MANVILLE: Ukrainian church plans requiem service

Priest staying in touch with family in embattled country

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Father Orest Kundereych and the parish families of St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church are watching the international tension unfold in the Ukraine, where many have closet ties and even families.
   The church, which is located at 1700 Brooks Blvd., Hillsborough, near the Manville border will show solidarity with the struggle for freedom and the rule of law on a requiem service on Thursday, March 13, at 8 p.m. Everyone is invited to join them.
   In the last week, the world has watched as Ukraine’s political and military leaders change loyalties, soldiers stare at each other through metal gates and Western nations struggle with how to respond to Russia’s military intervention in the Crimean peninsula part of the country.
   The parish says it will commemorate the sacrifice of those who gave their lives in defense of Ukraine’s liberties on the Maidan (Independence Square in Ukraine’s capital Kiev) this February.
   Following the service, members of the parish will read the names of “Heaven’s Hundred,” the individuals killed by actions of their own government. Attendees are asked to bring a candle with them.
      Father Kundereych, who has been in the U.S. for eight years and in the local parish for two, says he has been watching — “a lot” — on the Internet and has been struck by the difference in coverage on the Ukrainian and Russian channels, he said Tuesday.
   He believes the Ukrainian media, and says the Russian stations lie in how they portray the regime of exiled president Viktor Yanukovych.
   The priest still has parents and brothers in western Ukraine, away from the immediate area of military tension, and he says the region is full of good people who only want to live in a democracy under the rule of law, but are scared at the possibility of Russian troops in their country.
   Crimea is part of Ukraine, too, he says.
   ”It should be united, one country, not in different pieces,” he said.
   He was pleased, he said, on Monday when Western nations told the Russians face to face in a U.N. Security Council meeting to withdraw and make peace.
   ”They talked the truth to the Russian side,” he side.
   Personally, the priest said he was sending money and packages to people he knew in the Ukraine. He wasn’t asking for others to donate, he said.
   Gene Brenycz, a Flemington resident who is a member of the church’s pastoral council, said the news from his family’s homeland “bothers me, believe me.” He said the news and pictures of next week’s service will reach the Ukraine and let them know that people here are thinking of them.
   For two days last week, he said, he was elated when protestors who had gathered in the capital city’s square for months had seemed to force President Yanukovych out of power and even out of the country.
   He and Father Orest said the West should honor their obligations under a 1994 Budapest accord, in which Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom outlined roles in defending Ukraine in exchange for the country giving up nuclear weapons.
   Mr. Brenycz said he was afraid the Russians would decide to move on the whole country, and not just Crimea. The Ukrainian military had been weakened over the last few years, he said, and couldn’t fight back Russia without significant help, he said.
   ”I can’t see how European country can invade another in 2104,” he said.
   Mr. Brenycz said he had participated in rallies in Philadelphia on Sunday and in January. He said Father Orest is in daily contact with people in Ukraine.
   ”They said they know you’re out there,” he said “They know the world is watching.”
   Mr. Brenycz said the Ukrainian church is the second-largest of the 25 Catholic churches. The Hillsborough parish has services six mornings a week.