By - Vera Anna Krokonko, M.D., Ph.D., SFO

UKRAINIAN SPIRITUALITY

"Some seed landed on good soil and yielded grain that sprang up to produce at a rate of thirty-and sixty-and a hundredfold." (Mark 4:8)

Legend has it that, as he was going up the Dnieper River on his way to Rome, he halted beneath the hills on the shore. He said to his disciples with him, "See ye these hills? So shall the favor of God shine upon them that on this spot a great city shall arise, and God shall erect many churches therein."  Having blessed the hills, he set up a cross and offered his prayers to God. Then the Apostle Andrew descended from the hill upon which Kiev would be built and continued his journey up the Dnieper River. About 950 years later this prophetic blessing came true.
In time there emerged the nation of Rus-Ukraine having Kiev as the center of her political and economic activity. The people were primarily simple, gentle, peaceloving pagan farmers, who worked the most fertile land known in the world at that time.They worshipped Perun as there chief god, Volos as the god of flocks and Lada, the Sun God, to name a few. Devoted to their gods, the people whole-heartedly practiced their pagan rituals, including human sacrifice.
In this idolatrous land appeared Princess Olha (Olga), "the forerunner of the Christian land, as the morning star before the sun and as the star before dawn."  With the death of her husband, Prince Ihor (Igor), in 945 A.D. and for twenty years thereafter, she ruled the nation with feminine charm, a strong will, unparalleled wisdom and a firm hand in the name of her son, Sviatoslav. During this time she was caught in the web of political, cultural and trade relations of her country with Christian Byzantium and other western Christian nations.
	From the time of Prince Oleg, Varangian (Scandinavian) Christians were present in the country. During Prince Ihor's reign, these Christian warriors established their own church of St. Elias in Kiev. In this church, they took an oath of allegiance to the prince when they signed a peace treaty with Byzantium in 944. Princess Olha observed them and was highly impressed with the honesty and exceptional moral life of these Christians residing in Rus. Undoubtedly, through her numerous relationships with them, she was led into the path of Christianity. Although political, cultural and economic motives probably played a role in her decision, her desire to become a Christian was definitely awakened. The exact date and circumstances surrounding her baptism are unknown: however, most major historians are of the opinion that she was baptized in Kiev sometime in 954-955.
	Although the land of Rus was pagan, Christians were not unknown to the people, for, in 860, two brothers, SS. Cyril and Methodius, being the first teachers and enlighteners of the Slavic nations, had preached the Christian faith to the Khazars who controlled southern Ukraine by the Black and Caspian Seas. Being close to the spirit of the Ukrainian people, they centered their mission in Kherson. Through them the Slavonic Rite came into being. In time, the state of Kievan Rus built her whole spiritual life on the Church Slavonic language that had been adapted in Bulgaria and which eventually became the Old Ukrainian language, the language of Rus-Ukraine.

Her rebirth of new life in the Christian faith had a marked influence on her personal life and her surroundings.She began to perform many works of mercy. She is alleged to have donated money for the building of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Pskov. In 959, she sent a request to the German King Otto I for a bishop and priests. By 967 there was a bishop in Kiev.

Her efforts to convert her son, Sviatoslav, to Christianity failed. She repeatedly told him, "I, my son, have embraced God and am happy: if you accept Him, you too will be happy."  Although he refused to listen to her and continued his pagan customs, he did remain tolerant toward the Christians and loyal to her as his mother. As much as she desired the conversion of her son to Christianity, Olha resigned herself to the will of God. There is no doubt that she also deeply desired that her people should accept the Christian faith. However, due to unfavorable conditions existing at that time, she did not undertake the task of a general baptism for her subjects. This was left for her grandson to do.

From 980 to 1015, Volodymyr, son of Sviatoslav and grandson of Olha, reigned over Rus-Ukraine. He was initially faced with a need to settle his nation's cultural and religious orientation. He needed to choose a religion for his people to follow. Since he was undecided, in 987 he sent envoys to inquire about and observe the practice of the major religions present in Kiev at that time. The preachers of Islam, Judaism, Christianity of the West and Christianity of the East were all trying to convert him to their particular faith.

