In this concluding commentary to his series looking at applied conscience, Dr Kania, returns to the example of Metropolitan Andrii Sheptyts'kyi, the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from 1900 to 1944. Sheptyts'kyi's story has been little known in the Western world until the last twenty years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Dr Kania suggests he stands as a tall leader following the dictates of conscience to be "his brothers' keeper" in the protection of Jewish people from State persecution. You may like to read this commentary in conjunction with the question I raised in today's email commentary: "Do you think the model of spiritual leadership that Andrew is presenting here as a model has the power to attract people back to "the Good News" given the particular challenges faced in Western communities like our own as it might have had in the particular circumstances faced by the Ukrainian people in the 20th Century?" ...Editor

Recent years have seen an enormous degree of criticism levelled at the apparent apathy of the Catholic Church, and in particular Pope Pius XII, toward the Jewish communities of Europe who suffered enormous horrors in what historians now refer to as "The Holocaust".

In numeric terms "The Holocaust" is only surpassed in the 20th century by Stalin's plan of extermination for the Eastern Ukrainian people known as the "Terror Famine 1933".

"The Holocaust" set the stage not only for tragedy and depravity, but also for great acts of heroism, such as was shown by Raoul Wallenberg, and Oskar Schindler. Up until Ukrainian independence at the beginning of the 1990's, it was impossible to fully create a portrait of another individual of great courage who risked his own life, to not only counter the evil of fascism but also that of communism. This man was Metropolitan Andrii Sheptyts'kyi, the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from 1900 to 1944.

Early history...

Sheptyts'kyi as a novice

Roman Aleksander Sheptyts'kyi was born on 29 July, 1865 of an aristocratic family in Prylbychi, Galicia (in present day Ukraine). Entering this world a number of months after the death of Abraham Lincoln, Sheptyts'kyi became Head of His Church at the turn of a new century, when the automobile was beginning its replacement of the horse and cart. He died with the sounds of German and Soviet tanks trampling his homeland, when the world would soon hear the thunder of the Atomic bomb.

Although baptised a Catholic of the Roman Rite on determination of his father Jan, Roman's family could claim among their familial predecessors no less than two Eparchs (equivalent to Roman Rite Bishops) and two Metropolitans (higher than an Archbishop but lower than a Patriarch) of the Ukrainian Church.

Graduating as a lawyer in 1888, Count Roman Sheptyts'kyi sought dispensation to return to the Ukrainian Catholic tradition of his ancestors. It was at this point that the young Count in a private audience in the Vatican advised the Pontiff of his wish to enter the religious life. Pope Leo XIII encouraged Sheptyts'kyi to follow this vocation, and to the chagrin of his father Jan, in May of that year, Sheptyts'kyi entered the Ukrainian Catholic religious Order of Saint Basil the Great. Adopting the religious name, Andrii, (the name of the first apostle and the patron saint of Ukraine), Sheptyts'kyi's rise through clerical ranks can best be described as spectacular. Endowed with an above average intellect, Sheptyts'kyi completed a second Doctoral degree and at the age of 31 was nominated Hegumen (Superior) of the Basilian monastery in L'viv. By the age of 34 he was Eparch of Stanyslaviv, and one year later in 1900 was installed the Metropolitan of Galicia, and thus became Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, the largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

For 44 years Sheptyts'kyi was the most identifiable symbol not only of Ukrainian Catholicism but also of Ukrainian nationalism among the Galician populace. Sheptyts'kyi was a tireless and powerful force in the ecumenical movement striving for a greater degree of understanding between Catholic and Orthodox faithful. Sheptyts'kyi's defence of his Church and "his Ruthenian people" had seen him on a number of occasions and by various occupying governments: imprisoned, interrogated and exiled. The Ukrainian Catholic faithful thus saw in their Metropolitan a man who would risk his own life for the Gospels and for them.

Defender of marginalised peoples...

