A Spiritual Renaissance

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine experienced a spiritual renaissance. ACN is happy to share the vocation story of Tadey, one of many young Ukrainian men who has heard God calling him to the priesthood.

By ACN Staff

Seminarian Tadey during the installation of a new mosaic in the church in Bryukhovychi, Lviv Oblast. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)

For decades, Catholics in Ukraine suffered persecution under the Soviet Union. When communism collapsed, the Catholic Church in Ukraine emerged from the shadows and began to rebuild. Ukrainian society, now free of persecution, underwent a spiritual renaissance.

Thaddeus grew up in this spiritual revitalised Ukraine and often went to the Basilian monastery in Drohobych, near Lviv, with his family. This region is the heartland of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Thaddeus, or Tadey as he is known to his friends, alongside other boys, even helped the monks to rebuild their monastery.

Sadly, Tadey began to fall away from the Church. He noticed the older men stood outside the church during Divine Liturgy while the women and children went inside, and Tadey, following the example of these men, stopped practising his faith. This changed when a teacher at school asked how often the children went to church. Tadey was ashamed that he longer went to church as he knew his mother went every day. Not wanting to betray his mother’s devotion, he lied and said he went on Sundays and feast days. Tadey committed that he would start going to church again.

Tadey soon made a group of friends he met at Divine Liturgy. After a time, the idea of joining the Basilian monastery came to Tadey’s mind. Like many Ukrainian men, Tadey’s father had gone abroad to work. During a visit home, his father told Tadey that he would be married one day and know how difficult it was to support a family. It was then that Tadey said, “no, I won’t”. Shocked, Tadey’s father urged him to go to university first before entering the monastery.

Over the next year, Tadey prayed and discerned his vocation. He decided that he was called to enter the monastery as soon as he finished school. Tadey asked his father for his blessing to enter the monastery. To Tadey’s relief, his father gave him his approval and supported Tadey’s decision to join the monastery.

Tadey is finishing his studies and is preparing for his ordination as a Basilian priest. After his ordination, it is planned that Tadey will study at the Biblicum Institute in Rome to be better equipped to serve the faithful in Ukraine when he returns. Tadey explained that the Soviet Union traumatised Ukraine and still haunts Ukrainian society. Corruption, distrust of institutions, addiction, poverty and unemployment remain rampant. Tadey has hope and looks to Sacred Scripture for parallels:

“It is like the Israelites after Egypt. They needed 40 years in the desert to overcome this mentality and to start doing the right things. We need time to change, and if everything goes well, if we save our independence as a country for 30 or 40 years longer, we will have a different mentality, and it will be a really good country.”

Many young men in Ukraine like Tadey hear God calling them to join the priesthood. However, these seminarians need financial support to complete their studies. Father Pantaleimon is the rector of the Basilian seminary that Tadey attends. Father Pantaleimon explains that they still receive the same income and donations as before, but prices have doubled due to the war and instability in Ukraine. Father Pentaleimon was very grateful for the support the seminary receives from ACN:

“We are grateful to all those who help us, especially Aid to the Church in Need, because this way we can serve people and carry on our mission.”

As Ukraine faces war and crisis, the Catholic Church in the country is determined to remain and minister to the faithful during their hour of need. ACN has worked with the Catholic Church in Ukraine for decades. We are committed to continuing to support the Church in Ukraine during these times and have pledged an emergency aid package of €1 million.