“When everyone wanted to take something from Ukraine, Metropolitan Andrey (Sheptytsky) gives it a spiritual treasure – the Lviv National Museum,” - UGCC Head

Saturday, 07 September 2013, 12:09

The celebrations began in the Andrey (Sheptytsky) Lviv National Museum (LNM) with the opening of the exhibit “In Memory of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky” -- (Memorabilia from the collection of A. Sheptytsky LNM and the collection of the Anton Petrushevych Museum of Sacred Art of UGCC Lviv Metropolitanate), “The Protectress Blessed Virgin Mother: Works of the 15-19th centuries from the LNM collection”, “A historical-documentary exhibit: Vira Svientsitska (!913-2013), renowned researcher of ancient Ukrainian art” and “Bibliographical exhibit of LNM publications (1908-2013)”.

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The celebrations continued in the Solomiya Krushelnytska Lviv National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet with a gala concert.

“Today we together are paying our respects to a Grand Deed of a Great Person. This Great Person is God’s Servant, Metropolitan Andrey (Sheptytsky). And the Grand Deed, whose centennial we are commemorating this year, is the bestowing of the National Museum to the Ukrainian people,” said UGCC Major Archbishop during the concert. UGCC Head emphasized that a person can be known through their deeds. In such a way we can know God through his deeds of Creation and Redemption. And all of us are known, as Christ says, “through our deeds”. In reviewing the historical conditions and environment of the Grand Deed of the Metropolitan, UGCC Primate noted that during that time, on the eve of World War I, the Ukrainian people did not have their own nation. Even more so, many people denied the mere fact of the existence of the Ukrainian people and their culture. “Metropolitan Andrey piecemeal collected the spiritual treasures of the Ukrainian people. And at a time when all wanted to take something away from Ukraine, he presents it with such a spiritual treasure. Therefore we can say that this Grand Deed was a “nation-creating act” that returns to the Ukrainian people an awareness of their own dignity and the knowledge of their own culture,” he noted. UGCC Primate is convinced that this was a prophetical act which demonstrated the deep faith of Sheptytsky in the future of the Ukrainian people and their nationhood.

“If today we want to be great people, let us ask ourselves – are we capable of performing similar grand deeds? Bishop Andrey in this prophetic “nation-creating” Grand Deed saw all of us who today celebrate this gift. How one wishes that the whole world would know about this Great Ukrainian, Great Pastor and Metropolitan!” finished his comments UGC Head.

Note: celebrations in Lviv will continue until December 13, 2013.

UGCC Department of Information