Sheptyts'kyi was also a great defender of marginalised peoples, in particular of the Jewish population of Galicia. The exact root and reasons for Metropolitan Andrii Sheptyts'kyi's great compassion for the Jewish people, a minority group in Western Ukraine, will probably never be known, yet some critical events can be highlighted. It was while during a period of convalescence in the Carpathian resort of Zakopane in 1885, that Sheptyts'kyi began learning Hebrew, and quickly learnt how to read, write and speak this ancient language. Therefore when in 1903 a Jewish group lobbied the youthful Metropolitan to assist the Jewish poor, Sheptyts'kyi lent support and in a letter written in Hebrew apologised that at the time he could do no more. Sheptyts'kyi also established a non-sectarian clinic, Narodna Lichnytsia, which treated all peoples; by 1936 having 10% of its patients from the Jewish population of Galicia. Sheptyts'kyi's concern for the Jewish people did not go unnoticed. The Galician-Jewish daily newspaper, Chwila, in July 1935 celebrated the Metropolitan's 70th birthday, with a personal greeting from L'viv's Chief Rabbi, Dr. Ezekiel Lewin.

Children under the care of Studite monks at the Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Univ. Three of these children are Jewish and representative of the Jewish children saved by Metropolitan Sheptyts'kyi. The third boy from the left in row three is Levko Chaminski (now Dr Leon Chameides of Connecticut)

Sheptyts'kyi's "special" relationship with the Jewish populace meant that he also had to face the brunt of chauvinism from certain quarters. In 1902 Sheptyts'kyi was vehemently criticised by what he later termed "anti-semitic Vieneese" journals. Sheptyts'kyi's countering-comments provide the best rationale as to why a Catholic prelate should have been so welcoming to a people, who in Europe had traditionally borne such widespread mistrust. Sheptyts'kyi wrote:

"I believe that when a man is granted by Christ the task of preaching the Holy Scripture and who faces non-believers even for a single moment, should not miss the opportunity to preach God's message to them. When I face assembled Jews, who are ready to listen to me I cannot avoid considering them as fellow men exposed to eternal perdition. That is why I consider it my duty to take advantage of this opportunity to convey at least one word of the Lord's revelations. I accomplish this while talking to them. Indeed, I do it in their tongue and language, since this has been the custom of Christ's Church for twenty centuries … A speech in Hebrew fits this need … It has often happened that the listeners were so familiar with the text [Old Testament], that they recited it one word ahead of me. To these texts, I add some commentaries in the Christian spirit or another text which leads to a Christian interpretation of the former text. Thus, I offer them as far as possible, the thought of expectation, love, and the search for the Messiah. I do not expect great results. I am satisfied if even one lost soul finds in my words a distant reflection of God's truth and even for a second ponders upon those prayers which are being repeated daily perhaps without any attention". (Redlich, 1989, p. 150)

Defence of the Jewish population of Galicia...

In this light it cannot be seen as surprising that during the Nazi occupation, Sheptyts'kyi came to the defence of the Jewish population of Galicia. One event in particular, may be, singled out as a catalyst for Sheptyts'kyi's motivations.

On 2 July 1941 Sheptyts'kyi received at St. George's Hill the Chief Rabbi of L'viv, Ezekiel Lewin. Perceiving Lewin's life to be in danger Sheptyts'kyi requested that the Rabbi stay under his protection at the Metropolitan's palace. Lewin declined Sheptyts'kyi's offer stating that he wished to return home to his family. That evening Ezekiel Lewin was apprehended and brutally murdered. On hearing the news of Lewin's death, Sheptyts'kyi responded by immediately having brought to Saint George's Cathedral, Ezekiel Lewin's two sons: Isaac (Kurt) and Nathan. Lewin's sons were to find sanctuary at the Cathedral and Ukrainian Greek-Catholic monasteries until the summer of 1944, when the Soviet forces arrived.

