The victims of the Holodomor were prayed for in the main cathedral of Vienna

On March 7 in the main cathedral of Vienna, Saint Stephen’s (Stephansdom), a Liturgy honoring the victims of the Holodomor [forced famine] of 1932-33 in Ukraine took place. The service for the victims of the Holodomor was celebrated jointly by the Apostolic Exarch for the Ukrainians of France, the Benelux countries, and Switzerland, Bishop Michael (Hrynchyshyn); Bishop Hlib (Lonchyna), curial bishop; Bishop Yaroslav (Pryriz), auxiliary bishop of the Sambir-Drohobych Eparchy; Father Taras Shahala, pastor of the central parish of Saint Barbara in Vienna; Father Nikolay Hornykevych, pastor of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in Salzburg; Father Yuriy Kolasa, pastor of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in Lenz; Father Oleh Kovtun; Fr. Borys Gudziak, rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University; Fr. Oleksandr Ostgaym-Dzerovych, general vicar of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in Austria; and Austrian clergy. This was the first time an event of such a scale took place in Austria on the occasion of honoring the memory of the victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine. It was organized with the assistance of Archbishop of Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn. The members of the Ukrainian community of Vienna, Salzburg, Hamburg, Munich, Lenz, Hungary, personnel of the foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Austria, representatives of the mass media and the public of Austria, inhabitants of Vienna and guests of the Austrian capital, more than 600 persons took part. The general vicar of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in Austria, Father Oleksandr Ostgaym-Dzerovych, addressed the faithful with an introductory word at the beginning of the service and talked about what the supporters of the totalitarian regime of Stalin in Ukraine did in those terrible years. «In 1932-33 in Ukraine – the bread-winner of Europe – through violent collectivization and taking away grain and other produce from the peasants about 8 million people were eliminated,» he noted. «55.5 thousand deaths per day, 2300 per hour, almost 40 every minute. This was the reality of those times. Even now many witnesses of the Holodomor are still afraid to give testimony, or rather they do so anonymously. They know the truth, but horror before the inhuman Holodomor makes them afraid, even after three quarters of a century.» So Father Franc Shlegel quoted the appeal of heads of the Christian Churches of Ukraine concerning the honoring of victims of the Holodomor of 1932-33. Ambassador of Ukraine in Austria Yevhen Chernobryvko thanked all who on this day came to the church and joined in prayer for those who died during the Holodomor in Ukraine. He noted that Ukraine will continue to make efforts for the acknowledgment of the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. «Such international support strengthens our confidence that historical justice will be restored and inspires us to work for its realization in the full degree,» the Ambassador underlined. At the end of the Liturgy Ukrainian and Austrian clergy jointly read the prayer of His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar for the victims of Holodomor.  To the guests of the events were presented brochures in the German language «The Holodomor was the genocide of Ukrainians at the beginning of the 1930s,» the magazine « Austrian-Ukrainian digest,» devoted to the 75^th anniversary of the Holodomor, and also a thematic photo exhibit. After the pontifical service, the Embassy hosted the bishops who celebrated this Liturgy.

Information given by Ambassador of Ukraine in Austria Yevhen Chernobryvko