A Ukrainian American Catholic archbishop has been honored by Ukraine’s president for his decades-long efforts to develop that nation.
Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia received the Cross of Ivan Mazepa from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on September 21 in Washington. Zelensky traveled to the US capital for meetings after delivering a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 19.
Established in 2009, the award honors individuals who have made “a significant personal contribution to strengthening interstate cooperation, supporting the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and popularizing the ‘Ukrainian state in the world,’ according to a press release from the Ukrainian Greek government. Catholic Church.
The Cross of Ivan Mazepa is named after a 17th-century “hetman” – a military commander and statesman – who sought to unify the then-Ukrainian territories into a European-oriented, conservative state. its traditional heritage. During his career, Mazepa promoted Ukrainian economic development, scholarship, literature, arts and architecture and financed the construction of numerous churches. His reign is often called the “Mazepa Renaissance”.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Father also received this award, announced in a September 4 presidential decree by Zelenskyy. Volodymyr Steliac, rector of the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Andrew the First Called in Silver Spring, Maryland; Alla Lopatkina, president of the Chicago-based Ua-Resistance Foundation; and Hakan Kirimli, associate professor of international relations at Bilkent University in Turkey.
At the award ceremony, which took place at the US National Archives, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska noted that she had “the honor of knowing Archbishop Borys Gudziak personally.”
Earlier this year, Zelenska and Gudziak jointly participated in a panel discussion on January 17 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, discussing the physical, psychological and emotional trauma of war, forgiveness and their dreams for the future of Ukraine.
Zelenska emphasized at the award ceremony that Gudziak “is known to thousands of Ukrainians – soldiers, displaced people and many others whom he helps, and young people who, thanks to him, receive an excellent education.”
The archbishop – a native of Syracuse, New York, born to Ukrainian immigrants – has long championed Ukrainian educational initiatives.
A historian by training and holder of a doctorate in Slavic and Byzantine cultural history from Harvard University, the archbishop moved to Lviv, in western Ukraine, in 1992, founding and directing the Institute of History from the church.
The following year, he chaired a commission for the renewal of the Lviv Theological Academy, of which he was vice-rector then rector from 1995 to 2002. He then became rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, created on the basis of the academy, and becomes its rector. president in 2013. The university has become a model for Ukrainian higher education, scholarship, disability awareness, human rights advocacy and social innovation.
During Ukraine’s Maidan movement in 2013-2014 – which saw people reject the then pro-Kremlin government and decisively reorient the country towards the European Union – Gudziak regularly appeared on international television, providing Expert feedback and active support.
As Ukraine battles a full-scale invasion by Russia that continues attacks launched in 2014, that fight continues, Zelenska said.
“Ukraine defends values, such as the right to life and personality,” she said. “It’s not just about physical things, but also about intangible values. Ukraine’s defenders are very different people – with different opinions and beliefs, or even without religion at all.
“But they all clearly feel that they are fighting against evil, against the worst that can arise in a human being – a conscious effort to kill, destroy, seize and enslave,” Zelenska said. “So it is also a spiritual battle. Sincere gratitude to all those who fight with us in the spiritual dimension and the dimension of values.”