When his envoys returned to Kiev, they reported the following to Volodymyr and his vassals: "Then we went on to Greece, and the Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty."

Upon hearing this, the boyars said, "If the Greek faith were evil, it would not have been adopted by your grandmother Olha, who was wiser than all other people." They all felt that it was Volodymyr's decision as to where they should all be baptized.

As with his grandmother's baptism, the circumstances surrounding Volodymyr's baptism are unclear. Some historians place the event in Kiev, others in Vasiliev, yet others in even other places. The most common opinion recorded it in conjunction with his conquering of the Greek city of Kherson in 988.

After his conquest, he desired to marry Anna, the sister of the Emperors Basil and Constantine. However, they refused since he wasn't a Christian. Upon hearing this, he replied that he was willing to accept baptism having already given some thought to their religion, for the report from his envoys about their faith and and rituals had pleased him well. Likewise, he was bound by close political, cultural and economic ties with Byzantium. Furthermore, he was convinced that the Christian faith of the Byzantine Rite best suited the psychology and mentality of his people, and, due to the prior evangelization of the southern slave, especially Bulgaria by SS. Cyril and Methodius, the divine services and sacred books were written in the slavonic language that was understood by all the people.

When Anna arrived in Kherson, Volodymyr was found to be suffering from an ailment of the eyes and could not see. Anna told him that, if he wanted to see, he should be baptized immediately. Volodymyr consented and said, "If this proves true, than of a surety is the God of the Christians great."  As the Bishop of Kherson laid his hand upon him, Volodymyr miraculously recovered his sight. He glorified God, saying, "I have now perceived the one true God."  Upon beholding the miracle, many of his followers were also baptized. This occurred in the Church of St. Basil in Kherson, whose name he received as a Christian.

Before returning to Kiev with his bride, Volodymyr built the Church of the Holy Virgin in Kherson and gave the city back to the Greeks. When he arrived back at his capitol, he ordered all the idols to be overthrown. Following this, he first of all baptized his twelve sons in the fountain called Kreschatyk (Baptistry) in Kiev. Then commanded that all the inhabitants of his nation go to the Dnieper River for baptism or risk his displeasure. Historically speaking, at this time the religion of the king was the religion of the people, and, if the people did not accept the religion, they would be slaughtered and thus receive a baptism of blood. Weeping for joy, his subjects exclaimed, "If this were not good, the prince and his boyars would not have accepted it."

As Metropolitan Hilarion reported, "He ordered all his subjects throughout his dominions to be baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, so that the name of the Holy Trinity would be glorified manifestly and loudly throughout all the cities, and so that everyone would become a Christian: the small and the great, the slave and the freedman, the young and the old, the boyars and the commoners, the rich and the poor. Not one person resisted his godfearing command. They were baptized, if not out of love, then out of fear of him who gave the command . . . finally, then our whole nation was united in glorifying Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit . . . Volodymyr had converted from the erring path of idolatry not one person, and not the inhabitants of ten cities, but the people of his entire domain." (Metropolitan Makarij: History of the Rus Church, Vol. 1, p. 5)

It is recorded that after his people were baptized, Volodymyr rejoiced that he and his subjects now knew God Himself and then looking up to heaven prayed, "O God, Who hast created heaven and earth, look down, I beseech Thee, on this Thy new people, and grant them, O Lord, to know Thee as the true God, just as the other Christian nations have known Thee. Confirm in them the true and unalterable faith, and aid me, O Lord, against the hostile adversary, so that, hoping in Thee and in Thy might, I may overcome his malice."

With his baptism, Volodymyr had a complete conversion to God. He really turned his life around to walk with his God and become a zealous apostolic example to his people with the devout living and practice of his faith in his daily life. Jacob the Monk in his Eulogy in honor of Prince Volodymyr states that he "loved God with his whole heart and whole souland cherished His commandments and observed them."  His love of God was especially evident in his numerous works of mercy, for he gave alms throughout the land of Rus, clothed the naked, fed the hungry, satisfied the thirsty, helped the sick, redeemed the debtors, freed slaves, and so forth. His life was fully occupied with love of God and neighbor, and he used his riches to further the building of churches to strengthen the faith of his people and in his various ways of caring for the physical needs of his subjects.

