Prayer for the Repose of His Beatitude Sviatoslav’s Father on the First Anniversary of His Passing in Stryi
December 5, 2023, commemorates the first year since the passing of Mr. Yuriy Shevchuk, the father of His Beatitude Sviatoslav. To mark the anniversary, the Head of the UGCC led a memorial service at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Stryi.
At the end of the memorial Liturgy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked all the people present, including the bishops and clergy, as well as the choir, for the communal prayer because “according to the Stryi diaconal traditions, the singing of the choir at the memorial prayer is a sign of great respect and love.”
“I thank the present sisters Servants, sisters of the Incarnate Word, sisters of the Holy Family, the whole family who gathered for prayer today. I thank our relatives and friends from all over Ukraine, everyone who took the time to pray peacefully and quietly together,” added the Primate.
After the Liturgy, Panakhyda was held in the church, and then the memorial services took place at the cemetery.
Mr. Shevchuk passed away on December 5, 2022, at the age of 79 after a serious illness at Summa Hospital in Akron, USA.
Yuriy Shevchuk, a civil servant who worked on the railroad, hails from the Ivano-Frankivsk region. His family was very active during the persecution of the UGCC by the Soviet regime. “My family on my father’s side, who originated from Ivano-Frankivsk region, from the village of Broshniv-Osada, was actively involved in the underground life of the Church. During this challenging period, I first encountered Father Mykhailo Kosyl, the rector of an underground seminary in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.” recalls His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Funeral services were held on December 9, 2022, in the United States and in May 2023 in Ukraine. The father of the Head of the UGCC was buried in the city cemetery in Stryi.
The UGCC Department for Informationphoto by the press service of the Stryi Eparchy
