George Weigel Personally Receives the Medal of Blessed Martyr Omelian Kovch in Washington
On March 28 in Washington, during the international conference “The 1946 Pseudo-Synod: 80 Years Later—Persecution Continues,” held at The Catholic University of America, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Philadelphia Borys Gudziak, on behalf of the Father and Head of the UGCC, presented American journalist and public intellectual George Weigel with the International Award of Blessed Martyr Omelian Kovch.
This was reported by the communications office of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia.
George Weigel received the award for his “intellectual courage, witness to Christ, and defense of human dignity in the face of aggression and imperialism.”
As a reminder, the 11th award ceremony took place on November 30, 2025, at the Lviv National Opera, and Professor Weigel participated via video link. He received the award in person during the conference in Washington. The ceremony was also attended by Oleh Turiy, Vice Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, and Fr. Marko Morozovych, Director of the Bishop Vasyl Losten Center for Ukrainian Church Studies.
While presenting the award, Bishop Borys Gudziak spoke about Blessed Martyr Omelian Kovch—a Greek Catholic priest and patron of the clergy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church—who perished in the Majdanek concentration camp, where he was sent for saving Jews during the Holocaust. “He died in Majdanek as a martyr of faith, love, and reconciliation among the peoples of the land where he lived—Ukrainians, Poles, and Jews,” Metropolitan Borys said. He also recalled that he had studied at the seminary alongside one of Omelian Kovch’s grandsons and mentioned the book by the blessed martyr, “Why Are Our People Fleeing From Us?”, in which Kovch analyzed the need for reforms in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Highlighting the laureate’s contributions, Metropolitan Borys emphasized: “For four decades, George Weigel has been an exceptional friend of the Ukrainian people. His numerous articles on Ukrainian topics, especially during the last 12 years of war—and even more so during the last four years of full-scale invasion—have been a great source of support and, I hope, have also had a significant impact.”
In his remarks of gratitude, George Weigel named two people who inspired his love for Ukraine and the Ukrainian Church: historian Bohdan Bociurkiw and Metropolitan Borys Gudziak.
The event at The Catholic University of America was held to mark the 80th anniversary of the 1946 Lviv Pseudo-Sobor—a Soviet operation aimed at the forced liquidation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church—and to highlight the ongoing persecution of churches and religious organizations in Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
The UGCC Department for Information