As the Nicon Chronicle testifies, Volodymyr "manifested many good works, truth, long- suffering patience, love, humility, humanity and mercy; his spirit burned like fire toward God and the divine faith, and he was deeply concerned about those who did not believe in the Lord Jesus."

After the nation was baptized, Volodymyr's first aim was to establish a church hierarchy and priests, to build churches and to promote Christian education. Metropolitan Hilarion was the first of many to spiritually shepherd the people. In 989 Volodymyr erected the Tithe Church (for he gave a tenth of his princely income for its support) in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. This was the first of many that he built to adorn the land of Rus. On the place where the pagan God Perun had been worshipped, he established the Church of St. Basil.

He also furnished them all with ministers. He knew that the religion of his people could only be strengthened and sustained through a life continually nourished by participating in the public communal service to God, the Sluzba Bozha (People's Service to God).

With his baptism, Volodymyr centered his life on God alone and thus emptied himself as Christ did to become a servant of and for all his people through self-sacrificing love. "Volodymyr the Great,"  says the historian M. Chubatyj, "was perhaps the only person who found his way into popular oral tradition as an exceptional figure of a Ruler with two facets. Volodymyr is depicted as a strong, just ruler of the Rus State who, with the aid of his knights and heroes, preserved order in the state and did away with every crime and violation of rights and justice. He was the defender of the fatherland against foreign enemies. In the oral popular tradition another aspect of Volodymyr is manifested - that of one who is holy, pleasing to God and merciful, a friend of the poor. This other Volodymyr is the 'Bright Sun', the father of the whole nation, who lived according to the spirit of the Gospel not in words but in deeds. He did away with destitution and poverty in his country. He was a social reformer not guided by the principle of hatred of one person toward the other nor by the theory of class-struggle without the foundation of Christian love. He was a social reformer who removed indigence, poverty and want in his country for the sake of God and in the name of justice and evangelical brotherhood."  (History of Christianity in Rus-Ukraine Vol. I, p. 287) Volodymyr, and later his people, outdid their Greek teachers in living their faith.

Thus the seed of the Word of God was sown, falling on fertile ground in the land of Rus-Ukraine and took root. The spirit of conversion that changed Volodymyr also took over the life of his people. His grandmother had begun to prepare the soil. He knew that the soil in the soul of his people was now ready to accept the Christian faith as practiced in the East.

The pagan farmers were whole-hearted worshippers of their gods of nature and practiced their superstitious rituals with much zeal, putting their whole mind, soul and body into their beliefs and the practice of their rites. When they accepted the baptism of new life and "put on Christ," they followed the example of their blessed prince and likewise completely turned their hearts to God, putting their whole soul, mind and body into living their daily life as true Christians, radiating the light they had received.

Through Volodymyr's influence, his people were on the way of developing their own spirituality as Ukrainian Catholics, their own way of expressing to others the experience of God in their life. The spirituality of a people has a special flavor that depends on their culture, history and tradition, for it is the way they daily live their faith.

The one characteristic of Ukrainian spirituality that sets it apart from other spiritualities is that it is a self-emptying, self-sacrificing, kenotic type of spirituality. It is what St. Paul speaks about when he says that "the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me."  (Gal. 2:20) In "putting on Christ"  at baptism, our ancestors began to lead a life turned toward Jesus Christ, Who is the Way and shows the Way through His Gospel teachings and Church tradition handed down from the Apostles. In their life, our ancestors emptied themselves of all selfish, self-centered interests thus making room for God and prayer. They were in love with God, their Creator and King, and, in this love for Him, emptied themselves through good works of mercy for love of their family, neighbor and nation. Their lives became filled with gratitude and praise to God for His unlimited, no strings attached love that is centered in Christ. Filled with His love, they were able to greet each other daily with "Slava Eesusu Khristu"  ("Glory be to Jesus Christ") and respond with "Slava na veeki"  ("Glory be forever") in true faith, for they knew that they each bore the name of Christ as Christians. They were found to cross themselves frequently with the sign of His sacrificial love as they met with problems in their daily life, for, being the Temples of the Holy Spirit, they knew that the Holy Triune God was always with them. He was present to them even in their sufferings and difficult times.

