Ukrainian Bishop Borys Gudziak says the ouster of President Yanukovych was a step towards a freer country

Ukrainian Bishop: ‘Blood Is a Serious Thing’ 

by JIM GRAVES

Bishop Borys Gudziak says the ouster of President Yanukovych was a step towards a freer country and could lead to a new spiritual reality, but Ukraine’s journey from ‘fear to dignity’ is not over.

Bishop Borys Gudziak, 53, is eparch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Paris, a diocesan bishop serving Ukrainian Catholics in five European countries. The eparchy is an Eastern rite, in union with the Bishop of Rome. Bishop Gudziak’s parents emigrated from western Ukraine to the United States; he grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., where he attended a Ukrainian Catholic parish. He moved to western Ukraine in the 1990s and founded the Lviv Theological Academy, which later became Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). In 2012, he was ordained a bishop, and, today, he resides in Paris. He remains president of UCU, however, and still regularly travels to the Ukraine.

He spoke March 5 with the Register about his experiences growing up in an Ukrainian emigré family and how this led to his discernment of his priestly vocation, the historical background to the current crisis in Ukraine and the dramatic recent developments there.

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What has been the state of religion in Ukraine in recent years?

In the past 25 years, it has been in a state of revival, after a long period of devastating destruction. In 1918, there were 100 bishops in the country; by 1989, there were four. We had had 3,000 priests; by 1989, we had 300 priests, average age 70, who lived “in the catacombs.”

The 1920s and ’30s saw the Soviet Union destroy the Church in the eastern part of the country. After World War II, the Soviets moved to make the Church completely illegal throughout Ukraine. Cardinal Slipyj was imprisoned, along with many other Catholics. From 1945-89, we were the biggest illegal Church in the world and the largest body of social opposition to the Soviet Union. The Church operated underground and never collaborated with the regime. Our members were hounded ferociously, however. Ukrainian Catholics were always at risk of losing their jobs or being thrown into prison.

In the past 25 years, we’re back to 3,000 priests, average age 40, and 47 bishops. We have over 4 million members, or about 10% of the country. But, even though we’re a minority Church, we have majority moral authority. We did not play by the Soviet rules, and the people recognize this.


Has Ukrainian Catholic University suffered persecution from the government?

Yes. We were under pressure in 2012, and the regime tried to close us down. But we survived and have remained a major social voice for social change in the country. There are 180 universities in Ukraine. But they’re like McDonald’s hamburgers: They have to be the same everywhere. With one exception, we were the only university to challenge the government.

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Is there a lot of fear in Ukraine today due to the recent violence?

In the 20th century, under Soviet domination, 17 million Ukrainians were murdered. The NKVD/KGB [Soviet law enforcement agencies] kept the population under constant surveillance. Ukrainians saw much violence, and religion was persecuted. This has led to a culture of fear in Ukraine. It’s in the people’s DNA. With the revolution, the people are moving from fear to dignity. They’re claiming a voice and a role in determining their destiny.

Is there a concern that the country will be partitioned?

This has been the desire of Russian propagandists for years. With the invasion of Crimea, the Russians are trying to bite off pieces of a sovereign country. We have not seen this kind of aggression since World War II. The Russian presence in Ukraine has caused a great deal of tension.
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