The Ukrainian Weekly 1989

І : І І Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc.. a fraternal non-profit association| іїаІИН Ї Vol. LVII No. 10 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 1989 50 cents Revelations about Chornobyl accident Initiative group seeks renewal raise questions on extent of cover-up of Ukrainian Orthodox Church by Dr. David Marples hitherto, noting that reports from the by Bohdan Nahaylo the USSR and the Ukrainian SSR and zone had highlighted only the bravery to the international Christian commu As the recent revelations about the of pilots, miners, builders and soldiers. A group of Ukrainian Christians led by nity, the five founding members con degree of contamination of Byelorus Mr. Kachura explains that both the a priest ordained in the Russian Ortho demn the suppression of the Ukrainian sian villages demonstrate, there is much Ukrainian party and government took dox Church have announced the forma- Autocephalous Orthodox Church still to be related about the results of an active role throughout. The Ukrai tation of the Initiative Committee for during the Stalin era and maintain that radioactive fallout from the April 1986 nian leaders, in his words, "had no time the Renewal of the Ukrainian Auto- the Russian Orthodox Church "is not disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power to give interviews" because they were cephalous Orthodox Church. capable of satisfying the needs of plant. explaining problems as they arose. In their inaugural statement, dated Ukrainian Orthodox believers." Officially, the consequences of the However, there is evidence to show February 15 and addressed to the accident will be much less serious than (Continued on page 2) Presidiums of the Supreme Soviets of Background originally prognosticated. Indeed, the Soviet authorities have seized upon Kievan Rus' was Christianized, in almost every statement that ostensibly 175th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's birth 988. The majority of Ukrainian Chris supports this viewpoint. Thus in late tians have traditionally belonged to the January, Dr. Robert Gale and other Orthodox faith. In 1596, at the Union of Western specialists were cited as con Special fea Brest, some Ukrainian believers joined cluding this to be the case, at a scientific tures related to with Rome becoming "Uniates," or conference. this anniver Catholics of the Eastern Rite — that is, The problem with this outlook -- sary of the they retained the Eastern rite in wor aside from the fact that it is not sup greatest poet of ship. ported by available evidence — is that it Ukraine appear It was not until 1685-1686 that is based almost entirely on the one-sided on page 7 and in Ukrainian Orthodoxy, hitherto under story of Chornobyl elucidated by Soviet the centerfold, the jurisdiction of Constantinople, was officials themselves. which show absorbed by the Russian Orthodox Nevertheless, even this story appears cases monu Church, Western Ukraine, which was to be changing. Early In February, a ments to Taras under Austro-Hungarian and later Kiev newspaper held an interview with Shevchenko lo Polish rule, became a bastion of Ukrai Boris Kachura, a Ukrainian Politburo cated through nian Catholicism, while Russian-ruled member, and a secretary of the Central out the world. Ukraine became the preserve of Ortho Committee of the Communist Party of Also included doxy. Ukraine, who is in charge of energy in the centerfold Soon after the revolutions of 1917, a matters in the republic. Mr. Kachura is a story fo Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox not only tries to make light of what he cusing on the Church was established and, during the describe as "emotional" reactions to fact that though years that it was officially tolerated by Chornobyl, he decides to introduce a monuments to the Soviet authorities, enjoyed re new aspect to the affair: namely, the the bard exist markable success among Ukrainian important role of the Ukrainian party throughout the Orthodox believers. hierarchy, and the Politburo in parti world, there is In the late 1920s, though, the Ukrai- cular, in the clean-up operations. no Shevchenko ^ nian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Thus he states, "All the republic's monument in was ''liquidated" and its members leaders worked directly in the disaster Lviv -- though forcibly amalgamated into the Russian region" - a fact which he asserts is well- not for lack of Orthodox Church. In fact, the suppres- known to those in that area. The public support. 