Their life became more and more centered on God and thus gradually began to reflect the glory of God that was in them. They believed in the truth that God had created them in His "image and likeness"  and with baptism re-created them by giving them new spiritual life in His Son, Jesus. "Those whom He foreknew He predestined to share the image of His Son, that the Son might be the first-born of many brothers. Those He predestined He likewise called. Those He called He also justified; and those He justified He in turn glorified."  (Rom. 8:29-30) Even in the dark shadows of death they were reminded of this great gift of God - "the image and likeness of God" - which they were as they prayed the Hymns for the Dead during the Parastas (Prayer Service for the Dead): "You called me forth from nothingness and have favored me with Your divine image. But having transgressed Your commandments, You returned me to earth from which I was taken. Restore me to Your likeness, that my original beauty may be renewed . . . I am the image of Your unspeakable glory; and though I bear the wounds of sin, have mercy on Your creature, O Master, and in Your mercy cleanse me and grant me the home I long for, and again make me an inhabitant of paradise."

Thus renewed in life as God's sons and daughters, who shared the image of His Son, our ancestors believed they had been called by God to return to Him through living a life of love, even one of suffering love, that was in tune with His will.

As God became man through His Son Who emptied Himself to become a slave for the salvation of humankind, so did the newly baptized creatures of God want to empty themselves out into complete service to their God through their love for Him and the salvation of humankind as well as their own. This was the natural way for the former pagan farmers to go in their spiritual life, for their life had been completely governed by superstitious rituals in service to their many natural gods. The mystery of the presence of their gods was everywhere in their life. Since they were farmers, they were interested in natural phenomena.

Through baptism they received the light of truth and learned in faith that the mystery of the incomprehensible God was everywhere in creation. This mysterious presence of a God Who created everything was easy for them to accept. Therefore, they had no difficulty in deeply bowing to the Lord when invited to do so during the Divine Liturgy as the priest prayed: "We give You thanks, O invisible King, Who by Your immeasurable power has fashioned all things, and in the greatness of Your mercy has brought all things out of non-existence into being. Look down from heaven, O Lord, upon those who have bowed their heads unto You, for they do not bow to flesh and blood, but to You the awesome God. Therefore, O Master, grant us a share of these gifts present before us for our good, according to the need of each."  They became aware of the "always thereness"  of their Creator behind every event in their lives, as well as behind everything in creation. They knew their place and humbly accepted God's reign over them.

Instead of Lada the Sun God giving them light and warmth to grow their crops, they now had Christ, the Son of God ( the Sun God of Truth) to give them the light to know God the Father Who created them and the warmth of His love to cultivate their spiritual growth. They placed their whole life into the hand of God, for they truly knew that they were saved and were the blessed inheritance of God. After receiving benediction with the Holy Eucharist following Communion, they could whole-heartedly pray: "We have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith, and we adore the undivided Trinity, as it has saved us."

Being farmers, they knew that once you sow the seed you have to work with the soil in order for the seed to benefit from the right conditions for growth. The soil then empties itself of nutrients to supply the seed what it needs and makes room for it to grow. Thus the soil has a mission to accomplish in order to bring forth the yield from the seed.

Our ancestors knew that they were truly God's "handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to lead the life of good deeds which God prepared for them in advance."  (Eph. 2:10) The seed of His Word was planted in the soil of their souls. They were given the mission to work this soil in accordance with God's will. They were to work out their salvation, their transformation into the perfected "image and likeness"  of God that was hidden deep within their souls and which was prefigured for them in the Transfiguration of Christ on Mt. Tabor.

How were they to go about transforming the darkened soil of their sinful souls to radiate the of the "image and likeness"  of God in which they had been created? The first step was the leap of faith they made when they "put on Christ"  and received the gift of God, a God Who "is rich in mercy"  and "because of  His great love for us, He brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin."  (Eph. 2:4-5) Once committed to a life in union with God, they had to be nourished and sustained through the sacramental life of the Church, the Body of Christ.

