Patriarchal Divine Liturgy for Holodomor Monument Dedication

Metropolitan Stefan Soroka, Archbishop of Philadelphia, welcomed him at a dinner held at St. Josaphat Seminary later that evening.

On Friday morning, Patirarch Sviatoslav celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the chapel of St. Josaphat Seminary.  He was joined by Metropolitan Stefan Soroka; Bishop John Bura, auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia; Fr. Robert Hitchens, rector; Fr. Wasyl Kharuk, spiritual director, Fr. Mark Morozowich, dean of the School of Theology at the Catholic University of America; Fr. Raphael Strontsitskyy MSU, graduate studies at Catholic University; Fr. Roman Sverdan, personal assistant to the Metropolitan; and Fr. Vsevolod Shevchuk, pastor of Holy Ghost, Akron, Ohio.  The liturgy was sung by the seminarians.

Later in the evening, Patriarch Sviatoslav attended the opening of the Ukrainian Famine/Holodomor Exhibit to officially begin the US observances commemorating the Famine.

St. Josaphat seminary was founded in September 1941 and serves all four eparchies in the USA.  Since then, it has trained many priests who have served in the United States, Canada, and Ukraine. Some were chosen as bishops and have served our church in the United States and Ukraine. Among them are Cardinal Husar and the current Metropolitan of the USA, Archbishop Stefan Soroka, as well as, Bishop Richard Seminack, Bishop Bohdan Danylo, and Bishop John Bura.

This year there are seven seminarians studying at St. Josaphat Seminary.  The seminarians come from various regions of the USA, some other countries and from diverse ethnic backgrounds.  One seminarian was born in Ukraine, one was born in Mexico, one is from Brazil, one is from California, two are from Arizona, two are from Pennsylvania, and one is from New Jersey.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States attracts faithful people from different races, ethnicities, and even other faith traditions.  St. Josaphat Seminary has the mission to prepare men who will serve as priests in a Church that not only has people from Ukraine or descendants of those from Ukraine, but also has people who come from many places around the world.  Just as our Ukrainian Catholic Church is a “Global Church” so too is the composition of the faithful of our Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States in many parishes across the country.

Photo Caption:

Center: Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk; Back l-r: Fr. Vsevolod Shevchuk, Fr. Wasyl Kharuk, Fr. Raphael Strontstitskyy MSU, Bishop John Bura, Metropolitan Stefan Soroka, Fr. Robert Hitchens, Fr. Mark Morozowich, and Fr. Roman Sverdan; Front l-r: Seminarians Andrew Perrong, Bohdan Vasyliv, Martin Nagy, Carlos Batiz, Philip Gilbert, and Alex Bricki.