As griego catolico pointed out in another recent post, today is indeed the feast of the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help; it's also the liturgical commemoration of the New UGCC Martyrs.
It was eleven years ago today that they were beatified in Lviv by Blessed John Paul II. It is long overdue that they be canonized. I am surprised that their Latin-rite counterparts--Jósef Bilczewski and Zygmunt Gorazdowski --who were beatified the previous day are now canonized.
There have got to be miracles that have taken place through their intercession. All they need is one to be officially accepted by the Holy Father for canonization.
Bishop and martyr Nykyta Budka was born on June 7, 1877, in the village of Dobomirka, Zbarazh District. In 1905 after finishing theological studies in Vienna and Innsbruck he was ordained to the priesthood by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. From the very beginning he gave great attention to the ministry for Ukrainian emigrants. The Holy See appointed him first bishop for Ukrainian Catholics in Canada in July 1912, and he was ordained bishop on October 14, 1912. In 1928 he returned to Lviv and became vicar general of the Metropolitan Curia in Lviv.
On April 11, 1945, he was imprisoned together with other bishops and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. He was the embodiment of constant consolation and spiritual support for his fellow prisoners in the labor camp. He died a martyr for the faith in Karaganda, Kazakstan, on October 1, 1949.
"The nurse in the Siberian camp gave the following account: 'When patients died, their hospital gowns were removed. They placed the bodies in paper bags, numbered them and attached a card to the bag with personal data. Then they transported the bodies to the nearest forest where the wild Siberian animals ate them.' According to the nurse's account the bishop foresaw his own death: 'By sunrise tomorrow I will not be here any more.' And that is what happened. To show his respect and to acknowledge the bishop's dignity, the camp guard left the prison clothes on the bishop's corpse. His remains were taken and left in the forest, just as was done with the bodies of his predecessors. Thinking about the goodness of this man of God, who had served his brothers to the last, many of the convicts got together the next morning to have a last look at this man who was the embodiment of angelic goodness for so many. But all they found was a piece of his shirt sleeve."
- From the words of Archbishop Volodymyr Sterniuk.
By Orthodox tradition, the whole notion of proven miracles in order to glorify one for sainthood is a foreign concept. I suspect that in the hearts, minds and souls of the UGCC clergy and laity alike, action by Rome is really unneeded for them to recognize the 20th century Saints - only the Romans 'need' such 'proof' in order to add them to their calendar. Oh well.
Indeed. The New Martyrs are the patrons of our mission in Kansas and we commemorated them during the patronal Great Vespers last night as any parish or mission would with a patronal feast. Holy New Hieromartyrs, Martyrs and Confessors, pray for us sinners. I was very blessed, along with my family, to be present in Winnipeg for the enshrinement of the relics of Hieromartyr Vasyl (Velychkovsky).
By Orthodox tradition, the whole notion of proven miracles in order to glorify one for sainthood is a foreign concept. I suspect that in the hearts, minds and souls of the UGCC clergy and laity alike, action by Rome is really unneeded for them to recognize the 20th century Saints - only the Romans 'need' such 'proof' in order to add them to their calendar. Oh well.
As explained by Orthodox Catholic in a previous thread of a few years back, beatification can be seen as the equivalent of a "local glorification" as done by the Orthodox Churches.
Those declared as Blessed are listed with the saints in the Martyrologium Romanum, but their liturical celebration is limited to those particular regions, dioceses, or religious communities associated with the Blessed. Canonization would mean universal celebration of their feast day. For example, when Blessed Nicholas Charnetsky and Companions are canonized, then a Roman Catholic priest -let's say, here in the USA- can celebrate Mass in commemoration of these holy marytrs on June 27th.
However, there are exceptions to the canonization process as recently done by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in regards to St. Hildegard of Bingen, who was given an "equivalent canonization" without the need for miracles.
Thanks for explanation - we just celebrated in the Orthodox Church the Sunday of Regional Saints on the second Sunday of Pentecost. On this video from Muchachevo - the icon screen with St. Teodor Rhomza clearly identifies him as Saint in Slavonic which is in sync with my earlier comment the other day!
Interesting video from an ordination of a Greek Catholic priest in Muchachevo or Uzhorod yesterday. Axios!
To learn more about these martyrs, you can go to http://ssmi.org/ - on the right side of the opening page is a link to a slide-show and biographies of the martyrs.
Some people may also enjoy visiting http://bvmartyrshrine.com/, the shrine of Bl. Bishop-Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky in Winnipeg.
In our parish we display for veneration a hand-painted icon of the blessed martyrs with a relic of Bl. Vasyl embedded in it. Sr. Dominica Slawuta, SSMI (may her memory be eternal) gave me 1st. class relics of both Bl. Josaphata Hordashevska and Bl. Nun-Martyr Tarsykia Matskiv.
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