Conferences

From October 31 to November 1, Toronto (Canada) hosted an international scientific conference dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the death of the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi. Dr. Igor Shchupak was invited to participate in the event organized by the Institute of Eastern Christian Studies named after Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky of St. Michael's University College at the University of Toronto with the assistance of the Temerty Foundation.

During the conference, the participants discussed a number of issues devoted to the activities of Metropolitan Sheptytsky before and during World War II, his life between politics and religion, his memory in Ukraine and the world. Attention was also paid to the topic of the Holocaust and the rescue of Jews in the Greek-Catholic monasteries of Lviv.

“History is made by people. Among them there are special people who turn the wheel of history. These people are not and cannot be perfect in their thoughts and actions. At times, their ideals and values ​​conflicted with their actions, because there is always a big difference between human ideas, plans, and the demands and challenges of real life, said Dr. Shchupak. – Even greater is the disparity in the evaluations of the activities of these people by representatives of various communities – national, religious, political, etc. A Pole and a Ukrainian, a Catholic and a Jew, a liberal and a nationalist cannot have the same historical memory, idea of ​​the past and its heroes. But if in his activities the national leader rises to the level of perception of universal values, reaches an understanding of the need to balance the interests of different communities for the good of each of them – he becomes the personification of honor and dignity, a symbol of the best features of this people. In our opinion, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi was such a national, spiritual leader and a true Righteous One.”

The participants reports will be printed in the collection of conference materials.

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