Memorable anniversaries for the Greek-Catholics of Transcarpathia

Twenty years ago this spring the Greek-Catholic eparchy of Mukachevo came out from the underground. Sixty years ago, on February 16, 1949, workers of the NCIA (National Committee of Internal Affairs) violently took away the Greek-Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross and episcopal residence in the town of Uzhhorod, forbidding the activity of the Greek-Catholic Church in Transcarpathia. Apostolic Administrator of the Mukachevo Greek-Catholic Eparchy Bishop Milan (Sasik) talked about these events during a recent press-conference on the occasion of the presentation of a book of Father Stefan Bendas, “Five years behind barbed wire: The diary of a priest written in the Gulag.” The book was presented by the son of the author, Father Daniyil Bendas. Bishop Milan blessed a new stained-glass window installed on the premises of the episcopal residence with the image of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, the protector of the Mukachevo Eparchy. After the pontifical Liturgy in the cathedral a prayerful procession with candles to a monument to persecuted Greek-Catholic clergy and a memorial service took place. http://www.radiovaticana.org/ucr/Articolo.asp?c=271844 Translated by the Information Department of the UGCC