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Dec 29th, 2019
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GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST! On February 17th-18th 2004 there will be great solemnities in honour of Bl. Emilian KOWCH, hieromartyr. This year we celebrate two his anniversaries: 120 years from his nativity and 60 years from his martyrdom in Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin, Poland. The city council named a traffic circle in honour of Bl. Emilian. This traffic circle will be solemnly opened on February 18th at 10.30 local time (GMT + 1) with participation of Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Bishops - members of the Permanent Synod. Detailed program of solemnities here: http://www.cerkiew.net/synod/program2.htm Sincerely, deacon Peter PS. Local Latin pastor asked someone from our clergy to have sermons about Bl. Emilian on Sunday February 15th in order to inform people who Bl. Emilian was. So I'll preach about our Hieromartyr at SEVEN Latin Masses. Nice experience for a first sermon at all!  Prayers for success of my preaching welcomed!
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Thank you, Father Deacon Peter, For those who are not familiar with Blessed Father Kowch, he was one of the Ukrainian Martyrs beatified by Pope John Paul II in Lviv in 2001. The brief biography is below. The beginning of the Nazi-Soviet war on 22 June, 1941 for many western Ukrainians meant, first of all, the liquidation of the hated Bolshevik domination and led to unfulfilled expectations for the revival of religious freedom and the achievement of their national aspirations. However it was soon apparent that changing one bloody regime for another would not change the essence of totalitarianism.
"� The terror is growing. During the last two months in Lviv more than 40 thousand Jews were murdered. The authorities conducted searches in the church, in my residence and in parts of the monastery � Two monks were imprisoned, and perhaps there will be attempts to create some 'show trials.' The arrests continue. This is a regime of raving madmen."-- From a letter of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky to Cardinal Tisserand of 28 December 1942. Rescuer of the doomed
Priest and Martyr Father Emilian Kovch was born on 20 August 1884, in Kosmach near Kosiv. After graduating from the College of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Rome, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1911. In 1919 he became field chaplain for the Ukrainian Galician Army. After the war and until his imprisonment he conducted his priestly ministry in Przemysl, at the same time tending to his parishioners' social and cultural life. He helped the poor and orphans, though he had six children of his own.
During World War II he bravely carried out his priestly duties, preaching love to people of all nationalities and rescuing Jews from destruction.
He was arrested by the Gestapo on 30 December 1942. He displayed heroic bravery in the concentration camp, protecting the prisoners sentenced to death from falling into despair.
He was burned to death in the ovens of the Majdanek Nazi death camp on 25 March 1944. He was recognized as a "Righteous Ukrainian" by the Jewish Council of Ukraine on 9 September 1999.
"I understand that you are trying to free me. But I am asking you not to do anything. Yesterday they killed 50 persons here. If I were not here, who would help them to endure these sufferings? I thank God for His kindness to me. Except heaven this is the only place I would like to be. Here we are all equal: Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, Russians, Latvians and Estonians. I am the only priest here. I couldn't even imagine what would happen here without me. Here I see God, Who is the same for everybody, regardless of religious distinctions which exist among us. Maybe our Churches are different, but they are all ruled by the same all-powerful God. When I am celebrating the Holy Mass, everyone prays . . .. Don't worry and don't despair about my fate. Instead of this, rejoice with me. Pray for those who created this concentration camp and this system. They are the only ones who need prayers� May God have mercy on them�" -- From Fr. Emilian Kovch's letters written in the concentration camp to relatives.
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Dear Deacon Peter,
The program has been well prepared. It would be great to get transcripts of both the scholarly and religeous segments. I'm glad to hear that Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar) will be participating. Please post any pictures or highlights of the event.
May God grant you the guidance you need to make the day a success.
Hritzko
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Deacon Peter, My prayers that the Lord gift you with the golden tongue of an orator that you might enlighten those to whom you preach and allow them to discern the holiness and learn from the example of Blessed Emilian. Many years, Neil
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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Hieromartyr Emilian, pray to God for us, and especially for your faithful servant the Deacon Peter.
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Some photos of those solemnities: http://www.cerkiew.net/ln/ln.htm BTW, there will be another solemnity in honour of Blessed Emilian just on this September 22nd. Our and Latin hierarchs together with a few hundred of clergymen (!) will gather in former German Majdanek Concentration Camp in Lublin, Poland: http://www.archidiecezja-gr.opoka.org.pl/majdanek2006/majdanek2006.htm The only alive child of Blessed Emilian, Mrs. Lydia Brygidyr, will be present there as well. She visited Majdanek for the first time on July 13th, 2006. I saw that!
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