www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology akathist to Tsar Ivan the Terrible

That is...interesting to say the least. I am grateful to you, Alexandr, for your explaination of the matter. It was well-worded and very helpful.

Dear Doubting Thomas,

Which Alexander are you referring to?

Alex

Dear Alex,

I was referring to Slavipodvizhnik, and his post on the history of the movement to canonize Tsar Ivan the Terrible and Grigori Rasputin.

God bless you!

Dear DT,

Oh!

Another "saint" the ROC is actually semi-officially promoting for canonization is Fr. Gabriel Kostelnyk, the former EC priest who took such an active part in the "Synod of 1946" instigated not by an Emperor but by the Soviet secret police to "rejoin" the UGCC with the ROC at that time and was shot in the back, according to the Soviet press, by a "fanatical uniate."

A number of friends of my parents' family were taught religion by Fr. Kostelnyk who, as they said, was very Eastern in outlook. But, they said, it was well known that his son was taken prisoner by the Soviets and so he did as they so graciously requested of him.

There is an entire service, with an akathist, to him which is quite laughable, given that the Soviet Union itself established his public cult and every ROC priest in Ukraine, including my grandfather, was obliged to attend the Panakhydas for Fr. Kostelnyk, lauding him as a hero of the return of the UGCC to Orthodoxy etc.

When I asked my grandfather what would have happened if he had NOT attended the public, government sponsored panakhyda for Fr. Kostelnyk, I simply got a "look" from him.

That the ROC today is thinking of canonizing him and does not condemn the entire episode and move on is a most unfortunate carry-over from its domination during the time of the Soviet Union.

Although it is free of the Soviet influence, it does not yet seem completely free and seems to have trouble simply saying, in the absence of a public apology for its complicity in that whole spiritual mess, that it was regrettable altogether. There is NO NEED to continue to promote that Soviet-sponsored cult of Fr. Kostelnyk - they should let him REST IN PEACE.

I prefer, truth be told, the akathist to Ivan the Terrible than that perfidious cult.

Byzantophile, can you now help me off my soap-box? Thank you!

Alex

I agree an akathist to Fr. Gabriel would not be in order. Where did you read this Akathist? Is it available on the internet? I would like to read it too. As a Ukrainian Orthodox believer I would not be in favour of promoting a cult of veneration of Fr. Gabriel.
I guess Fr. Gabriel had a number of children. I know of one who lived in England after the war and was Ukrainian Catholic.
I seem to remember that Prof. Magosci mentioned in a lecture once that Fr. Gabriel was born in the Rusyn area of the former Yugoslavia. I also believe Prof. Magocsi said that the university in that area published a book of Fr. Gabriel's earlier writings dealing with his pro-Eastern theological views and other writings before he went to Halychyna.
Unfortunately, I cannot provide the name of this book.

Dr Alex

I've got to ask the question. Who do you think killed Gabriel Kostelnyk ? An elderly man at my Eastern home, who I always talk history and current events with, believes Kostelnyk was murdered by the KGB after outliving his usefulness.

Dear Miller,

I believe it was our Daniil here who once provided a link for the entire proposed service to the Holy New Hieromartyr for Orthodoxy Gabriel Kostelnyk.

Perhaps should Daniil read this (or if you contact him) he would be so kind as to provide that link again - I will be sure and forward it to akafist.narod.ru as well for their "Chernovyky" section.

To be fair, it is not only the ROC who are supportive of his cult (and I know ROC priests, relatives of mine, who are NOT, God bless them), but in the book "Ukrainian Patrology" by Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko, where he lists Ukrainian Saints, he does include a section on the New Martyrs and does indeed include Fr. Gabriel Kostelnyk as an excellent example of a Martyr for Orthodoxy. So at least under the good Met. (who I respect deeply and love his writings), the cult of Gabriel Kostelnyk was a definite "OK."

Don't take my word for it, have a look yourself (it is available in the library of St Vlad's Institute).

Cheers,

Alex

There's also Alexei Kabalyuk, who I believe has been canonized.

Dear Lawrence,

I think that elderly gentleman is absolutely correct! The fact is, Fr. Kostelnyk knew too much and he could talk to the wrong people etc.

In addition, so much was to be gained by the KGB by making him into a martyr of the pseudo-sobor of 1946 . . .

My grandfather, Fr. John, became a member of the ROC in 1946 and he, along with other priests in Galicia, regularly attended the annual panakhyda for Fr. Kostelnyk. I even saw a picture of the splendid grave built by the Soviet government in his honour.

Fr. Kostelnyk is a tragic figure and this is NO slight against him whatever.

As a religion teacher, he enjoyed IMMENSE popularity with his students. As a theological writer, he was truly "Orthodox in communion with Rome."

In the book by my wife's grandfather, Rev. Fr. Stepan Chabursky entitled "Epiclesis" published by LOGOS press, he mentions Fr. Kostelnyk's work and that he belonged to the "party of extreme Epiclesists" or those who believed that the Transmutation of the bread and wine during the Canon occurred at the Epiclesis.

May he rest in peace!

Alex

Dear AMM,

I've heard of him, but know next to nothing about him - could you fill us in?

Alex

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050630/40819891.html

I believe he was involved in the events of 1946. The article doesn't go in to that though.