The Synod of Bishops looks at exhibition on the underground of the UGCC

On September 8 the members of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC had a chance to learn about the exhibition devoted to the 20^th anniversary of the legalization of the UGCC. The photo exhibit, “Toward the Light of Resurrection through the Thorns of Catacombs,” was prepared by the Institute of Church History of the Ukrainian Catholic University. “Through this exhibition the Institute of Church History aims to express gratitude to the known and unknown martyrs and confessors of faith whose deeds made it possible for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to resurrect on Ukrainian land,” the director of Institute of Church History Fr. Andriy Mykhaleyko reported during the presentation. Materials of the institute were used in the exposition, foremost memories of eyewitnesses and active participants of the underground, which were collected during 1992-2009. The exhibit also included documents of state archives and photographs from private collections. The exhibition was supported by the Lviv Regional Council, in cooperation with the state branch of the archives of the Security Service of Ukraine, the History of Religion Museum in Lviv, and the Center for Researching the Liberation Movement. The authors of the project are Fr. Taras Bublyk, Svitlana Gurkina, Iryna Kolomiets, Oksana Kasichnyk, and Fr. Andriy Mykhaleyko. In the exhibition are shown the histories of representatives of Greek Catholic clergy, monasticism, and the laity – each of which had a unique human fate. All together they are the witnesses of deep Christian faith and unshakable loyalty to the church and nation. The exhibition covers the period from 1939 to 1991 and represents the three important stages of the tragic, yet heroic, history of the UGCC of the 20^th century: the violent liquidation, underground activity, and legalization in 1989. For more detailed information about the exhibition please contact the Institute of Church History: (032) 27-77, [email protected]

Information Department of the UGCC