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Thanks for that news story;

Well it seems the Rusyns are speaking up.

In Svidnyk, during Cardinal Husar's homily during the Divine Liturgy, local Rusyn Greek Catholics hung a banner from the church's choir loft that states:
"We demand an end to the senseless Slovakization of the church rites".

IF

It seems wildly unlikely that Patriarch Lubomyr was pushing a Slovak ethnic agenda!

Incognitus

Patriarch Lubomyr Husar? Slovak?
Someone is sneezing at the wrong kadillo.

The Slovakization of the Prjashev Eparchy has been happening since the 1930's. Blessed Pavel Gojdich was constantly harassed by Slovak governmental nationalists to the point that even Blessed Pavel, a man of great temperament once stated:

"All other nationalities have their political parties, ministers, and national Representatives, But the majority of my faithful, the Rusyns, have no one to defend their national, political, and cultural interests. Therefore, they turn to me for help. And when MY PEOPLE turn to me with confidence for help, I cannot turn them down, even if later I have to suffer embarrassment and great loss".

and:

"Open your priestly (adrressing clergy of the Prjashev Eparchy in his first pastoral letter dated 1927)hearts and receive into your love our neglected Rusyn people. They deserve a much better fate. At the present time they find themselves in danger of losing not only their immortal souls but also their national identity, being surrounded by all kinds of enemies. If we will fail to extend to them our helping hand, soon an end will come to OUR RUSYN PEOPLE, the people of DUCHNOVICH, PAVLOVICH, and the great VALYI. We are the leaders of OUR PEOPLE, placed to protect them by God's Providence. It is, therefore, the duty of OUR VOCATION to help them. We will be responsible for their religious and national future before God, before history, and before OUR PEOPLE. Teach them to respect other nationalities, but to love their own with their whole heart. Teach them not to be ashamed of their Rusyn identity and their mother tongue, but to be proud of their Rusyn descent." (excerpts from Fr. A. Pekar's book "Confessor of Our Times")

Ungcsertezs

Dear Friends,

I do believe those banners were a way the people wanted to get their message across to Patriarch Lubomyr to assist them in maintaing their Rusyn identity.

It is time for Ukrainians, having won their cause for independence from the Russkies, can now redress the Rusyn issue and defend the Rusyns against Slovakization, Magyarization, Polonization and . . . Ukrainization.

Unless, of course the Rusyns want the last one!

(Alex, stop that! Stop it now!) There, Administrator, I've saved you the trouble!

Alex

That is not true. Until 1950 there were a rusinization of Byzantine Catholic Church in Slovakia. Though the first translations of liturgical books in Slovak were made 1930's, the official approbation went only 1968 (blessed Pavel Gojdich was against the use of Slovak language in the slovak parishes). From this moment (1968) it can be a discussion about slovakization. And there were. But the real problem was (and is till now) the deprivation of Rusin identity during the communist regime - they had to declare themselves as Ukrainians or Slovak, Rusin nationality was not accepted in census. And they could choose between a slovak school and an ukrainian school.

andreios
http://grkat.nfo.sk - mp3, icons, texts...

Dear Friends,

Actually, up here we have Rusyns who see themselves as "sub-groups" of either the Slovak or Ukrainian "main cultural identity."

We have a Slovak Greek-Catholic Eparchy which is largely Rusyn, or so I understand.

When Vladyka Rusnak, the former Eparch, attended an Eparchial conference that I delivered a talk at, he spoke in the Rusyn language.

(I thought he was speaking in Ukrainian, but they later told me not to be insensitive as he was actually speaking in Rusyn. I said, "That's O.K. by me!").

It seems to me, and correct me please, that Rusyns almost prefer to be associated with other Slavic groups other than Ukrainian because 1) the pressure to join the Ukies has always been greater, especially under the commies; 2) the cultural similarity with Ukie culture and Rusyn culture is much greater, therefore assimilation pressures are greater 3) the problem that there are "Ukrainian Rusyns" who consider themselves to be a Ukrainian sub-group - and are telling the "Rusyn Rusyns" "Hey, whatsa mattah for you?"

