www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Books Serge Keleher: Passion and Resurrection - The Greek Catholic ...

I read the version published by Stauropegion, L'viv 1993.
I heard that the author was planning an new expanded edition. Maybe some people on this forum have ideas where they would be interested in further information on topics covered by the book?

Here is something I noticed on page 15:

Would not the failure to recognise a council called Ecumenical by the Pope not be close to schism? When did the Polish bishops recognise Florence (assuming they dont still reject it)?

BTW Here the full title is "Passion and Resurrection - The Greek Catholic Church in Soviet Ukraine 1939-1989"

Dear Azarius,

Why don't you ask the author yourself?

We are very fortunate in that Father Serge is a *daily* poster on this forum!!!

Hopefully he will see your post and answer you.

Alice

Azarius asks:

I'm not at all sure that "close to schism" is a canonical category of discussion. The list of Ecumenical Councils often given by Catholic historians is an informal list, and does not itself bind anyone.

The time of the Council of Florence was quite complicated; there was a rival council at more-or-less the same time, which was not overly important to the topic of my book.


I don't know whether (or when) the Polish hierarchy ever recognized the Council of Florence by any formal act.

If Florence interests you there are several books on the subject of that council you might wish to read.

Fr. Serge

Thanks Fr Serge.

There's something on page 43 that interested me since it seems similar to what happened at the start of the Anglican schism.


When the Church in England had a temporary "resurrection" under Queen Mary, Cardinal Pole was sent to absolve from the schism. Did something similar take place in Ukraine in 1989?

Not really, since no Greek-Catholic Bishop had broken communion with the Catholic Church. Priests who had done this and who were still alive in 1989 and thereafter and who requested re-admission to the Greek-Catholic Church were absolved by the local Bishop and that was that. By this time, of course, such Priests were quite elderly, and had often retired, and simply wanted to return for the sake of their own consciences and to give good example.

Younger priests who wanted to join us were welcomed on production of evidence that they had been ordained. Altogether this was well over five hundred priests. In most cases the parish(es) these priests had been serving followed their priest's lead back into the Greek-Catholic Church.

Fr. Serge

Father, bless!

Do you have any idea as to how many Orthodox priests who had been formerly members of the UGCC prior to 1946 chose to join the UAOC instead?

I think that two of the Kyivan Patriarchs -- Dimitrij (Yarema) and Volodomyr (Romaniuk) -- were actually former Catholics.

Difficult to be sure of numbers, because there was and still is much "traffic" among the several autocephalist groups.

Fr. Serge

On page 45 are described some of the terrible things the Greek Catholic priests had to go through in 1945

This reminds me of the situation of the early martyrs. Why could not they use Mental Reservation and just place some incense on the tripod in front of a statue which they (and probably also the Roman judge) did not believe to be a god? Was it just the lack of easy absolution for such an action, or would they perhaps not agree with the 20th century development of Mental Reservation?

If you are presuming to sit in judgement on the priests in that situation, you would do well to remember the words of Our Saviour on judging others.

How do you know how easy it might or might not have been to obtain absolution? I wrote only that the priests had sought absolution.

Incidentally, you are correct to imply that Graeco-Roman paganism was not in the least a matter of "faith" - that was why people found it so difficult to grasp why the Christians were so stubborn about the matter. But when did you last notice anyone offering divine honors to Jove, or Mars, or Stalin?

Fr. Serge

The point I was making was simply that the authorities did not care what anyone believed in, or what they did in Church.

Dear Father Serge,

I understand your point, and I was not trying to judge these priests. I was hoping that my post might prompt a discussion about the development of Mental Reservation in the Church - but perhaps I should start a new thread for that.

Stalin did attempt to give himself a godlike aura, like some of the Emperors who persecuted the early Church. I read somewhere else (not your book) that there were groups in the Ukraine in the 1930s who claimed that Stalin was the Antichrist (I don't think these people lasted long).
Just in case the real Antichrist arrives in our generation it would be useful to know to what degree we can use Mental Reservation to appear to comply with his demands without committing Mortal Sin. I remain puzzled as to why the early martyrs could not use Mental Reservation (thinking "I do not agree this is a god") and avoid all that bloodshed.


Well I did witness a sinister demonstration (Pamyat?) in Russia where someone reverently carried a picture of Stalin next to someone carrying an icon of Christ.
Also since the removal of the ban against Chinese Rites there are some strange sights to be seen in some churches (as shown here see halfway down this page [andrew4jc.blogspot.com] ) where divine honors seem to be offered to Confucius in a Catholic Church.

The very idea of someone carrying a picture of Stalin adjacent to an Icon of Christ is unspeakable. But there are always strange folk lurking around.

The late George Lincoln Rockwell actually built an altar (in a room in his house) to Adolph Hitler!

Takes all kinds, they do say!

As to the Martyrs and "mental reservation" - one can certainly feel sorry for those who collapse under torture. But the Church continues to honor those who do not compromise. I say this not to praise myself - I wasn't there - but to state the Church's teaching unequivocally. In England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall there were those who tried to hang on by compromising - need I say what the result was?

Fr. Serge

Unfortunately I was too shocked/scared to take a picture. But Stalin iconography has been in the news recently. The picture I saw in procession looks like this [photoxpress.biz] one shown above the head of Father Yevstafy Zhakov. Two more Stalin/Icon pictures are here [politikokafeneio.com].

Going back to the book, on page 43 it says


Does this mean Ireneus Kostel'nyk had been fighting under the Nazis in 1944?

I am wondering whether liturgical commemoration of apostate civil rulers (either Hitler or Stalin) might have been part of the problem experienced by Greek Catholic priests in 1945.
Had the invading Nazis requested Greek Catholic priests to commemorate Hitler in the Liturgy (during their occupation of Ukraine 1941-1944)? If so was Father Kostel'nyk one who had complied? I can see why such action might be viewed as collaboration by the Soviets in 1945.

After Father Kostel'nyk gave in to the Soviet government, did he require the "signers" to commemorate Stalin by name in the Liturgy?

I presume the Greek Catholic priests who resisted both Hitler and Stalin would use a generic commemoration of "government" to avoid solemnly naming these apostates in the Liturgy?

Just my two folleis,

that sight only seems odd to you because you may not be familiar with what the traditional Chinese rites are. What is happening in those pictures is an offering of incense, candles and bows to a tablet representing the benevolent ancestors, rather like the Manes in Roman lore. The tablet here has nothing to do with Confucius, and thoe honours offered are nothing like divine honours.

The 'ancestors' are considered to take an active interest in the welfare of the living - much like the faithful departed. They are not worshipped or given divine honours, and the term 'ancestor worship' is highly inaccurate - it's far more like 'ancestor veneration'.


Edward

To the question

I cannot be certain of the date, but 1944 is likely. Ireneus Kostelnyk fought as part of the SS Division "Halychyna", which formed part of the German Army in the latter part of World War II.

Metropolitan Andrew forbade all the Greek-Catholic Churches to display any political flags or other insignia, and forbade the priests to sing liturgical acclamations (the traditional prayer for "Many Years") for any political leader. I was only 3 years old when World War II ended and had spent those 3 years in New York, so I had no opportunity to notice whether anybody was singing liturgical acclamations for Hitler. Much later I many times attended Russian Orthodox services in the USSR and never heard any specific commemoration of the Soviet government - the clergy prayed for "our divinely protected country".

When Brezhnev died Patriarch Pimen offered a Panychida for him in Red Square; this required some lingustic adjustment since Brezhnev could scarcely be described as "the servant of God"!

Fr. Serge

What term was substituted?