All of Metropolitan Sheptytsky’s Pastoral Messages Have Been Published

All 250 pastoral messages of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky of the UGCC from 1899 to 1944, which are kept in the Ukrainian and western archives, were published. Several days ago the third volume of works of the metropolitan written in 1939-1944 came out. During five years Halychyna was occupied Archbishop Andrey wrote 95 messages, almost as many as he wrote during the 40 previous years of his ministry. Bishop of UGCC Mykhail Hrynchyshyn and the research worker of the Central State Historical Archive in Lviv Oksana Hayova have been working for more than 20 years on the documents of Metropolitan Andrey, which includes not only messages, but also numerous letters, decrees, articles, lectures, and appeals which are kept in the Lviv and Kyiv archives, and also abroad. Many of these documents were already published in thematic collections and others are being prepared to be printed. And now all the pastoral messages of Andrey are published in three volumes: from 1899 to 1914 (issued in 2007), from 1918 to 1939 (issued in 2009) and from 1939 to 1944 (in 2010). From 1914 to 1917 the metropolitan was imprisoned by the tsarist Russian government and was in Suzdal. Immediately when the bishop returned to his motherland in January 1918 he wrote a message to the clergy and faithful after the exile. The third volume of the pastoral messages of the metropolitan are about the most difficult period in life of Halychyna and the UGCC when the fronts were changing, when Ukrainians did not have a state, when Ukrainians, Poland, Jewish people were killed, and when hatred and provocation reined. The only leader guide for many people at that time was Bishop Andrey. www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/2146215.html