When a cleric of denomination that served Nazis marches in a victory parade
A UGCC service in the presence of Nazis. Photo: Istorychna Pravda
On May 5, a parade was held in London to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory Day. Among its participants was a group of Ukrainian military personnel accompanied by UGCC chaplain Andriy Khomyshyn.
The official website of the Greek Catholics proudly reported this. Khomyshyn himself told the British media that he was representing "our Ukrainian nation" at the parade.
It all looks quite beautiful. But there's a bit of inconsistency.
Eighty years ago, the UGCC did not represent the Ukrainian nation – it represented only a tiny western fragment of it, some of whose inhabitants fought on the side of Germany. Greek Catholic clerics ministered to soldiers of the SS "Galicia" Division, the "Nachtigall" Battalion, the "Roland" Battalion, and other Nazi formations.
This is not an attempt to tarnish the UGCC; it is an indisputable historical fact. In his 1942 letter to Hitler, the head of the Greek Catholics, Sheptytsky, wrote: “We assure you, Your Excellency, that the leading circles in Ukraine strive for the closest cooperation with Germany, so that with the combined forces of the German and Ukrainian peoples... we may implement a new order in Ukraine and throughout Eastern Europe.”
Of course, Khomyshyn himself may hold different political views. But he is a cleric of the UGCC. And placing a representative of an institution that served the losing side in a Victory Day parade is, at the very least, illogical. At least, that’s how it seems to us.
Read also
Portrait of the “сonscience of the nation”
Shevchuk waxes eloquent about the uniqueness of the Ukrainian nation and the value of human life – while supporting the sweeping mobilization that is grinding that very nation down.
OCU in the Lavra: When a recording replaces the choir
Parishioners have been pushed out of the Lavra. The monks are barred from the churches. But there is room for a handful of OCU “monks.”
Sviatohirsk murder no one is allowed to talk about
Logic suggests that Zelensky was informed about the monk’s murder that very day.
Sviatohirsk Lavra tragedy: A confession of faith or not?
The killers came to the monastery and, after hearing the words “Glory to our Lord God” in response, began to kill. What matters is that the victims were given a choice: they could give the “right” answer and escape death.
Have the talking points on the Sviatohirsk murder already been rolled out?
Espreso gives viewers the unmistakable impression that nothing particularly terrible happened – and that no one should feel too sorry for the “Moscow Patriarchate monks.”
Why are a rabbi and an exarch pleading for corruption suspects?
The rabbi and the exarch are both highly intelligent men and cannot fail to understand that their actions are dealing a serious blow to their reputations. Yet they still went to court. Why?