Aren't y'all glad I'm back?

Alex

Yes! I actually believed you were leaving this time Alex. It was...scary :p

Myles:

Obviously, you are new to the famous Romanesque sabbaticals?

Amado

Andreios,

If Blessed Pavel writes in his personal writings that there is persecution and harassment of the Rusyn Greek Catholic people by the Slovak goverment in the 1930's, then I believe there was Slovakization of the Rusyn Greek Catholics in the 1930's. Why would a saintly bishop lie?

Ungcsertezs

Harrassment and Slovakization by the government in the secular sphere is differnt than Slovakization in liturgical matters.

Fr. Deacon Lance

The Slovak government assisted in the Slovakization of the Eparchial-Parochial Schools. Before the 1930's, the Prajshev Eparchial-Parochial Schools (which were funded by the Czecho-Slovak Republic government) taught classes in the Rusyn language. During the 1930's, the Parochial schools started suppressing the use of Cyrillic alphabet and Rusyn language. The Slovak language and Latin alphabet replaced the Rusyn language which was always rendered in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Ungcsertezs

Dear Father Deacon Lance,

My grandfather, Fr. John, came to know Slovak Greek-Catholics well.

He said they all came with their prayer-books to church and sang the responses with the Cantor - he was much impressed!

By comparison to my parish, I guess we can use some "Slovakization" in liturgical matters . . .

Alex

Ung-Certez,

from 1938 to 1945 - during the independent Slovak republic there was a presure to slovakize the rusyn schools. But only in the end of 1930�s. Before there was a presure to rusynize slovak greek catholics. But it was not the church but the government, who made this presure to slovakize, as allready noted d. Lance.

andreios
grkat.nfo.sk [grkat.nfo.sk] - mp3, ikony, texty, f�rum...

I found some interesting quotes on the net. If Bishop Gebey was publicly protesting the Slovakization of the millennium old Rusyn/Rusin rite in 1930, it's because Slovak policies of forced assimmilation had been occuring throughout the 1920's, long before there was an independent Slovak Republic (ie: 1938).

QUOTE:
.....Our RUSIN bishops have not been silent in this matter, and in 1930, we had the example of Bishop Peter Gebey protesting against Slovakization. In 1935 Bishop Alexander Stojka spoke out against it, as did Bishop Paul Gojdich, in 1936......

(Note: did not Bishop Gojdich declare himself to be a Rusyn nationalist (ie: Ukrainian) because of the forced Slovakization of his flock ?)
QUOTE:
....Bishop Alexander Stojka, in his Pastoral Letter of May, 1935, strongly opposed the Slovakization of the RUSINS of the Greekk Rite Catholic Church. "Not long ago," he wrote, "the newspapers were filled with stories that the Slovakization was spreading in CarpathoRus, and especially in the Prjasev Rus'. Soon after the change in government, (33), certain Greek Rite Catholics, anxious to prove the superiority of their loyalty to the Czech government, began calling themselves "'Slovak Greek Catholics'." Mter the manifestation of these tendencies, an action was begun in Parisian (34) political centers, to establish a separate Slovak Greek Catholic Hierarchy, or a separate Greek Catholic Eparchy. Such movement naturally beg~ unrest and dissatisfaction among the RUSIN GREEK RITE CATHOLICS, for this was patenfly a work of Slovakization of the RUSINS, under the cloak of Church and Religion.
These tendencies were not only provocative, but absurd. Dr. Edward J. Benes and Thomas G. Masaryk debated this question before the delegates of the Versailles Peace Conference, when the question had risen as to how many RUSINS there were in CARPATHO-RUS'. Both said that the divisions of Prjasev and Munkacs must be taken into consideration, since EVERY GREEK CATHOLIC is "ipso facto" a RUSIN by nationality. Fifteen years later the Czechs, who not so long since acknowledged that EVERY GREEK CATHOLIC was a RUSIN by nationality, began to speak another language. Some of the Czech and Slovak newspapers went so far as to say that there were more Slovak Greek Catholics in Slovakia than there were RUSINS. For his defense of RUSIN nationality and the Greek Rite, as Father of his faithful, Bishop Alexander Stojka was attacked by the Czech and Slovak press. These attacks were, in turn, printed here in the United States by the various Czech and Slovak newspapers.
Respect and great honor are due Bishop Alexander Stoika, (35) for fearlessly defending his people, their nationality and their RITE. He knew from the past history that Slovakization will in time mean Latinization, the destruction of the RITE, a virtual genocide both for the RUSINS and their nation, not to speak of the irreparable loss of their GREEK CATHOLIC RITE.

