www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Tours of Eastern Catholic homelands

I would be interested in hearing about the experiences of Forum members who have made tours of eastern Slovakia, southwest Poland, western Ukraine, and northwest Roumania, especially since the fall of communism. Information on who co-ordinates these tours would also be helpful.

I would as well. I wonder if any on this board have had enough free cash to afford them the opportunity of going. I haven't gone.

Dan L

Oh, many go to those areas! I was, myself in Slovakia just after the fall of communism, but do not have much in the way of comments to make to the Forum...by American standards, the country is very poor, and was still working to overcome the "Soviet Mindset".

Friends who just came back from a missions trip to Ukraine have said that this is still much in evidence regarding the way charity is practiced. They report that the old, and the orphans are in many ways marginalized and ignored, not through an intentional lack, but because many citizens still have the mindset that the state will care for those people, and so they fall out of the consciousness of all but those close to them...there is no sense of the Christian responsibility to help our brothers and sisters. Mind, I am given this report of Ukraine and other Soviet countries, and this is not my first hand experience...

I am told, however, that the repeated mission trips are waking the citizens of these countries up to this responsibility, as they see that people are willing to come from America to help with orphanages, etc...so, the Soviet repressed conscience stirs, and they begin to do more in this respect.

Gaudior, who would appreciate corrections if any of the above is innacurate from the point of view of someone who has been to Ukraine many times...

Medved kindly reminded me that the Carpatho-Rusyn Society has an annual heritage tour. (They have a newsletter for members as well as a website.) I had read about this one, which was to go in June, and last almost 3 weeks. It was to leave from Pittsburgh, go to Presov, by bus into southwest Poland, then back down to western Ukraine, before returning to America. I forget the city the airport was in, but think it is in Slovakia, maybe Bratislava?. Visas were required for the Ukraine portion of the tour, but could be provided by the tour itself with sufficient lead time.

I seem to recall that "The Orthodox Herald" used to mention an annual trip as well, but am not sure whether it was a tour, or simply an annual private trip by their editor and his matushka. Their trips brought back native needlework that was sold to subscribers, etc.

I hope others will have additional information to share, since there apparently is nothing archived within the Forum on this subject. At least, I didn't find anything myself.

The C-RS heritage tour for 2005 will be for visiting Lemko Rusyns in Poland: Wroclaw, Legnica, and more, including Lemko folk festivals in several cities. The July/August newsletter from the Carpatho-Rusyn Society covers it in more detail. Unfortunately, that means my wife and I will need to wait for a different tour, one that will cover Slovak areas around Presov as well as Uzhorod in the Ukraine (her paternal grandfather's ancestral neck of the woods).

Dear Jim,

Please be very careful to refer to Ukraine as just 'Ukraine', and not *THE* Ukraine. I made this innocent error once when I first came to this forum, and got admonished (which may be too kind a word, actually) as never before.

I was shocked!

Needless to say, I have never made that mistake again, and I have even corrected others about it!

Blessings!
Alice

Amen! Yes, please, Jim :rolleyes:

Neil, (who has also been there, done that, and lived to regret it ) handing Alice her "Kiss me, I'm an Honorary Ukrainian" pin . (Just kidding, guys :p )

Way to go, Alice!

Gaudior, who will NOT bring up the spelling of THAT CITY in Ukraine!

Oh!

THAT WAS YOU?!?!


I was just glad it wasn't me!

Alice and Gaudior, I wouldn't worry about it. Outside of the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches, most of the United States doesn't even care or know that there is A Ukraine or THE Ukraine, since most probably still think it's part of Russia. And the only thing most would recognize about KIEV is that's it has a great gate in "Pictures at an Exhibition." Those folks take themselves far more seriously than they should.

//Way to go, Alice!

Gaudior, who will NOT bring up the spelling of THAT CITY in Ukraine!//

What is wrong in calling Kiev Kiev, and Lvov Lvov???? These names have a long history. Most of Ukraine speak some form of Russian anyway. I dont see the harm.

JoeS

I agree. Kiev is a perfectly acceptable English spelling of that city's name. They probably spell it something like %&*$(#)] which is completely unreadable to us English speakers. I have an Episcopalian friend who says I should call their female ministers "priests." I will not. That's a male term in English and I am not willing to mess up a beautiful, descriptive language for the sake of political correctness. Priestess works for me, and so does Kiev, with no apologies to anyone. :p

Correction noted, and accepted. Ukraine makes more sense. After all, we never say "the Pennsylvania", do we? Even if it is part of the U.S.

The word "Ukraine" means something like: "The Border Lands", I was once told. So it would make little sense by saying The The Border lands.

JoeS

I remember when even the newscasters referred to "The Ukraine" just like we refer to "the praries," and "the Dakotas." Who even knows how the Russians referred to it. But that terminology had to come from somewhere.