29 November 2010

It's just about time for holiday baking, Carpatho-Rusyn style

Barbara Rolek's fine Eastern European Food Blog at about.com is moving into holiday mode, with a step-by-step photo gallery of the ladies of St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church in Highland, Ind., making the jelly roll style nut roll.

It's part of the holiday tradition of many people with roots in the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, including the Carpatho-Rusyns.

If you're looking for a basic recipe, Barbara offers Sophia Saliwonczyk's nut roll.

Here's a version from the Library of Congress.

And here is one more.

17 November 2010

A Christmas concert with a bit of a Carpatho-Rusyn flavor

The St. Peter and St. Paul Orthodox Church Choir and the Orthodox Concert Choir of Chicago will present a Christmas concert on Sunday, December 5th at 2 p.m. at St. Peter & St. Paul Church, 6980 South County Line Road, in Burr Ridge.

The concert will feature Christmas hymns and carols from Russia, Carpatho-Rus', Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech lands. 

Admission is free.

The concert is under the direction of John Sutko of Burbank, Ill. Mr. Sutko is a member of the board of the Lake Michigan Chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.

15 November 2010

The 2011 summer school on Carpatho-Rusyn language and culture

Here's everything you need to know about next summer's Carpatho-Rusyn language and culture program at Prešov University in Slovakia:


Studium Carpato-Ruthenorum 2011
International Summer School for Rusyn Language and Culture
Prešov, Slovakia
June 12-July 3, 2011

Prešov University in Prešov, Slovakia, announces its second annual three-week Studium Carpato-Ruthenorum International Summer School for Rusyn Language and Culture to be held from June 12-July 3, 2011 (applicants from North America may begin arriving from Saturday, June 11, 2011). 

The program is hosted by the university's Institute of
Rusyn Language and Culture. Prešov University is the only university in the Slovak Republic offering a full-time accredited academic program in Rusyn language and literature.

The Studium summer school is intended for those interested in studying the Rusyn language and the history of the Carpatho-Rusyns, including high school (18 and over) and college students, as well as Slavists and any who wish to broaden their knowledge of
East Slavic language, history, and culture. Participants can expect to acquire a familiarity with or strengthen their competency in the Rusyn language, as well as gain a deep understanding of Carpatho-Rusyn history and culture.

The Studium Carpato-Ruthenorum is held on the campus of Prešov University, with the dormitory, cafeteria, and classroom building all located on 17th of November Street (ulica 17. novembra). Instruction is provided by university professors, distinguished Slavists, and specialists in Carpatho-Rusyn history from Slovakia, Ukraine, the United States, and Canada. The language of instruction, in parallel courses, is either Rusyn or English. 

The program offers 30 hours of history lectures; language instruction consists of two hours per day of grammar and conversation, also for a total of 30 hours. Participants who complete the program receive official certificates from the Studium; transcripts will be available for students who wish to earn credits for the program through their home universities.

Carpatho-Rusyn History:
The history lecture series focuses on Carpathian Rus' and the Carpatho-Rusyns worldwide from earliest times to the present. Lecturers include Professor Paul Robert Magocsi, University of Toronto, and Dr. Valerii Padiak, Researcher and Publisher, Center for Carpatho-Rusyn Studies, Uzhhorod, Ukraine. The mini-course in Carpatho-Rusyn folklore will be taught by Dr. Patricia Krafcik, The Evergreen State College Olympia, Washington).