As farmers, they knew that the cultivation of the soil was dependent on the elements of nature - weather, climate, fertilization, time of year. They had been dependent on their natural gods to supply their needs. Now they turned to the one true God and accepted their utter dependence on Him to provide the right climate, the right conditions, that would lead them to the perfection of their own soiled souls, for they knew that He wanted them to become holy, to be "made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."  (Mt. 5:48) Their perfection was not to be of their own doing except for their willingness to freely give themselves over to the hand of God, and thus give Him the opportunity to work the soil of their souls in order to be made perfect and worthy of eternal life with Him. Therefore, it was significant for them to pray during the Divine Liturgy: "that this whole day be perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, let us commend ourselves and one another, and our whole life, to Christ, our God."  They knew how to work the land with their hands, and they freely gave their spiritual soil into the hand of God.

Participation in the sacramental life of the Church was the source of their vitality. Their souls became the Divine Liturgy alive. Nourished with the Body and Blood of Christ, fed with the Word of God and sustained by a life of prayer, they actively built up the Body of Christ in their daily life.

As farmers, they were imbued with the virtues of long-suffering patience, humility, obedience and love. As Christians, they applied these strengths of character to work in the soil of their souls. In the inner spirit of poverty, they humbly became aware of their vulnerability to their sinful nature and their complete dependence on God. They knew they were weak and would continue to soil their souls with sin, but they also had deep faith and hope in knowing that God loved them and would help them grow in perfection if they just loved Him enough to let Him do it. As the Publican, they prayed the penitential prayer before Holy Communion asking for the healing of their soul and body, for they were the first of sinners. Once strengthened by the partaking of the Holy Eucharist, they sang in hope the thanksgiving praises of God while asking to be kept in His holiness, "so that all day long we may learn Your righteousness."  Life for them became a living sacrament. They were ever present to the presence of God in their life.

They developed a high capacity to obediently listen to the Word of God as expressed in the readings and sermons during the Divine Liturgy. They attentively listened and were open to the wisdom of the seed that was given them each time, which they then cultivated in their own soil and brought to fruition in their daily life.

During Volodymyr's reign, the churches became the center of education and culture. After his father had plowed and harrowed the fertile soil of his subjects' souls through baptism and an exemplary life, Yaroslav the Wise (Mudry) took up the cause of raising the level of Church life. During Yaroslav's reign from 1016-1054, the "golden age of Kievan Rus"  came into being. He loved religious establishments and was devoted to priests, especially monks. He founded the Church of St. Sophia in Kiev, as well as other churches in the cities and districts. He appointed priests and paid them out of his personal fortune. He ordered them

 The Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev, Mother Church of Ukrainian Christians

to teach the people, for that was their duty given by God, and for priest and lay people to go often into the churches. He translated books from Greek into Slavic, as well as writing and collecting the myriad of books through which the faithful were instructed. He thus established the ground for religious education. His father had prepared the way, but Yaroslav sowed the hearts of the faithful with the written word. He loved books, for he felt thay were the source of wisdom. Thus he made them available to his people. He felt their souls would derive great profit from the inspired words of the prophets, the teachings of the evangelists and the Apostles, and the lives and writings of the Holy Fathers.

The people were taught primarily through the priests' sermons interpreting the lessons of the readings during the liturgies. Many of the sermons were based on the teachings of the Spiritual Fathers, especially the sermons of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great. They provided the basic instructions for living practical, fruitful lives in Christ.

St. Basil was a zealous apostle of the Word of God and taught through his sermons. He had a strong sense of sacrificial love for God that overflowed into love of family, neighbor and country, for to him the language of love was sacrifice. The measure of one's love of neighbor was the measure of one's love of God. According to him, monks are those who strive for holiness, which is s struggle for personal salvation that cannot be separated from the salvation of one's neighbor. Through his teachings, the deep spirit of faith, hope and self-emptying love in our ancestors was continually renewed and a strong sense of community spirit was fostered. Using his rule as a ground, St. Anthony (1073) and St. Theodosius (1074), who founded the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev (Pechersky Lavra), established a Ukrainian monasticism.

Of great significance was the fact that family life was important to the Ukrainian people. St. John Chrysostom spoke on the importance of religious education, and the need for the father to go home after the Divine Liturgy and teach his children the lessons revealed in the readings and the sermon. St. John was the one who promoted the establishment of icon or prayer corners in the home and recognized the family as the "domestic church."

