Stand Alone Pages on 'Musings of an Old Curmudgeon'

26 June 2024

Eastern Rite - Feasts of 27 June AM 7532

Today is the Feasts of Our Venerable Father Samson, Host of Strangers, and the Common Commemoration of Bishop Nykolai (Nicholas) Charnetsky and the Twenty-Seven Other New Blesseds of the Church of Rus’-Ukraine Beatified in 2001 (Because the following two Blesseds passed into eternal life at the end of June (1941) (the exact date is not recorded) we commemorate them by name on this day: the Basilian priest-monk Severian (Baranyk), martyr of Drohobych; and the Redemptorist priest-monk Zynoviy (Zenobius) (Kovalyk), martyr of L’viv (Zamarstyniv prison).
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Saint Sampson (Σαμψών) was born in Rome, the son of wealthy, but devout and virtuous parents. He received an excellent education, studying philosophy and medicine, among other subjects. From his earliest childhood, he lived an exemplary Christian life. After the death of his parents, he transformed the family estate into a clinic for the sick. Word of his healing skills spread, and so many people came to him that he had to hire a staff to care for the increasing numbers of people who sought his help. When he had adequate staff, he donated all of his wealth to the clinic and was content to live in poverty (Luke 12:33-34).

Saint Sampson went to Constantinople, where he hoped to spend the rest of his life in asceticism. He found, however, that there was just as much need for his skill in Constantinople as there had been in Rome. He bought a modest home and began to treat the sick. God blessed Saint Sampson's work and gave him the grace of working miracles. He healed the sick not only by his medical skill but also as one filled with the grace of God. News of Saint Sampson spread rapidly throughout the Queen of Cities.

His piety and love for his neighbour brought him to the attention of Patriarch Menas of Constantinople (August 25), who ordained him to the holy priesthood. When Emperor Justinian became ill, and his physicians were unable to provide any relief for him, Patriarch Menas suggested that he send for Sampson, who healed the Emperor. Justinian offered him gold and silver to show his gratitude, but the saint refused, saying that he had already given all his wealth away. Instead, he asked Justinian to build a hospice for travellers.

His Life was written by St. Symeon Metaphrastes. The historian Procopius, however, implies that Sampson lived before the sixth century and that the hospice had existed before his own time (Buildings, I, 2, 14). When Sampson's hospice (xenon) was burnt and destroyed in 532, Justinian rebuilt it and endowed it with a generous annual income. It was intended for the destitute, and those who suffered from serious illnesses, as well as those who had lost their property or their health.

Saint Sampson reposed quietly, following a brief illness, in the year 530 at a ripe old age. He was buried in the church of Saint Mokios (Μώκιος), which was built by Saint Constantine the Great. Many miracles of healing took place at the tomb of Saint Sampson.

Even after his death, the Saint continued to watch over his hospice. Twice he appeared to a lazy worker and chastised him for his negligence. Later, the hospice became a church, and a new building for the homeless was constructed beside it. A terrible fire once raged in Constantinople but did not damage the church or the new building. Through the prayers of Saint Sampson, a heavy rain extinguished the flames.

The appointed Scriptural readings for his Feast are from Galatians 5:23-6:2 and from Luke 12:32-40.

Through the prayers of Saint Sampson, may we also find the treasure which does not fail, in Heaven.

Troparion — Tone 8

Through your patience, your unceasing prayer, your love for the poor and the help you gave to them, / you became worthy of your reward, O holy Sampson. / Intercede with Christ God that He may save our souls.

Kontakion — Tone 8

(Podoben: “As the first-fruits of nature...” – Kontakion for All Saints)
We honour your relics, for you are an excellent physician and powerful intercessor; / as we gather to praise you with psalms and hymns, divinely-wise and Venerable Sampson, / we glorify Christ, who granted you the grace of healing
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On June 27, 2001, Pope John Paul II beatified a group of New Martyrs of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Among them were four Redemptorists: Bishop Mykolay (Nicholas) Charnetsky (1884-1959), Bishop Vasyl (Basil) Vsevolod Velychkovsky (1903-1973), Father Ivan Ziatyk (1899-1952), and Father Zynoviy (Zenon) Kovalyk (1903-1941).

All of these men endured sufferings and torture inflicted either during World War II or after it, during the era of Soviet control prior to the independence of Ukraine in 1991.  Bishop Nicholas Charnetsky and his twenty-four companions represent a glorious era of martyrdom for the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and their stories give great witness to the strength of their Catholic faith.

  

 Blessed Mykolay Charnetsky
(1884-1959)

     Mykolay (Nicholas) Charnetsky was born to a large and pious peasant family on the 14th of December 1884 in the Western Ukrainian village of Semakivka. Mykolay was the eldest of nine children. He received his primary education in the village of Tovmach and then entered St. Nicolas gymnasium (grammar school) in Stanislaviv (now Ivano-Frankivsk).

      Charnetsky discovered his vocation to the priesthood at a young age and soon declared his intention of becoming a priest. In 1903 bishop Hryhoriy Khomyshyn sent him to Rome for studies. During Charnetsky’s short visit to Ukraine, Bishop Hryhoriy Khomyshyn ordained him a priest on the 2nd of October 1909. Fr. Mykolay then returned to Rome to continue his studies and received the degree of Doctor of theology.

