciation, and his sermons are in Rusyn, the vernacular of the people!!!

He wrote a book called "Граматика Русинського Языка из Еванг�ліем од Матфея". Grammar of the Rusyn Language, Gospel of St. Matthew.

The book is in both English and Rusyn, nowhere does he mention Russian, or Ukrainian, or Slovak, but RUSYN. He does mention the extreme Ukrainianization of the Rusyns, especially after the Communists took over following WWII.

Fr. Sydor is also a representative of the World Congress of Rusyns as well.

and a member of Vitrenko party - pro-Moscow communists.

By the way, I forgot to mention earlier - Fr. Avhustyn Voloshyn, the first and only Carpathian president, was a member of the .... Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).

note to the Administrator - should we move this thread to the Town Hall area - it appears to be not about the East-West relations as much as internal Ukrainian politics.

funny, most of Transcarpathian Oblast voted for Yushchenko.

As for Voloshyn, he was a good Rusyn until he was brainwashed by the Ukrainian socialists...

1. Which proves again that people of Transcarpathia do see their future as a part of the Ukrainian sobornopravna derzhava.

2. So, now Rusyns are being brainwashed by the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine pro-Moscow socialists. Is it better for you?

Yup, I reckon' yer right....now really.

If it weren't for the illegal annexation of Transcarpathia after WWII by Uncle Joe Stalin and the Czechoslovak Agreement of 1946, Rusyns would have been a part of then Czechoslovakia, and maybe now free.

Where else do they see their future? In 1991 when they looked at being an autonomous entity within a free Ukraine, the tanks were ready to roll into Uzhorod.

As for the brainwashing, is it better for me? Maybe...was it for you?