Church life and family life became closely intertwined. Ukrainian families prayed together much, and, especially during the preholiday seasons of Christmas and Easter, much spiritual preparation was done before attending the services as a family. The farms were put in order, the homes were cleaned, prayers, fasting, penances, singing and special meal preparations were all done in the spirit of the season. Many of the former pagan rituals were now taking on new meanings and were transformed into cultural traditions having Christian significance. Mind, soul and body were all prepared for the coming of Christ at Christmas or for His Resurrection at Easter.

A great promoter of family life was the grandson of Yaroslav, Volodymyr Monomakh, who became the prince of Kiev in 1113. During his reign the "golden age of Kiev"  reached its peak. He was quite learned and had an excellent knowledge of the Scriptures and writings of the Holy Fathers. His most noted writing was his Testament, which was written as a moral and political instruction for his children. It is filled with the true Christian spirit and "teaches them the duties of good Christians who are supposed to care for their own souls, as well as for the welfare of their subjects and people around them."  He admonished them to cast their eyes down in humility in order to do the work of God on earth, but to aim their souls and words upward continuously to God in prayer and to live faithfully according to the words of the Bible, by which he himself lived and often quoted. Above all things, he warned them not to admit to pride in their hearts and minds, but to say: "We are all but mortal; today we live and tomorrow we shall be in the grave. All that Thou hast given us is not ours, but Thine, and Thou hast but lent it to us for a few days. Hoard not the treasures of earth, for therein lies great sin . . . This is the end of all things; to hold the fear of God above all else." 

Through following the path of obediently listening to God's Word, as gentle peaceloving farmers, Christian Ukrainians became true disciples of Christ in their daily lives. As a result, they began to renounce worldly things and became more attached to their striving for eternal life. Their life became increasingly one-pointed, simple in nature, to the point of willing one thing - love, the love of God, family, Church and country. Even as pagans they loved those that had done good to them. As Christians, they were now able to forgive their enemies and love them. They were especially reminded of the need for forgiveness during the four major periods of fast and reconciliation as prescribed by the Church and which coincided with the four seasons of the year - Great Lenten Fast, Phillipiwka, Petriwka and Spasiwka. They particularly experienced the opening of their hearts in Christian reconciliation as they sang the Matins for Resurrection, especially the last stichers: "This is the day of the Resurrection, let us be enlightened in triumphal celebration and embracing one another, let us say: 'Brethren' - even to those hating us, let us forgive all things because of the Resurrection."

The ultimate life of love is the sacrifice of one's life given up for love of God in complete imitation of Jesus Christ. Humbly dying for the sins of humankind, one truly picks up his/her cross and gives his/her own life completely over to God. Prince Volodymyr the Great's two sons, Borys and Hlib, were the first of such saints to be known as Passion-bearers. The passively accepted death rather than raise arms against their brother Sviatopolk. They shed their blood for the love of God and thus became an example for the Ukrainian nation in numerous times of religious, political and economic persecution. Theirs was the ultimate example of the self-emptying aspect of Ukrainian spirituality.

After the death of Prince Volodymyr the Great, a fratricidal struggle broke out among his sons. Borys and Hlib were murdered by their brother Sviatopolk in 1015. As true participants in the life of Christ, they went to their death in love. While gazing on the icon of our Lord as his enemies were approaching, Borys was heard to pray these words: "Lord Jesus Christ, Who in this image hast appeared on earth for our salvation, and Who, having voluntarily suffered Thy hands to be nailed to the cross, didst endure Thy passion for our sins, so help me now to endure my passion. For I accept it not from those who are my enemies, but from the hand of my own brother. Hold it not against him as a sin, O Lord."  Keeping the love of God in their hearts and the memory of Borys and Hlib in their minds, our ancestors could go forth sowing in tears their acts of sacrificial love during many times of hardship and trial. However, they would return rejoicing immersed in the faith of experiencing that God was really with them - Zname Boh. They found freedom in their spirit which no wall could contain. Christ was alive in their souls, His Mystical Body.