In February 1942 Sheptyts'kyi took the audacious step of writing a personal letter of protest to the leader of the S.S., Heinrich Himmler. Sheptyts'kyi later recollected that "the German officer who brought me Himmler's reply intimated that but for my age, I would have been shot for daring to intercede on behalf of the Jews". (Krawchuk, 1997, p. 234) Sheptyts'kyi's protests did not stop with Himmler. Not intimidated by Himmler's threats the Metropolitan also directed a letter of complaint to Adolf Hitler in 1942 this time on the ill-treatment of the Ukrainian populace by the German occupying forces. The exact reason as to why Himmler only threatened Sheptyts'kyi's execution and did not act on his threat is unknown. A Vatican official Hansjakob Stehle was to write later that Sheptyts'kyi "had to be respected [by the Germans] because he had already been imprisoned in tsarist Russia and Poland". (Stehle, 1989, p. 133)

Andrii Sheptyts'kyi, it would seem was not only saved by his being an "old" man. Himmler had ordered the death of many an old man before. Sheptyts'kyi however, was a particular difficult case in point. Prior to his entry to the priesthood Roman Sheptyts'kyi had been an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army; Sheptyts'kyi was also a Count who had held position and favour among the families of the Habsburg Empire. As Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church he had enjoyed the personal high esteem of Emperor Fransz Josef, a sentiment Sheptyts'kyi reciprocated for the Emperor. Sheptyts'kyi was loved passionately by his Ukrainian Greek-Catholic faithful, and also highly respected by the Orthodox. To harm Sheptyts'kyi seems, would have thus made the position of the "liberating" German forces in the East completely untenable.

	Facsimile of last page of Sheptyts'kyi's letter to Pius XII, August 1942

In August 1942, confident of Sheptyts'kyi's sensitivity to the plight of the Jewish people, Rabbi Kahane entrusted to the Metropolitan the Scrolls of Torah. Sheptyts'kyi by way now of couriers of "undercover clergy" sent a note to Rome in which he described the horrors of the NAZI clearing of the L'viv ghetto (20-23 August, 1942). In another message Sheptyts'kyi elucidated to Pius XII how:

"Jews are the first victims. The number of Jews killed in our little land has certainly surpassed 200,000. As the [German] army advanced eastward, the number of victims grew. In Kyiv, in a matter of days up to 130, 000 men, women and children were executed. All the towns in Ukraine bore witness to similar massacres and this has gone on for a year. At first, the authorities were ashamed of these inhuman acts of injustice and tried to procure documents that would prove that the local population or militia units were behind these murders. But in time, they began to kill Jews in the streets in plain view of the public and without any shame". (Krawchuk, 1997, p. 201-202)

A network of clergy to rescue Jewish citizens...

Most of Sheptyts'kyi's rescuing of Jewish citizens was to take place in a period from August 1942 to May 1943. The Metropolitan during this time was able to build up a network of approximately 250 Ukrainian Greek-Catholic clergy each of whom risked martyrdom for their precarious involvement in such a scheme as rescuing Jewish citizens. Sheptyts'kyi ordered that false baptismal certificates and also Ukrainian names be given to Jewish children, who were then secreted to Ukrainian Greek-Catholic orphanages, monasteries and convents.

Rev Omelian Kovch

The Canadian historian, Andrii Krawchuk, listed a number of courageous clergy who assisted the Metropolitan in his plan. Among these: Reverend Omelian Kovch, pastor in Peremyshliany who was to die at Auschwitz, having been convicted of issuing fake baptismal certificates; Reverend Havryliuk of Volhynia who was hanged by Gestapo in 1943; Reverend Pobereiko of Briukhovychi who gave sanctuary to Jewish children; Reverend Stepan Bachynsky who is known to have issued false baptismal certificates; and the Studite, Brother Theodosii who sheltered 16 Jews. The Metropolitan himself is credited with the rescue of 200 Jewish children. Add to this list the comments made by a Jewish author, Leo Heiman, that in the Peremyshliany area Ukrainian forest workers and Ukrainian Greek-Catholic monks organised the mobilisation of 1700 Jews from monastery to monastery. (See: Krawchuk, 1997, p. 244-245)