'sion of the vibrant Ukrainian Auto interviewer then asks why nothing Portrait on left by Andriy cephalous' Orthodox Church marked about this activity has been revealed Humeniuk of Lviv. (Continued on page 7) Shevchenko anniversary marked in Lviv Teenager arrives from Ukraine, KENT, England - An unsanctioned symbolically kissed and embraced one requiem service on the occasion of the another before the huge crowd gathered awaits heart-lung transplant 128th anniversary of the death of Taras around the Church of the Assumption Shevchenko, Ukraine's national in the center of the city. by Marta Kolomayets her lack of appetite and dramatic weight poet, drew between 25,000 and 30,000 loss. Two other speeches were delivered by people to the city center of Lviv in PHOENIX, Ariz. - Oksana Hleb- "However, she kept up with her Ivan Неї, head of the Committee in western Ukraine on Sunday, February kyna, at the age of 17, is a little over five schoolmates, attending classes, partici Defense of the Ukrainian Catholic 26, reported Keston College citing feet tall and weighs only 92 pounds. Yet pating in games," recalls her mother. Church, and by Ivan Hrechko, a Lviv observers present. the slightness of her stature conceals the Seven years ago, her condition wor engineer and cultural activist. The service, led by the Rev. Mykhailo dimensions of her hope. sened and Oksana's grandmother in Neiskohuz of the Orthodox Church and The police did not intervene to dis Ч have hope that I will go back to --^y Stryi, wrote to her sister, Kateryna the Rev. Mykhailo Voloshyn of the perse the gathering, and observers native Ukraine one day a healthy Rosola, in Arizona, asking the family to Ukrainian Catholic Church, was held to present reported considerable satisfac person," she said during a recent ti le- intervene in the young girl's case. 'show solidarity between Ukrainian tion on the part of the participants. phone interview from her great aunt's Mrs. Rosola, a native of Ukraine, Orthodox and Catholics in the face of However, a select number of political home in Arizona, where she is currently who emigrated to the United States, via persistent government attempts to and religious activists were prevented awaiting a heart and lung transplant. Germany and Venezuela after World incite one against the other. from attending; they were arrested the A native of Stryi, western Ukraine, War II, has not been back to her Both priests delivered sermons on moment they stepped outside their Oksana was born with a damaged heart, homeland since 1944 and had kept making peace and cooperation between homes and were held at local police yet her condition was not diagnosed sporadic contact with her relatives for the two Ukrainian Churches — both of stations until 9 p.m., Keston College until she was three years old and her 30 years, but with Oksana^s life-threa- which are officially banned — and reported. mother, Volodymyra Lobkova, noticed THF UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 1989 r No. 10 weakened by the effects of iodine The exception to this rule, he states, sion before the posthumous publication Revelations... accumulated in the thyroid gland. This was the late Valeriy Legasov, former of his memoirs. (Continued from page 1) weakening brought on an epidemic and First Deputy Chairman of the Kur- Nevertheless, it is possible to accept that whereas the Ukrainian party chief, led to the high death rate. chatov Institute of Atomic Energy with that there is a long-established system of Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, made only Moreover, this same process is oc the USSR Academy of Sciences, who political and scientific control over occasional visits to Chornobyl, his then curring with the human organism, committed suicide last April, as if by his energy questions in Ukraine (and else Byelorussian counterpart, Nikolai although the end result should not be so death he wanted to warn of the current where in the union) that has played a Slyunkov, was more actively involved. catastrophic, because the problem can "fatal mistakes" of the scientific "ge key part in concealing the effects of the This belated attempt to redress the be alleviated by vitamins, especially the nerals." nuclear disaster from the mass of the balance appears as both futile - since it carotene found in carrots. Thus far, Dr! Shcherbak believes that much of population, in the interests of safe can be rejected from a reading of the however, this has not been carried out the problem lies in the Ukrainian guarding its future plans. Although this press - and puzzling, and may owe effectively, and one consequence of republic itself. TTie interviewer com control is operated from Moscow, the more to party politics than reality. Chornobyl has been a grippe epidemic ments that people learned about the Shcherbytsky leadership has never The remainder of the interview with in fallout areas. Chornobyl disaster first from news raised objections to its plans or state Mr. Kachura is equally disturbing. Also, Dr. Grodzinsky notes that the papers and journals in Moscow, show ments on nuclear energy in Ukraine, or Thus he maintains that no changes in ''collective dose of irradiation'' is ing that in reality there are three types of on Chornobyl. the state of health of people either in the constantly rising, as radioactive par glasnost: number one, for Moscow; Yet the lack of information imparted Soviet Union or abroad will result from ticles are taken up, in everincreasing number two for the Ukrainian republic; to the public only raised its suspicions Chornobyl, and he praises both nuclear volume, into the food chain.

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