Rusyn Language:
The Rusyn language is offered at three levels: 1) for beginners; 2) for students who have some knowledge of Russian, Ukrainian, or another Slavic language; and 3) for native speakers of Rusyn. These classes are intended to help participants acquire an understanding of the theoretical linguistic aspects of the Rusyn language, as well as to develop proficiency in the spoken and written language. Instructors include Professor Stefan Pugh, Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio), and from Prešov University: Dr. Vasil' Jabur, CSc., Dr. Kvetoslava Koporová, and Dr. Anna Plišková, Ph.D.
Extracurricular Activities: 

The following activities take place after classes and include:

--presentations on Rusyn traditions, folklore, and the socio-cultural life of Carpatho-
Rusyns in Slovakia, including a visit to the Medzilaborce Folklore Festival and
Rusyn cultural institutions in Prešov;
--presentations on Rusyn folk architecture and culture, including visits to museums,
skanzens, and wooden churches;
--a Rusyn literary evening;
--visits to the Alexander Dukhnovych Theater and film viewings;
--pysankŷ (wax resist egg decorating) and folksong workshops;
--excursions in Prešov and the Prešov Region of northeastern Slovakia where Rusyns
reside.

Housing and Meals:
Participants are housed in a Prešov University dormitory in standard 2-bed/2-room suites with Internet access for laptop computers and dine in the university cafeteria. The dormitory provides a communal kitchen with refrigerator, washing machines, and dryers. Wireless Internet is also accessible in the cafeteria building. 

Available in the university neighborhood are grocery stores, a pharmacy, restaurants, Internet cafes, bookstores, and easy access to city transportation.

Applications:
Applications and a complete program schedule for the Studium may be found at http://www.unipo.sk/9040 and http://www.c-rs.org.

Applications will be accepted online until February 1, 2011, and should be sent to the
following email address: urjk@unipo.sk

The online application process is preferred, but
hard copies may be sent to the following postal address:
Prešovská univerzita
Ústav rusínskeho jazyka a kultúry
Nám. legionárov 3
080 01 Prešov
SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Cost:
The cost for the three-week session, including tuition, housing, three meals daily, all excursions, and all museum admissions, is 1200 Euros or $1668 (at an exchange rate of 1 Euro/$1.39). A non-refundable administrative deposit of 100 Euros or $139.00 is due by April 15, 2011. This fee will be applied to the total cost, with the remainder of 1100 Euros or $1529.00 due by May 15, 2011. 

Participants are responsible for their own travel costs to and from Prešov.

Payment by bank check is preferred and is to be sent to the following address:
Slovenská asociácia rusínskych organizácií
Duchnovičovo nám. 1
080 01 Prešov
SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Bank transfers are also possible to:
Československá obchodná banka, a.s.
pobočka Prešov
Hlavná 96
080 01 Prešov
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Account name: Slovenská asociácia rusínskych organizácií
Account number: 4010764555/7500
BIC - SWIFT: CEKOSKBX
IBAN: SK 50 7500 0000 0040 1076 4555

Contacts:
Within Slovakia and Europe, contact Mgr. Timea Verešová, Ph.D. (also English speaking) for information, at urjk@unipo.sk, tel.: +421 (51) 7720 392, +421 915 412 917.
Within North America, contact Dr. Patricia Krafcik, at krafcikp@evergreen.edu.

Interested in possible group travel arrangements from North America? Contact Nancy Revak at NSREVAK@aol.com.

01 November 2010

A traditional Slavonic Divine Liturgy at Munster's St. Nicholas Church

With the successful celebration of Carpatho-Rusyn Day at St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church in Munster on Saturday, we can't complete our visit to Northwest Indiana without noting what may be the last regular weekly Church Slavonic Divine Liturgy among Byzantine Catholic churches in the U.S.

Father Frank Korba celebrates the Slavonic liturgy at 8:30 a.m. each Sunday, and the parishioners participate in the true Rusyn manner, singing our traditional prostopinije in congregational style.

It's not 100% Slavonic, but it's pretty close.

St. Nicholas is one of three Byzantine Catholic churches in Northwest Indiana founded by Carpatho-Rusyns.

According to the parish history, St. Nicholas church was not incorporated as a Greek Catholic church in union with Rome until 1922, with the parish history noting that it had both Orthodox and Greek Catholic priests serving there until then.

The original church was located in Hammond, Ind., ultimately moving to Munster in 1962.

Father Korba is an enthusiastic advocate of his Carpatho-Rusyn identity, and has been a generous supporter of the Lake Michigan Chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.
The interior of St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church in Munster.