OrthoAnalyika Show: 04 July 2010
Freedom! [The history of it in our community. Ukrainian freedom (especially the Cossacks). American freedom (the minutemen, the founders).] Cossacks and the Minutemen were willing to work and even fight to defend their freedom from political tyranny. But there is an even more important kind of freedom than this that we, their descendants, enjoy.
True freedom: the freedom to live well. The freedom to be (like Sophia). What is wisdom? [rule of thumb?: living a life of love.]
I want to cover two aspects of this freedom that God has given us as Orthodox Christians: freedom from loneliness, freedom from fear.
• Freedom! Freedom from loneliness. Solitary confinement is one of the worst punishments that there is. Forces in this world want to keep us there (iPods, computers). But God made us for LOVE. God made us to care for one another – and to be cared for by one another. God has made this possible, not just by giving us communities like this one, but by doing something so mysterious that it is better than any fairy tale magic: He has given us the power to actually FEEL what other people are feeling. He has given us the power to share our lives with one another (and even with Him) so well that we have the same body! [arms, legs, gifts, etc.] No more being stuck in solitary confinement, we have the freedom to really love and be loved.
• Freedom! Freedom from fear. [what do you fear]. We fear that bad things will happen in the future. And Lord knows the world does its best to scare us. But God has told us not to fear – that He will take care of us and that He is remaking us and all creation so that there is nothing but joy. Until then, it is our job to do what our forbearers, the Cossacks and the Minutemen did: work hard, worship well, and have CONSTANT VIGILANCE against tyranny.
Sometimes I sense that there is still loneliness out there; sometimes I feel your fear. Open your heart to Christ and to one another and accept the comfort that love provides. Reach out to the broken-hearted and heal them with your concern and your prayers. As for your fear, you must let go of that, as well; this will happen once you put yourself in the care of the God who is everything a Father should be. Let go of your fear and trust God. The struggles are often so great that it is hard to see how He will get us through them, but get us through them He will. Sometimes, though, He gives us indicators of how He intends to help us. This is the case with our future [examples of time spent with young seminarians, junior leaders, youth, and children]
Today we celebrate our Independence – our Freedom from Tyranny. Not just because some old men signed a document that pledged this land to freedom; but more importantly because Christ’s Resurrection has defeated sin and death and shown us that we, too, are bound for glory. Let go of your loneliness; let go of your fear. Embrace His love.
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No mail or news this week.
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Feature Interview: Cheryl Madden on the Holodomor
On Friday May 21, 2010 St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Woonsocket, RI hosted an evening commemoration for the victims of the Holodomor; Ukraine’s genocide. Although the official date of commemoration of the Holodomor in Ukraine takes place in November, this horrific event in the history of our ancestors is relatively unknown in the United States and bringing awareness will take more than limiting ourselves to one day per year to really make their memory eternal.
The evening began in our church for a Panakhida memorial service which was celebrated by our pastor, Fr. Anthony Perkins and the pastor of our neighboring church, Msgr. Roman Golemba of St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church. Present at the service were members of both Ukrainian parishes of Woonsocket. It is always a blessing to have opportunities, such as this one, that bring together in worship and remembrance, members of both Ukrainian churches of our community. As well as commemorating the victims of the Holodomor we also remembered on this night the victims of other similar atrocities, such as the Armenian genocide and the Jewish Holocaust.
The highlight of the night for many was having our special guest, Prof. Cheryl Madden present her lecture “Holodomor: Facts then and now”. For her research, in particular her work completed for the Shevchenko Society of an annotated bibliography of English resources on the Holodomor, Prof. Madden was honored with the Order of Princess Olha awarded by Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yushchenko. This special award was personally presented to Madden by Mrs. Katerina Yuschenko in 2008. The Order of Princess Olha is Ukraine’s highest civilian award that can be given to a woman. Madden’s lecture, which included maps, statistics, quotes from person testimonies as well as grim visuals, lasted for about one hour.
She is a dear friend of our parish, and we are pleased that she was able to come back to Woonsocket for this interview.
Warning on the contents:
the OA editorial staff has warned me that some folks might be offended by having two anglo-chujhozemtsi talking about this difficult subject. They fear that Russian nationalists may think that we are using tragedy to bash them for things the Communists did; that Ukrainian nationalists will take exception to our refusal to lay the entire blame on Moscow (and especially that we point out the degree of Ukrainian collaboration during the Soviet occupation); that Communists will take exception… just kidding – not even our editors give a rip for what the Communists take exception to.
So we preface this interview by begging your forgiveness; by laying claim to the exegetical methodology of St. Andrew of Crete (i.e. it is we/I who crucify Christ; and my sin is greater than any Jews because I do this knowing Him to be God and Savior); and by asking you to take our conversation in the spirit in which it is offered: a dedication to the truth, a love for the oppressed, a hatred of tyranny, a love of the Ukrainian nation, and undying admiration for the all martyrs of the Communist regime. May God grant them Eternal Memory – pray for us Holy Martyrs of Ukraine!