       From the autumn of 1910 Fr. Charnetsky was professor of Philosophy and Dogmatic theology at the Stanislaviv seminary. He was also the Spiritual Director in the same seminary. Deep in his heart, however, Fr. Mykolay longed for the monastic life. Hence, in October 1919 he joined the Redemptorist novitiate in Zboiska near Lviv, and one year later, on the 16th of October 1920, he professed his vows as a Redemptorist.

      Filled with eagerness to work for the reconciliation of Christians and to convert the spiritually abandoned people, in 1926 the Redemptorists of the Lviv Province founded a missionary center at Kovel in the Volyn region. Fr. Charnetsky, being an ardent missionary, was sent there. Very soon he gained the utmost respect of the local people and even that of the Orthodox clergy. Having opened a monastery and a church in Kovel, Fr. Mykolay did his best to preserve the purity of the Eastern Liturgical rite. In 1931, taking into account Fr. Charnetsky’s devoted work, Pope Pius XI appointed him titular bishop of Lebed and an Apostolic Visitor for the Ukrainian Catholics in the Volyn and Pidliashsha regions. These regions became the field of Charnetsky’s activity – first as a missionary, then as a bishop – for almost 14 years.

      As the first Ukrainian Redemptorist bishop he experienced persecution from the very outset of his activity. During the Soviet occupation of Western Ukraine in 1939 the Redemptorists were forced to leave the Volyn region, and bishop Charnetsky moved to Lviv, to a Redemptorist monastery in Zyblykevycha (now Ivana-Franka) street.

      After the revival of the Lviv Theological Academy in 1941, Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky joined the faculty of the Academy as a professor of Philosophy, Psychology, and Moral Theology. His calmness, based on a strong and unshakable faith, his spirit of obedience and prayer gave his students good reason to consider their professor a saint. Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky was for them an exemplary figure of both a monk and a virtuous person.

      In 1944 the Soviet troops entered Galicia for the second time. This marked the beginning of bishop Charnetsky’s Via Dolorosa. He was arrested on 11 April 1945. He was held in the prison of the Soviet secret police in Lonskoho street. There, the bishop suffered many afflictions: interrogations in the middle of the night, cruel beating and torture. Later Bishop Charnetsky was transferred to Kiev, where he spent another year of suffering – until his case was taken to court. Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for the crime of being a “Vatican agent”. He served this term together with the Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj first in the town of Mariinsk in the Kemeroc region (Siberia), then later at a number of other prison sites as well.

      According to credible sources, during the period of his imprisonment (from his arrest in Lviv in April 1945 until his release in 1956), Bishop Charnetsky spent altogether 600 hours under torture and interrogations, and at different times was imprisoned in 30 prisons and prison camps. Despite all these sufferings, the bishop always managed to find a word of consolation for his fellow prisoners. He supported them morally and he knew all of them by name. It is no wonder that bishop Charnetsky was very popular among the prisoners, as he was the only source of consolation for them.

      Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky spent the last years of his imprisonment in a prison hospital in Mordovia. In 1956 his health declined to the extent that the doctors did not have any hope as regards his survival. A special robe, in which the prisoners were buried, had already been sewn for bishop Charnetsky. Taking into account the hopeless condition of the bishop and that the Soviet regime could avoid the blame of causing the bishop’s death, the prison administration decided to release him and send him to Lviv. After his return to Lviv in 1956 and due to his contracting hepatitis and a number of other diseases, Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky was immediately hospitalized. Everybody was sure that Bishop Charnetsky would soon die. But, the Lord had a different plan: He decided to prolong the life of a man whose faith and work was so valued and needed by the Ukrainian Church. Soon the bishop recovered and moved to an apartment in number 7 Vechirnia Street together with Br. Klymentiy, C.Ss.R. There, Bishop Charnetsky continued his apostolate of endurance and prayer. He spent most of his time praying and reading. Those who visited the bishop in that period witnessed to have often found him in a state of ecstasy. During his stay in Lviv, Bishop Charnetsky remained faithful to his mission of a Good Shepherd: he supported his confreres spiritually, prepared candidates for the priesthood and ordained more than ten priests.

      Unfortunately, Bishop Charnetsky’s “miraculous” recovery did not last long. On the 2nd of April 1959 the bishop died in a state of holiness. His last words were a cry calling on the aid of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. The funeral of Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky took place on the 4th of April 1959. The description of the funeral kept in the archive of Yorkton Province of CSsR (Canada) ends with the following words: “We all think that the day of his canonization will come – for he was indeed a saintly bishop”.

      Everybody who knew Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky gave an unanimous testimony of his sainthood. It was no surprise then that immediately after his death many people started addressing their prayers to Bishop Charnetsky. One finds this impression of sainthood and of a powerful intercession before God during prayers at the bishop’s tomb in the Lychakiv cemetery. Numerous people visit the place of Bishop Charnetsky’s burial to obtain his intercession when praying to God for various favours. One woman, whose arm was about to be amputated, applied soil from the bishop’s grave to her arm, which resulted in a complete healing. Since then, people have been taking soil from his grave to remedy various diseases.

      Taking into account the testimonies of Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky’s virtuous life, and particularly his endurance, courage and faithfulness to the Christ’s Church during the period of persecution, the beatification process was started in 1960. On 2 March 2001 the process was completed on the level of eparchy, and the case was handed over to the Apostolic See. On 6 April 2001 the theological committee recognized the fact of Bishop Charnetsky’s martyrdom, on 23 April his martyrdom was verified by the Assembly of Cardinals, and on 24 April 2001 Most Holy Father John Paul II signed a decree of the beatification of Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky, a blessed martyr of Christian faith.

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