More recognition of Carpatho-Rusyns from a Ukrainian source

In a two-paragraph brief on its website, the Religious Information Service of Ukraine reported the visit of Metropolitan Volodymyr of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church visited Transcarpathia, and identified it as "part of the homeland of the Ruthenian (or Carpatho-Rusyn) people in the Carpathian Mountains.

It's a little thing, but every bit of recognition Carpatho-Rusyns get from Ukrainian sources is a victory.

A scholarship for Chicago-area Carpatho-Rusyn law students

The Bohemian Lawyers' Association of Chicago is once again offering a $2,000 scholarship for persons of "Czech, Moravian, Ruthenian, Silesian or Slovak ancestry" enrolled in an accredited law school in the greater Chicago area.

Ruthenian, of course, means Rusyn, and the scholarship covers nationalities of the original Czechoslovak Republic.

Applications have to be postmarked or e-mailed by March 31.

You can find an application and more details at the Bohemian Lawyers' Association of Chicago website.

Slovak law change could help the Carpatho-Rusyn language

The Slovak Spectator reports that an amendment to Slovakia's minority language law could increase the number of communities in the country  where the Rusyn language is officially used. 

According to the article, the current 68 Rusyn-speaking municipalities would increase to 113 under the proposed amendment. 

Slovakia's officially recognized minority languages are Hungarian, Czech, Romani, Rusyn, Ukrainian, German, Polish, Croatian, Yiddish and Bulgarian.

Artwork from Carpatho-Rusyn children in Slovakia

The Carpatho-Rusyn Society has received a selection of artwork from children between the ages of 8 and 16 in the Rusyn language school in Radvan nad Laborcem, Slovakia. Teacher Marek Gaj asked them to put down on paper what it means to be Rusyn.

Here's an example, and you can find the complete collection at the Carpatho-Rusyn Cultural Center's Facebook page.

By Petro Druga, 15, of Čabiny. The wooden church in Ladomirova.
 

Metropolitan Nicholas: A unifying figure among Carpatho-Rusyns

Metropolitan Nicholas

Metropolitan Nicholas of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. formally celebrates his 75th birthday today at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Johnstown, Pennsylvania with a Moleben of Thanksgiving.

The diocese is streaming video of the service, starting at 3:45 p.m.  Central time.

You can also send birthday wishes to the Metropolitan at metropolitan.nicholas@acrod.org

His birthday received notice in Monday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where religion writer, who noted that in our Carpatho-Rusyn "religious culture plagued by in-fighting and schism, Metropolitan Nicholas ... has worked to heal rifts between Orthodox and Catholic Christians."

Metropolitan Nicholas has also been an enthusiastic supporter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.

A Dual Centennial for NW Indiana's Carpatho-Rusyns: Part Two

Original church
(from St. Michael's 50th anniversary history)

The second of two parishes founded by Rusyns in 1911 was St. Michael's Byzantine Catholic (formerly Greek Catholic) Church, originally located in Gary. It's been located in Merrillville, Ind., for nearly 30 years.

Land had been bought in 1909 between Madison and Monroe by a group of that formed the core of the initial parish: Michael Prascsak, John Maszkaly, John Prascsak, Andrew Volcsko, Mike Piatak, Vaszil Majhrowich, Peter Majhrowich, Geo. Kotfer, John Horkavy, John Brugos, Simon Tihansky and John A. Dander.

The parish's history, compiled for its 50th anniversary and graciously supplied by John Schweich, reports that the parish was formally organized in 1911, with Father Basil Berecz becoming the first permanent pastor in April of that year.

He built the first wooden church, which became the parish hall in 1920, when a second church was built.

For the record, St. Michael's wasn't the first Greek Catholic Church begun by Rusyns in Northwest Indiana. That would be St. Mary's in Whiting, which was founded Oct. 1, 1899.

The third church connected to the 1911 settlement of Rusyn communities in Gary is St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, now in Hobart.

It was formed by members of St. Michael's amid the celibacy controversy that hit the Rusyn Greek Catholic Church in the 1930s and led to the creation of what is now the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese, based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

The first meeting of the St. Nicholas congregation was Jan. 13, 1935.

The flyer for our March 26th Pysanky Workshop in Palos Park, Ill.

One correction: If you call to RSVP, leave a message for Ken, not Ron.