We Have Family in Ukraine
Table of Contents
We Have Family in Ukraine
Fr. Petro S. Balog, O.P.
Kyiv, Ukraine
“All Dominican brothers stay in Kyiv, also we took some people in our priory for the night. Ukrainian Army is defending cities, and especially Kyiv, and also some civil people received the weapons to defend the streets. A general mobilization has been announced throughout the country. We expect Western countries to strengthen sanctions against Russia, which would significantly help us in our defense. And we continuously pray with hope.”
Yes … stand together….
We have family in Ukraine!
Mary Mother of God, pray for us.
St Josephat, pray for us.
Background
The Provincial Vicariate of Ukraine of Saint Michael the Archangel
The Vicariate of Ukraine is the community of Dominican Friars who live and serve the Lord and His Church in Ukraine. Our presence in this country is aimed at helping the local Church according to our Dominican charism. We serve as parish priests, we administer the Saint Thomas Aquinas Institute of Catholic Theology in Kyiv and we run student chaplaincies and an orphanage.
Since the early thirteenth century, when the first Dominicans arrived in Kyiv, the history of our Order has been mingled with the history of Kievan Rus. The Dominican Province of Rus, an administrative unit within our Order that included much of today’s Russia and Ukraine, existed until the end of the Second World War. At that time, many Dominicans were expelled from the Soviet Union. Others were executed. Sometimes entire communities were killed at once.
During the Soviet period, a few Polish Dominicans came secretly to these lands to serve the people, who desperately needed pastoral care. Beginning in 1993, our Order officially returned to Ukraine, and then also to Russia, and the General Vicariate of Saint Michael the Archangel was formed. Today, there are six Dominican residences in Ukraine. We are trying to rebuild, where possible, churches that were destroyed and to bring regular religious life back to this region. It is not always easy to restore damaged properties in poor areas where local officials may be unfriendly to our Order. Even so, besides establishing the Thomas Aquinas Institute and organizing student chaplaincies and an orphanage, we have been able to rebuild several churches and chapels to a high standard. Beyond that, we run our own publishing house, Kairos.
All of these activities would be impossible without the generous support of our benefactors, whom we remember constantly in prayer.
As we strive to rebuild the Dominican communities that once existed on these lands, with their rich spiritual and historical legacy, we never lose sight of our essential mission: to serve the People of God as preachers, chaplains, and teachers. We want to be, once again, an integral part of the Ukrainian society we serve, and to nourish the cultural and scholarly life of our region. As Dominicans, we are eager to engage in honest dialog with all people of good will, following the example of Saint Dominic and guided by God’s compassionate hand.
Dominican Ministries in Ukraine
Saint Thomas Aquinas Institute of Catholic Theology (Kyiv)
The words below are the “Google Translate” version of the Website in Ukrainian.
And the Lord Christ sanctified in your hearts, always ready to give an answer to everyone who demands in you to make a report on your hope… (1 Peter 3, 15)
The Institute of Religious Sciences of St. Thomas Aquinas in Kyiv is a Roman Catholic higher theological educational institution, promotes deeper understanding between representatives of different Christian denominations, and promotes a dialogue between faith and reason, the Church and the modern world.
The Institute began its activity in 1992 as the College of Catholic Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, founded by the Order of Preachers.
In February 2000, the College became a branch of the Pontifical University of St. Volumes of Aquinas “Angelicum” in Rome.
May 5, 2000 according to the decree of the Congregation “On Catholic Education” (Lat. «De Educatione Catholica») it was called the “Institute of Religious Sciences” with the right to grant a university master’s degree in religious sciences. (However, the state diploma has not yet been provided.)
In December 2008, the final move to the new premises at 13 Derevlyanska Street took place. The present premises of the Institute were built in 1900 on the project of Vladimir Nikolaev, who designed and participated in the creation of the National Philharmonic in Kyiv, the building of the National Opera, St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral and buildings in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The old buildings at 11B Borychiv Teak street were sold in order to restore the house on the street with the proceeds. Derevlyanska 13.
In the 2008-2009 academic year, the transition to a credit-modular training system took place.
PRESENT
A three-year (bachelor’s) or five-year (master’s) program of study (evening form) includes subjects in philosophy, theology, spirituality, and church history. Our Institute is the only one in Kyiv where you can study Western theology. Graduates receive a European diploma, confirmed by the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas “Angelicum” in Rome.
The Institute of Religious Sciences does not have state accreditation in Ukraine.
Our values:
- Openness to Truth
- mutual respect and respect for the dignity of each person
- the desire for knowledge to be free and able to bear witness to others about one’s faith and hope.
Our goal:
to form laity and consecrated persons in the spirit of the teachings of the Catholic Church, so that they may enrich their Christian lives and be able to reasonably justify their faith (cf. 1 P 3:15) as witnesses and spreaders of the gospel message. The Institute also promotes philosophical and theological research to respond to the challenges and challenges of the modern world in the light of the Catholic tradition and to work for mutual understanding and reconciliation between Christians of different churches.
Our students:
from 18 to 60 years old, without confessional restrictions – Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants and agnostics study here.
St. Martin’s Center, Fastov
Our Spirituality
Taken from a Google Translation on their website.
Since the establishment of our Center, we have combined our mission with the spirituality of St. Martin de Porres. He tried in word, counsel, and work, just as the Holy Apostle Paul, to be “all for all,” regardless of social status, color, political views, and creed, to fulfill Christ’s command: “Be merciful as your Father is merciful.”
Ministry
Our ministry is aimed primarily at the weakest: sick children with disabilities, children from large families or those who are in difficult life circumstances and live below the “poverty line”, orphans, including social, as well as lonely and sick elderly people.
Kairos
Kairos is a Roman Catholic publishing house that is bemoaned by the Dominican Order in Ukraine. We specialize in the publication of philosophical, theological, Christian spiritual literature of classical and modern authors, both Ukrainian and foreign. For 27 years we have been publishing books of a scientific, evangelization and educational nature. Our task is to publish high-quality intellectual texts, build a platform for dialogue and help our readers to develop all-round. Kairos publishing house, as part of the activities of Dominicans in Ukraine, is inextricably linked with the charisma of the Order of Preachers, whose motto is “Veritas”. That is why our mission is to search for truth together with readers.
The Friar is a website featuring homilies, podcasts and more.
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