The fact is that, as Christians, we cannot abdicate our duty to our neighbors, Samaritan or Black, Ukrainian or American, rich or poor, plentiful or paltry.

"Baptism of Rus'-Ukraine" by Petro Andrusiv When I left Chicago, my church family gave me this poster. 'You have to remember where you come from,' they said. The poster, which now hangs above my desk at home, commemorates the millennium of Christianity in Ukraine. It does indeed help me think through some of the thorny issues of being in the Kyivan Church, especially on a day like this. We hear often, for example, from our Latin sisters and brothers that we Greek-Catholics a

Here where I am, it is already 1 October, the Feast of the Protecting Mantle of the Mother of God. Let me bear witness this day to her protection as we speak the name of Breonna Taylor, whose blood still cries out from the ground for justice. This is the day we celebrate when St Andrew Fool-for-Christ saw the Theotokos descend from the dome of the church of Blachernae as vespers was being offered for the holy city of Constantinople under attack 'by Ukrainian pirates,' as my s

Saying that this Church is my home is often considered contentious, mostly because I am not an ethnic Ukrainian. This contention, I find, is equally raised by some within the church. However they want to read my body, I am in this church. Usually, my secular friends just find it interesting, as if it's one of my private quirks. But my Christian friends (whom I still consider to be my sisters and brothers, whether or not we are in formal communion) usually have the hardest tim

On June 6th, 2019, I had the opportunity to present on a youth panel during a conference at the Catholic University of America. All of us were supposed to consider the future of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in America. I spoke on behalf of the St. Mary of Egypt Social Justice Fellowship, at the invitation of Fr. Mark Morozowich, dean of theology at CUA, and Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, who had been enthroned as the Archeparch of Philadelphia and the United St

As the Great Fast winds down on this Wednesday of its Sixth Week (we are a week behind our sisters and brothers on the New Calendar), we are reminded of why we have fasted in today's Sixth Hour reading from the Prophecy of Isaiah. It's a direct follow-up to our Chicago mission group's recent reflections on why we are called St Mary of Egypt Social Justice Fellowship. I quote it in full: Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people the

A few weeks ago, those of us who compose our mission group in Chicago, St Mary of Egypt Social Justice Fellowship , were talking about sainthood.  I'm not perfect enough to be a saint , one of us said, and our leader, the inimitable Julian Hayda , replied,  Well, that's why we are named after St Mary of Egypt . The point of sainthood, he reminded us, is that we are not perfect. Anyone who ever became holy has come out of a life of sin, of having the passions completely overwh

As a member of St Mary of Egypt Social Justice Fellowship and the Kyivan Psychoanalysis Study Group, I wanted to share some words at Fr Myron Panchuk's memorial, but was not able to attend the second and third days of his funeral. Here is what I would have said: I knew Fr Myron as a friend. He was introduced to me as someone to look up to, someone that many people saw as a spiritual father, someone whose intellectual capacities outstripped most of his peers. But we met each o

Today, we went to St. Nicholas cemetery, and buried Fr. Myron Panchuk. His body will spend eternity between that of my father, mother, and Fr. Tom Glynn — some of his best friends. My mother has reminded me over the last few days, in fact, that Fr. Myron convinced my father to come to seminary in Chicago. Here, Fr. Myron introduced him to my mother. So, in many respects, I owe my very existence to him. He’s been there since the day I was born, the very same date that his ment