“These are tragic yet grace-filled times”: Report on UCU’s activities during the fourth month of the war

Our strength in times of war lies in our daily courage: the courage to learn and study, volunteer and protect, work and educate. The fourth month of the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian people is a testimony to the unconquerable spirit of those fighting on the frontline and the home front. Since the first day of the war, students, teachers, partners, employees, and graduates of the Ukrainian Catholic University have worked tirelessly on all fronts.

How are the UCU community and the university’s donors working towards Ukraine’s victory? Read the report on the fourth month of the war to find out.

Over the four months of the war, UCU collected 3.44 million dollars for humanitarian aid. Most of the funds were spent on medical supplies for hospitals and people in the combat zone. 10% of the sum collected this month was spent to support internally displaced persons, 9% on protective and safety equipment for our soldiers, and 7% on food aid.

Soldiers on the Frontline

16 UCU employees defend Ukraine in the Armed Forces, the Ukrainian Voluntary Army, and the Territorial Defense forces. 20 students have been mobilized.

“One cannot let their guard down in times of war. Remember that your front is where you are at the moment. Be brave and hard-working while protecting our home front and strengthening Ukraine in any way you can. And we shall take care of the rest!” said Maksym Osadchuk while addressing the UCU community. Maksym is a post-graduate History student at the UCU Humanitarian Faculty and a veteran of the “Aidar” battalion, who took up arms on the first day of the war.

Maksym Osadchuk, a post-graduate History student at the UCU Humanitarian Faculty

Heroes Never Die

In the 4th month, our community suffered irreparable losses.

These are our defenders who died fighting Russian invaders:

Oleg Vorobyov, a participant in the Master of Science in Technology Management Program at UCU Business School (May 30)
Andriy Tybinka, husband of Oksana Vasylytsia, staff of UCU Management School (June 1)
Vasyl Figas, brother of Fr. Roman Figas, a scientific co-worker of the UCU Institute of Ecumenical Studies (June 6)
Artem Dymyd, UCU graduate, son of Fr. Mychailo Dymyd, first rector of Lviv Theological Academy, and Ivanka Krypjakevych-Dymyd, a famous iconographer (June 18).

Initiated by the families of the fallen soldiers and UCU, two scholarships named after Artem Dymyd and Oleg Vorobyov were established. The scholarship named after Artem Dymyd was created in cooperation with the national scout organization “Plast” and the Ukrainian clothing brand “Aviatsiya Halychyny” (Air Forces of Halychyna).

Farewell to hero Artem Dymyd

Yuriy Nazaruk, the creator of “Aviatsiya Halychyny,” who worked with Artem, says that he was very special: “At the time, our country lost something of great importance – the continuous tradition of forming the Ukrainian intelligentsia. Therefore, today we must build a modern Ukrainian nation and state – a so-called core. What we see today is only one of its products. And in that tradition, both patriotism, education, values, culture, and even readiness to sacrifice on the battlefield. This is what makes real elitism. Artem was very genuine, naturally combining all these things. He was, without exaggeration, dignified and noble.Прощання з Артемом Димидом

Olga Vorobyov, Oleg Vorobyov’s wife, recalls: “If only you knew how happy Oleg was to study at the Ukrainian Business School! He looked forward to every module, and we would discuss it together. He would tell me about the cases, show me the videos, and immediately come up with multiple ideas for applying his new knowledge. At times, it almost felt like I was studying in the Business School myself. We thank the UCU Business School for this great initiative and for creating a scholarship named after Oleg Vorobyov.”

Farewell to hero Oleg Vorobyov

You can make a donation to the Artem Dymyd and Oleg Vorobyov scholarships at: https://ucufoundation.org/donate/

Academic Front

The Network of Solidarity and Strategic Partnership with UCU is the project that started with the beginning of a full-scale war to support the UCU academic community and has already gathered 46 international partners.

The Ukrainian Catholic University announced its cooperation with Lapland University of Applied Sciences in Finland. Within the framework of the memorandum, the Lapland UAS University Community will be able to accept ten UCU students for the next academic year, 2022-2023.

On June 8, UCU announced an expanded partnership with DePaul University, one of the first universities to answer UCU’s call for academic support during the war. During the spring semester, DePaul University offered Ukrainian students an opportunity to take their academic courses online with the possibility of receiving a certificate and credits at UCU after completion.

“The most important question all DePaul members ask themselves is what should be done. When the war began in Ukraine, we understood that we needed to help our UCU partners and other universities in a way that would meet their immediate needs,” says Gian Mario Besana, Associate Provost for Global Engagement and Online Learning at DePaul.

Teachers of UCU at the final meeting, “School of Teaching Skills 2021–2022.”

Our teachers continue to study. Eleven teachers have finished their training in the professional development certificate program “School of Teaching Skills 2021–2022.” Despite the war and the blaring of air raid sirens, teachers continue to hone their skills and communicate with and support each other.

In cooperation with NaUKMA, UCU launched an academic platform discussing the future of Ukraine. The conference “Lessons of War and Rebuilding the Country and Society” was held in Kyiv on June 9. This is the first meeting of the visionary series on the future renewal of post-war Ukraine, scheduled based on the joint platform of the Ukrainian Catholic University and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

“One of the important messages we want to convey via this platform is that great things are accomplished together. UCU and NaUKMA universities have a wide network of international partnerships. This is important because we Ukrainians shouldn’t be alone. Fighting against Russian military aggression showed that we need the solidarity of the world,” notes Oleg Turiy, historian and Vice-Rector of UCU.

The participants of the conference “Lessons of the war and the future re-building of the country and society”

During the conference “Vulnerability to Abuse and the Catholic Church” in Ottawa, Khrystyna Shabat, the head of the Child Dignity Center, presented the first study on sexual violence conducted in Ukraine.

Khrystyna Shabat, the head of the Child Dignity Center

Humanitarian Front

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, UCU students, particularly those in the Social Work program, have actively worked on the volunteer front, working in the shelters for IDPs and helping wounded military personnel in hospitals. Students view it as an opportunity for a practical application of their acquired knowledge and to help Ukraine fight against Russian invaders.

You can read about future social work specialists and their work at the Ukrainian Catholic University in this article.

Yulia Kokoyachuk, the head of the Social Work program, says that the initiative to bring students of the program to the team of people assisting wounded military personnel came from rehabilitation therapists, physical therapists, and therapists of the Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy: ”To restore one’s physical integrity and skills, that is, controlling one’s hands or feet, they need to restore their faith and the desire to live, even if it requires a dramatic change. The first part is done by the rehabilitation team, consisting of physical and occupational therapists, and the second is up to social work specialists and our students.”

Orysia Masna, a Social Work student and the communicator for the Department of Communication with Graduates, brings severely wounded soldiers back to life in one of the Lviv hospitals. She is working on the frontline as part of the volunteer medical battalion “Hospitallers.”

“I always felt drawn to military medicine. Since March, I have worked with wounded soldiers in a hospital and understood I wanted to be a military medic. One of the first questions I asked was, “Did you have a medic?” In most cases, there either was none, or the medic was too far from the soldiers’ position. There is a need for medics, and we have to meet it. That’s why I am here. I want to have a part in our victory, and I cannot do it while staying at home. All our soldiers have wives, children, and parents waiting for them to return home. I shudder at the thought of a body bag coming home instead of your smiling loved one. Our team of the “Hospitallers” battalion is doing everything to avoid this. They call us angels in white scrubs. Maybe there’s some truth to that,” says twenty-year-old Orysia Masna, an UCU student and employee.

Orysia Masna, a Social Work student

Information Front

The project dedicated to collecting personal stories, “Short Stories from the Great War,” continues to develop. Media platforms The Ukrainians, Espreso.TV and Reporters act as media partners of the project.

In the first days of a full-scale invasion, we couldn’t know what would happen even in the next hour. The same goes for the heroine of the “Short Stories from the Great War,” the artist Uliana Khreshovets. Yet, by continuing her work at the UCU Icon-Painting School, she was able to help a large number of displaced people. While conducting master classes on iconography and making sketches in the shelters, Uliana covered the events of the war and helped children and adults adapt to the cruel reality. In this article, you can read more about prayer painting as a therapy method.

More Stories can be found at https://ucu.edu.ua/cat/war-histories/

Visits

On May 27, UCU President, his Beatitude Borys Gudziak and Rector Fr. Bohdan Prach visited injured defenders in the Truskavets military hospital.

“We prayed together. We are grateful to our soldiers for their bravery, for defending us, and for giving us the opportunity to do our job. Their courage gives us confidence that Ukraine will prevail!” Bohdan Prach said.

4th month of war Beatitude Borys Gudziak

Beatitude Borys Gudziak visited injured defenders in the Truskavets military hospital

On June 15, the delegation of the Lublin Catholic University of John Paul II (KUL), headed by Fr. Miroslav Kalinovsky, visited the Ukrainian Catholic University. The Rector of UCU, Father Bohdan Prach, said: “Our Polish colleagues assured us of their readiness to help Ukraine and our university in these trying times. In particular, we discussed helping the students, teachers, and employees who are now in Poland because of the war.”

Delegation from Catholic University of Lublin headed by Rector Fr. Mirosław Kalinowski and UCU Rector Fr. Bohdan Prach

International Front

On June 8, Pope Francis received a small Ukrainian delegation comprised of the Vice-Rector of UCU, Myroslav Marynovych, Yevhen Yakushev, and Denys Kolyada, an UCU graduate and a consultant on dialogue with religious organizations. Myroslav Marynovych noted that the meeting was informal and exclusively public.

Pope Francis and Ukrainian delegation

“For a long time, the Ukrainian people have lived in twilight. Today, we ask the Pope to help us become a people of light. The Ukrainian people could not be the subject of their own story, but now they are fighting for it, paying a high price. Until recently, other nations had seen Ukrainians as the ones causing problems, while we urge the Pope to see that we can be instrumental in solving those problems,” said Myroslav Marynovych.

The UCU School of Ukrainian Language and Culture launched a new online course, “Eye-openers on Ukraine,” a series of lectures on the history of Ukraine and its development as a state. The course’s lectures were delivered by UCU professor and historian Yaroslav Hrytsak, Vice-Rector Myroslav Marynovych, lawyer and UCU teacher Andriy Kostyuk, political scientist Halyna Protsyk, theologian Taras Tymo, historian Pavlo Artymyshyn, UCU Vice-Rector Dmytro Sherengovsky, and linguist Natalia Bagnyuk. The course aims to explore Ukraine, particularly in the context of the ongoing war that began eight years ago.

The Director of the School of Ukrainian Language and Culture, Nazar Danylkiv, says that the idea of creating such a course was born during the war: “Today the international community shows great interest in Ukraine. We received several requests from our academic partners who want to understand what is happening in Ukraine during the war and why. We answered this call.”

Charity

UCU hosted the meeting of friends of the University with Bishop Borys Gudziak, Archbishop of the Philadelphia Archdiocese of the UGCC. The meeting was held to support students and volunteer initiatives of UCU working toward the victory of Ukraine. Historian and Vice-Rector Oleg Turiy moderated the discussion.

Bishop Borys Gudziak and Oleg Turiy

“During these challenging times, we are building an entirely new Ukraine, and, I think, the symbol of a new Ukraine is the will and consciousness of the new Ukrainian generation. Therefore, education is more important than ever. Every person should understand the history of Ukraine and the ways to build and strengthen a state, so that our land serves the future generations of Ukrainians,” says Iryna Demkura, co-owner of the “Atrium” shopping center and president of the NGO “Business Ukrainian Women.”

Spiritual Front

The Dean’s Office of Pastoral Affairs works towards Ukraine’s victory through daily prayers and liturgies while providing pastoral support to workers, students, and all those who found shelter at UCU.

On June 2, the Dean’s Office arranged a walking pilgrimage for the community to celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. The pilgrimage was dedicated to prayer for Ukraine: for our soldiers and their families, for defenders of Mariupol so that they safely return home, and for the heroes who gave their lives for Ukraine’s freedom.

“Today, thousands of mothers are waiting for their children, sons, fathers, and brothers to return. Unfortunately, not everyone will come back alive… We all hope for victory and the safe return of our heroes. The Ascension of the Lord reminds us of waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ,” said Fr. Volodymyr Hryb.

At the end of May, the President of UCU, Metropolitan Borys, came to Ukraine for a few days to be close to the poor, see the soldiers, hear them and understand their urgent needs. We recorded a brief interview with the bishop.

“What is happening now in Ukraine is phenomenal and sacramental. Guided by estimations, the world says: ‘It is impossible.’ But this is something that cannot be estimated or gauged, for God’s grace cannot be calculated. One simply must be open to it. These are tragic yet grace-filled times,” says Bishop Borys Gudziak.