Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma (USA) Held an Annual Lenten Youth Lock-In Retreat
On March 22–23, 2025, Pokrova Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma, Ohio of the Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma hosted an annual Lenten Lock-In Retreat for youth. This year’s theme of the spiritual renewal was “Hope Unfiltered” based on “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” as found in 1 Peter 1:3.
Over 35 youth, young adults, youth leaders, chaperones, and clergy gathered for the annual youth Lock-In Retreat of the Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma under the leadership of its eparch, Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo at the Pokrova Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma, OH. The theme, based on the First Letter of the Holy Apostle Peter 1:3, was focused on “Hope Unfiltered” during the current Jubilee Year of Hope. The retreat was organized by the Eparchial Youth Committee (EYC) under the direction of Fr. Lubomir Zhybak — Director of the EYC, who also serves as the pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Youngstown, OH and St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church in Austintown, OH as well as the director of the eparchy’s office of child & youth protection and a Chaplain (Captain) of the United States Air Force (Reserve) — with Deacon Myron Spak from Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie, PA serving as the coordinator of the retreat. The youth event provided an opportunity for the youth to pray, reflect, meet others, and take time to focus on their Lenten spiritual journey to Pascha.
The retreat began with a group welcome that was followed by an introduction of the youth and adult attendees. Icebreaker games were played to encourage interaction and conversation among the participants. The group then prayed the First Hour led by Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo with responses led by Fr. Bohdan Nasypanyi, Assistant Pastor of the Pokrova Church and Fr. Ihor Darmohray, the Lock-In Retreat’s keynote speaker and Deputy Director of the Youth Commission of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago.
Under the supervision of Olena Korendii — a member of the EYC and a parishioner of the Pokrova Church — as well as Lyudmyla Krushelnytskyy, Iryna Maletska, and Iryna Havryliuk — also parishioners of the Pokrova Church — the youth prepared personalized cookies with unique and creative designs the funds from the sale of which in the Pokrova Parish ($550) were donated to purchase prosthetics for a Ukrainian soldier who, together with a representative of the Protez Foundation, based in Oakdale, MN, attended the Divine Liturgy in the Pokrova Church on Sunday.
The youth event’s keynote speaker, Fr. Ihor Darmohray, provided very engaging sessions and presentations that resonated with the youth. His presentations challenged the youth to deepen their spiritual lives—encouraging them to reflect, examine their hearts, and strengthen their relationship with God through prayer, fasting, and good deeds.
In between the sessions, the retreatants participated in some fun and exciting team-building games that were supervised and coordinated by the youth leaders and chaperones. A special trivia game known as Who Wants to be a Millionaire (Church Edition), hosted by Michael Levy, a member of the EYC and a parishioner of St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma, OH, challenged the youth’s catechetical knowledge in a competitive and fun-spirited format. In the evening, the attendees experienced a Vespers service in anticipation of the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo served as the main celebrant and addressed the group in a brief sermon that provided a reflection of the importance and significance of the Cross in the Christian experience. The responses were beautifully sung by Fr. Bohdan Nasypanyi and Fr. Ihor Darmohray, accompanied by the youth and the adult attendees.
The youth also had an opportunity to take part in the Mystery of Repentance. Fr. Ihor Darmohray assisted the retreatants in focusing and preparing for confession with an examination of conscience.
After confessions, a clergy question & answer session was provided. Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo, Fr. Ihor Darmohray, Fr. Bohdan Nasypanyi, Deacon Myron Spak, and Subdeacon Taras Vorobets from the Pokrova Parish tackled some questions submitted by the youth that was met with humor, candor, and catechetical lessons. The session provided an educational, fun, and engaging opportunity for the youth to ask the clergy questions to deepen the understating and knowledge of their faith.
The event concluded on Sunday with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great celebrated by Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo and concelebrated by some of the present clergy at the Pokrova Church.
Many helped to make the youth retreat a wonderful, joyful, and uplifting experience. Besides Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo who led the retreat, special thanks go to Fr. Lubomir Zhybak — Director of the Eparchial Youth Committee, Deacon Myron Spak — retreat’s coordinator, Fr. Mykhaylo Drozdovskyy — pastor of the Pokrova Ukrainian Catholic Church (Parma, OH), Fr. Bohdan Nasypanyi — an EYC member and the parish’s Assistant Pastor, Subdeacon Taras Vorobets — a member of the parish as well as the Pokrova Church’s parishioners, Fr. Ihor Darmohray — retreat’s main speaker, Subdeacon Joseph Zappernick — an EYC member from St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Church (Parma, OH), Michael Levy — an EYC member from St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Church (Parma, OH), and Joseph Levy — an EYC member from St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church (Pittsburgh, PA). Very special thanks go to Olena Korendii — an EYC member from the Pokrova Church in Parma — who, along with some of her fellow parishioners, Liudmyla Krushelnytskyy, Iryna Maletska, and Iryna Havryliuk dedicated a lot of time and energy to make the youth retreat happen.
The 2025 Lock-In Retreat was a wonderful and prayerful event whereby everyone present was able to experience the Lord’s love and, firmly anchored in hope, share this love with one another.
Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma
