On Sunday, September 25, in the monastery church of the Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God of the Basilian Fathers in Bryukhovychy, celebrations were held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the transfer of the seat of the Basilian Institute of Philosophical and Theological Studies named after Metropolitan Yosif Velyamin Rutskyi from Zolochiv to Bryukhovychy. On this occasion, a new iconostasis was consecrated.
The divine liturgy was led by Lviv Metropolitan and Archbishop Ihor Vozniak. He was co-served with the Kharkiv Exarch Bishop Vasyl Tuchapets, ChSVV, Father Yoan Shkolyk, ChSVV, Protohigmon of the Province of the Most Holy Saviour, Francis Onysk, ChSVV, Protohigmon of the Province of Saint Nicholas, Ihor Boyko, Rector of the Lviv Seminary of the Holy Spirit, Panteleimon Trofimov, ChSVV, rector of the VIFBS and abbot St. Joseph’s Monastery in Bryukhovychy, numerous clergy.
A large team of artists worked on the new iconostasis: the author of the project is Professor Kost Markovych of the Lviv National Academy of Arts together with his son Ivan; architect – Mykhailo Fedyk; stone carving was carried out by Stepan and Pavlo Zubrytskyi; artistic metal forging – Maryan Kalichak; ceramics were made by Vasyl Bondarchuk and Stepan Andrusiv; the glass elements are the work of Andriy Petrovskyi. The central object of the iconostasis, the mosaic icons, is the work of Basilian monks, brothers Anastasia Smereka, who studied art in Italy, and Andrei Kasiyan.
In his sermon, Metropolitan Ihor drew parallels between Israel’s escape from Egyptian slavery and the current situation in our country. The Lord miraculously brought the people out of slavery in Egypt, and they complained because they were sorry for the Egyptian meat. Similarly, many Ukrainians complain about freedom today, so it is important for our people to repent and reconcile with God. It is necessary to contemplate with faith the Son of God, who redeemed his people, and to make every effort to preserve his teachings. The Metropolitan called to pray to God to end this war as soon as possible, so that innocent blood is not spilled, people do not die, thanked the Basilian brothers for their work and effort, emphasizing how important a job they do by teaching seminarians at the Institute of Philosophical and Theological Studies, and blessed further accomplishments.
After the consecration of the iconostasis, the abbot and rector, Father Panteleimon Trofimov, ChSVV, addressed words of gratitude, noting that the short time in which this iconostasis was built is a sign of God’s blessing. Father Rector thanked bishops Igor for his blessing and Vasyl, who was the inspiration for the project of the monastery church.
During the twenty years of full-fledged activity of VIFBS, 110 seminarians completed their studies, 95 of them became priests. Since 2015, the Basilian brothers have been joined by Redemptorist brothers and Orionist brothers, and thus the institute has become a monastic seminary of our Church.
The head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, congratulated the Basilian brothers on the important date in a letter with a blessing, who noted: “Thank you for the great work that the graduates are doing not only on the territory of Galicia, but also in all corners of Ukraine and in different countries of the world. Today, when we are going through a disaster related to the war, your institution has opened its doors wide to receive forcibly displaced Ukrainians – this is the best preaching and science that has ever sounded in your lectures. Celebrating the 20th anniversary is an opportunity not only to sum up, but also to plan further activities, placing oneself in God’s hands. Remember that the first priority for you is to prepare good executors of the will of our Lord – Jesus Christ… It is precisely those who love God and His holy Church with all their hearts that Ukraine needs today, which, making a great sacrifice of its heroic sons and daughters, chooses its will “.
Also, the proto-archimandrite of the Order of Saint Basil the Great, Father Robert Lyseiko, who was the rector of this institute in 2007-2012, sent a video greeting in which he emphasized: “It is necessary to grow more intensively spiritually, intellectually, learning God’s truth and developing critical thinking, so as not to succumb to deception and suggestion, which is inherent in the post-truth era. We must convey to people not some subjective truth, but the truth of God.”
For the twentieth anniversary of the transfer of the VIFBS seat from Zolochiv to Lviv, Father Protohiguman Ioan Shkolyk, ChSVV, gave a speech, and student brothers prepared an interesting photo project, which focused on the most significant events from the history of the institute, as well as a video clip about one day in the life of a seminarian.
Department of Information of the UGCC based on the materials of the Information Department of the Basilian Fathers