At first sight, today's commentary might seem to be about things remote from the readership Catholica is endeavouring to serve — the disenchanted who are sick of what our institution has been attempting to serve up as "truth" and "the pathway to paradise" — but, bear with us, there is a connection. This is an important article about academic freedom. In the West academics might be in more danger of being reported by the 'Temple Police' than the 'State Police' but the threats to academic freedom in both places are very real. Amidst growing concern in various articles in the international media regarding political pressure being exerted on the Ukrainian Catholic University by the Ukrainian Secret Service, Dr Andrew Kania, provides some background history to the University. This article might have particular interest in Australia because the present rector of the University, the young, American-born, Fr Borys Gudziak, will be in Australia for a series of lectures in July this year. At the end of this commentary we provide links to a recent commentary in The Economist (23 May) which was followed up by a comment in First Things (25 May) by George Weigel. We have borrowed the headline from First Things as the title for this commentary.

The University of the Catacombs...

The Orthodox theologian, Jaroslav Pelikan once described Metropolitan Andrii Sheptys'kyi with the words that he was: "was the most influential figure … in the entire history of the Ukrainian Church in the twentieth century". Overseeing the direction and protection of the Ukrainian Catholic Church for nearly half a century as its Primate, Sheptyt'skyi set in place the structures within his Church that would see its eventual survival against not only the oppression of the Nazi regime, but also the 45 years of Communist persecution, which were to follow.

One of Sheptys'kyi's lasting legacies was his dream of building a Ukrainian Catholic University, a place solemnly charged with the development of scholars who could not only sustain and develop the Byzantine Rite, but play a role in the spiritual as well as the political germination of Ukraine. Sheptyts'kyi himself was a man of great education; he had earned three doctorates: philosophy, theology and law — and he was also fluent in a dozen European languages, as well as Hebrew. Education for Sheptyts'kyi was the key to the survival not only of the Ukrainian Catholic Church — but the Ukrainian national identity. In one of his pastoral letters Sheptyts'kyi told his faithful:

"A nation which has scholars wins respect and honor among other nations. And other nations must reckon with such a nation. And for people in the villages, education is an item of almost primary need. A dark uneducated people easily wastes all that it has and lets itself be misled in every way. Such a nation is unapproachable with even the best idea. It doesn't know its own faith …". (Sirka, 1989, p. 270)

Josyf Slipyj (1892-1984) founding rector, later Patriarch, also basis for one of the principal charactes in Morris West's book, The Shoes of the Fisherman. For full bio click HERE.

Due to tensions between the Polish government and the Ukrainian population living on Polish soil, Sheptyts'kyi's ambition for a Ukrainian Catholic University did not come to fruition in his lifetime. In its place in 1928, he established the L'viv Theological Academy and appointed Reverend Josyf Slipyj (later of Morris West's "Shoes of the Fisherman" fame), to be its Rector. Despite the fact that the Polish government forbade any awarding of degrees, from the Academy, Sheptyts'kyi continued to plan for the time when this Academy, which by World War II had 300 students enrolled, could begin life as a recognized university. Ever the philanthropist, Sheptyts'kyi provided scholarships to students to study abroad at the universities of Vienna, Freiburg, Rome and Innsbruck, both clergy and laity.

At the time of its closure by the Soviets, the L'viv Theological Academy had two faculties: theology/philosophy, and law. In a period of less than two decades Sheptyts'kyi's dream had become the well-spring from which some of the greatest minds of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the 20th century were to germinate. Tragically it was also to become the garden-bed of some of the Catholic Church's greatest martyrs, of the 20th Century; a by-product of the strong Faith development engendered by the Academy, and the viciously oppressive persecution of the Communist regime. As Fr. Borys Gudziak, the current Rector of the now Ukrainian Catholic University of L'viv writes about those early years of the Theological Academy and the people it produced:

"They walked our streets and rode on our roads, sat on our episcopal thrones and in our confessionals; they gave lectures at solemn conferences and reports from their professorial chairs, they studied in our Theological Academy and seminaries. They probably did not think that the terrible trial of martyrdom and its everlasting crown was waiting for them. They wore priestly vestments and the habits of our religious communities, they heard stirring words from their spiritual directors about self-giving and self-dedication, which we often hear, but receive as something everyday, as an abstraction, something unreal and far away in time and space". (Gudziak, 2004, p. 4)

Fr. Borys Gudziak the young, US-born, present Rector of UCU and recipient of a recent visit from the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) reported in The Economist and commented on by George Weigel in First Things (See links at end of commentary). Fr Gudziak will be in Australia in July for a series of lectures. The first at the University of Western Australia on 27th July.