Their striving for perfection in pleasing God was reinforced when they would sing Psalm 118 during the Parastas service: "How happy those of blameless life, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your way. How happy those who respect His decrees, and seek Him with their whole heart. . . I put the law You have given before all the gold and silver in the world. . . O Lord, my maker, my preserver, explain Your commandments for me to learn. . . Had Your law not been my delight I should have perished in my suffering. I shall never forget Your precepts; by these You have kept me alive. I am Yours, O Lord, save me, O Lord. O Savior, save the soul of Your servant. I open my mouth, panting eagerly for Your commandments . . . Turn to me, please pity me, as You should those who love Your name . . . Your Word, O Lord, is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path . . . Long may my soul live to praise You, long be Your rulings my help! . . . May my entreary reach Your presence; rescue me as You have promised. I am wandering like a lost sheep; come and look for Your servant, O Lord, since I have never forgotten Your commandments."  Thus, with the living out of the Gospel life that God desired of them, our ancestors believed that they would be prepared to undergo the final separation from earthly attachments and become one with God as their "image and likeness"  reached its perfection in the fullness of intimate communion with their Creator after their death.

However, to live according to the way Christ taught, the people knew they had to be spiritually nourished by participating in the Mystical Supper. Not only is the soil of the soul fed by the reception of the Word during the Divine Liturgy, but, in partaking of the Mystical Supper, the soul is called by name and "partakes of the precious, most holy and most pure Body and Blood of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ for the remission of his/her sins and for life everlasting."  The knew that God was really one with them as they were infused with the Body and Blood of Christ. They were in love with the Eucharistic Christ  and strived to make themselves worthy of the closest union possible with Him on earth through the reception of this most holy sacrament.

They were further strengthened in their hope and love as the priest prayed: "We give You thanks, O Master, lover of mankind, benefactor of our souls, that even this day You have deemed us worthy of Your heavenly and immortal mysteries. Make straight our path, confirm us in our fear of You, guard our life, and make firm our steps, through the prayers and intercessions of the glorious Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary, and of all Your saints, for You are our sanctification, and we render glory to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen."  After having experienced the Paschal Mystery, they were thus encouraged in their determination to give themselves completely to the Lord and to carry His love out into the worldliness of their everyday lives, so that the world would be transformed through their own transformation in His love.

Their whole life became a turning to and a living out of a life in, through and with God. When truly emptied of themselves, they would become with Christ an offering of "Thine own of Thine own, we offer You, in behalf of all and for all, " for then they would indeed be full members of His Body.

In the villages of Ukraine, the local parish church became the center of community activity. Foremost, it fostered a deep prayer life in the people, for they not only participated in the Divine Liturgy but also frequently took part in daily Matins and Vesper services. They lived a contemplative type of life, a life with monastic qualities, yet lived in a word-a-day way. They lived close to God.

As St. Olha had found when she embraced God, our ancestors were happy living a life in union with God. As a result, the parish church became the gathering place, not only for prayer, but also for singing, dancing, song-games, plays and eating, especially on the festive occasions of the holy seasons of Easter and Christmas. As St. Paul had said to the Ephesians (5:18-19), they were "filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and inspired songs," singing praise to the Lord with all their hearts as they greeted each other with happy songs and dance. Through parish life, family life was strengthened, and the two were in a sense inseparable. As members of the Church, the people were spiritually united with the saints and their own departed ancestors.

The parish church became the haven from the "cares of the world," which were set aside in order to join with the choirs of angels in "welcoming the King of all." Thus, the faithful, being united in "one voice and one heart," could glorify and praise God in their own special place of "heaven on earth," where Prince Volodymyr's envoys reported that "God dwells among men."

they were reminded that they too were the anointed of God and were to receive God's favor, His graces, His gratuitous love all year. The center of their liturgical life was their participation in their public communal service to God. Through this service, they were actively led into a transformation into Christ. After each liturgy, Christ became more alive in them. When they left the church, Christ went with them into their daily world. Their gift of love to God was their daily living of His mysterious presence in their lives. The liturgy was alive in their souls, and they knew that they could not live without the Divine Liturgy.

It is no wonder then that, after immigrating to this land of "milk and honey" for various reasons of religious, economic and political persecution, our forefathers could not rest until they, as David, found a place to put the Ark. They planted the seeds of their fruitful faith in this new land of freedom, and churches began to multiply in order to spiritually nourish them and their descendents.