The Director of Holocaust studies at Ben Gurion University, Shimon Redlich has also emphasised that no "attempt was made by Sheptyts'kyi's assistants to convert the rescued Jewish children, and after when the war was over they were returned to what was left of the Jewish community". (Redlich, 1989, p. 157) Redlich wrote that the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Order of Studite monks assisted countless Jews across the borders into Romania and Hungary. Ezekiel Lewin's son, Kurt, recounted how:

"This labour of saving Jews was possible only because of the co-operation of a small number of monks and nuns together with some secular priests. They gathered the Jews into their monasteries and convents, orphanages and hospitals, shared their bread with the fugitives, and acted as escorts with total disregard for the danger of Jewish company". (Krawchuk, 1997, p. 243)

Publicly Sheptyts'kyi denounced the NAZI regime in his most famous pastoral letter: "Thou Shalt Not Kill" proclaimed in November 1942. Although not citing specific accounts of genocide directly, nor mentioning the term "Jew", Sheptyts'kyi condemned all forms of murder, especially those conducted because of race.

All Jews who came to Sheptyts'kyi survived the war...

Sheptyts'kyi's fame has steadily grown since Ukrainian independence, and the release of hereto undisclosed information. The Ukrainian scholar Petro Marchuk has summarised Sheptyts'kyi's compassionate actions with regard rescuing Jewish people by intimating that he is unrivalled in his efforts in having saved thousands of Jews. Rabbi Kahane has written how in the very basement of Saint George's Cathedral at least 15 Jewish children and several adults had been hidden at one time from a visit by German police. Kurt Lewin has concluded in his memoirs on Metropolitan Andrii Sheptyts'kyi that all Jews who came to Sheptyts'kyi survived the war.

Quite evidently it is to the detriment of modern scholarship that Andrii Sheptyts'kyi is little known in Western nations. Sheptyts'kyi stands as a collossal figure in the life of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and as a significant bridge between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. His compassion for his own people and for all those who fell within his ecclesiastical boundary, believers and non-believers, was enormous, warranting the respect of all people who value humanitarian principles. As a theologian, ecumenist, scholar, essayist, philanthropist, Sheptyts'kyi warrants a place alongside the greats of the 20th Century.

On 1 November 1944, after complications with influenza, Metropolitan Andrii Sheptyts'kyi passed away. The city of L'viv which had witnessed the demise of the NAZI occupation was now held in the tightening grasp of Soviet "liberators". The Communist government was soon to proclaim the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, as illegal, dissolving its parishes, dispersing the faithful, murdering over one thousand priests, and imprisoning and executing the Church's Eparchs.

The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, which had previously suffered so harshly under alternating Tsarist and Polish regimes, now faced its greatest hour of persecution. The then Bishop Iosyf Slipyi, Sheptyts'kyi's immediate successor, a man immortalised in Morris West's novel, The Shoes of the Fisherman, would soon begin the first of his 17 years in a Siberian gulag. Yet on that cold, crisp, November 5 morning in 1944, even the Communist officials dared not break up the overwhelming procession, thousands strong, which filled the streets of L'viv, in honour of a man whom Shimon Redlich concluded both dared and cared to be his brother's keeper.

References:
Korolevsky, C. (1993). Metropolitan Andrew (1865 - 1944). translated and revised by Serge Keleher. L'viv, Ukraine: Stauropegion.
Krawchuk, A. (1997). Christian Social Ethics in Ukraine: The Legacy of Andrei Sheptytsky. Ottawa. Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press.
Redlich, S. (1989). Sheptyts'kyi and the Jews During World War II in Paul Robert Magosci, (Ed.), Morality and Reality: The life and times of Andrei Sheptyts'kyi, (pp.145-162). Canada: University of Alberta.
Stehle, H. (1989). Sheptyts'kyi and the German Regime in Paul Robert Magosci, (Ed.), Morality and Reality: The life and times of Andrei Sheptyts'kyi, (pp.125-144). Canada: University of Alberta

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