Of the 25 Ukrainian Catholics beatified by Pope John Paul II on the 26th of June, 2001, many of these Ukrainian Saints had an association with the Theological Academy, as either staff or students.

It goes without saying that the foundations on which the Ukrainian Catholic University, established in 1994, now stands were dearly bought; purchased from decades of struggle and martyrdom. The Ukrainian Catholic University is today not only the first Eastern Catholic University in the world, but also the first Catholic University established in what was once the Soviet Union.

In a remarkably short space of time the University has earned itself astonishing accolades. In an article in the Daily Telegraph in London (6th of June, 2009), Damian Thompson wrote about the University:

"You probably haven't heard of the Ukrainian Catholic University — but I suspect that is going to change. For this wonderful institution offers a philosophy of teaching in radical contrast to the moribund model of Catholic further education found in this country and much of the West."

Moreover a feature article in the international magazine, The Economist (26th of April, 2010), praised the work of Gudziak and his colleagues:

"In the evening, it is time to visit an old friend, Borys Gudziak, the inspirational rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University. In the early stages of the second world war, the Soviet occupiers of western Ukraine murdered the university's staff and sent the students to the gulag. Fr Borys—a Harvard-educated American-Ukrainian—has re-founded it, with spectacular results. Run on a shoestring, it has educated thousands of students in theology, philosophy, classics and other subjects (it has just launched an MBA). But it is not just an academic powerhouse: part of its mission is to provide a loving life for mentally handicapped people. Like many ex-communist countries, Ukraine too often adheres to the shameful standards of the Soviet Union in dealing with such matters. Fr Borys is raising money for a grand building in which the finest accommodation will be reserved for mentally handicapped people. That teaches the students something even more valuable than what they learn in the classroom … UCU is a jewel in Ukraine's educational system. But it struggles. A few years ago, the authorities hassled it and indirectly threatened Fr Borys with deportation. It is affiliated with the Greek Catholic church, which is under the Pope's authority but uses Orthodox liturgy. Harshly persecuted in the Soviet period, the church is still regarded with suspicion by some Soviet-minded Ukrainians. UCU's independent curriculum, high academic standards and insistence on admitting solely on merit are a sharp challenge to Ukraine's educational establishment."

Masthead from the UCU website: www.ucu.edu.ua

Today, the Ukrainian Catholic University – nearly a century after Sheptyts'kyi first dreamt the idea, is fast taking its place on the world-stage as a major player in higher education. But it has a unique nature; it is a university with a growing reputation for academic excellence — but it lives under the glowing light of men and women who in the past, lived lives of Faith, not merely as conjecture, or from force of habit, or cultural osmosis — but out of deeply reasoned and committed certitude; where Faith and Reason are not opponents, but are conjugal partners in the human spirit.

Note: The Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Fr. Borys Gudziak will be delivering a public lecture at the University of Western Australia on Tuesday the 27th of July, at 6.00 p.m. The venue will be the Webb Lecture Theatre.

Links:
Economist article: "Spooked by spooks" (23 May): http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2010/05/ukraine
First Things article: "Storm Clouds in Ukraine" (25 May George Weigel): www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/05/storm-clouds-in-ukraine
Image Credits:
The images used in this article have been sourced from the Ukrainian Catholic University website and related sources. Clicking on the images in the body of the article will take you to the original source.

Dr. Andrew Thomas Kania

What are your thoughts on this commentary? You can contribute to the discussion in our forum.

©2010Dr Andrew Thomas Kania

[Index of Commentaries by Dr Andrew Kania]