In his Pastoral Letter, Bishop Alexander Stojka stated, among other things: "All the Uniate Greek Rite Catholics in the region are RUSINS. They, therefore, have the obligation to sing in RUSIN and in Russky in their churches, and not in slovak. He urged them to learn the Cyrillic alphabet, so that they might be able to read the Church texts which are written in that script. He besought them to speak to their children in RUSIN, so that they might learn and preserve the language. He likewise reminded the teachers in his Church Parochial schools to carry out these orders. Otherwise, he warned them, they would deserve and probably get reprimanded.
Bishop Paul Gojdich addressed his people in a Pastoral Letter along simular lines. He wrote a letter to the Ministery of Education in Bratislava, January 26, 1930.
Bishop Paul Gojdich in his Pastoral Letter said: "Open wide your hearts and accept the good RUSINS, the poor and forgotten RUSINS, into your love. Both their souls and their nationality are in danger of being forgotten, for their enemies now surround them on every side. Unless we extend a helping hand to them now, they will all very soon disappear, these RUSINS of DUCHNOVICS, of Pavlovics, of Valyi the Great.

Who primariiy, had been called~to this task, other than we, their leaders? We have been chosen by God, and placed in the forefront to lead our people. Before God, before mankind and before history, we have been charged with the responsibility for both their religious and their national future.
In the interest of our people, let us take up a stand. Through the intensification of our pastoral care, let us lead our people to the Lord, our God, strengthening them in their religion and in their love for God and for their neighbor, fortifying them as well, in their RUSIN fidelity, not only to their Catholic Faith, but to their love for their RITE. Thus, without abandoning their own, they should have no desire for what is foreign.
Teach them respect for what is foreign, but to love wholeheartedly what is their own. Let us teach our RUSINS not to be ashamed of their language nor their nationality. Rather let them understand that they belong to a nation that is great and that they may proudly hold up their heads beforee the world because of its greatness. (36)
Czech children are learning their lessons in school, in Czech not only in the Czech areas, but in Moravia, and in the autonomous PODKARPATSKA RUS' as well. The same rule applies to the Slovak children, the Magyar children and the German tots. It is only the RUSIN children who are not being taught in their own mother tongue.
The Education Law states: "In the national schools, the children are not to be used as bargaining tools, since education is guaranteed not only by the Education Law, but categorically, by the terms of the Peace Conference, which no one, who has at heart the peace and the welfare of the Republic, may dare to violate".
It is our hope that the Honorable Minister of Education will take note of this humble petition, and that he will look kindly on these poor suffering people, who have always been loyal in obedience to authority. They ought not to be deprived of this minimal requirement of the law, which states that RUSIN children should be instructed in their own language, the RUSIN language. (37).

As late as June 1968, the following statement appeared in the "TRIBUNA CITACIV", of Priasiv. "At present, they are anxious to change our nationality, our language, so that we are no longer to be called RUSINS, but Slovaks. These same people are anxious to have us change our RITE and accept the Latin rite, so that it will be an easier task to Slovakize us".
Even in Rome, when our Greek Rite Catholic Church is spoken or written of, it is simply called the Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite. No more can we say that there are in the Church any Greek Rite Catholics! They have all disappeared!
In present day Czecholovakia, the press carries articles that assert that the Greek Rite Catholic Church has disappeared, has been abolished. There are, they say, some Catholics of the Byzantine Rite, but these have all emigrated! (38)

I.F.