1956-1989

Liturgies in the underground.
Report of the senior inspector (written in Russian) for the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR in matters of religion, M Bozhka, about the facts of the underground activity of Greek Catholic priests and monks in the Lviv region. December 10, 1979:
“ The cult practices are also conducted illegally. Religious services with the participation of uniate priests are short and simplified in character. They take place secretly, often at night. These criteria are observed with their religious rituals as well. The leadership of the illegal uniate religious services requires that the faithful not attract additional attention, and therefore hide their association with the Greek Catholic faith. Two or three people prepare the community ahead of time and then the servant of the cult arrives. By this time there are usually many waiting for baptisms, marriages and communions. Religious services and rituals are conducted in apartments in small groups late at night, or early in the morning. In this way many communists and communist youth group members who are afraid to go to church take part in the rituals. If a village is ‘calm’ then the priest might conduct his activity there for more than a week, until he has served all those desiring to be served, but sometime it happens that after a day or two he must leave the village
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Laity and priests of the Underground UGCC gathered for Divine Liturgy not only in private houses, but as well in churches closed by Soviet authorities and in pilgrimage places (Zarvanytsia, Krekhiv, Hoshiv). These Liturgies inspired people and strengthened their faith.



Interviw with Rev. Mykhailo Sushko. //AICH, è–1–1–276. — p. 5—6.










“ I was also in Zarvanytsia at one of the services, (250) when in the forest at midnight Bishop Pavlo, Fr. Hryhorii Simkailo, and Fr. Taras Senkiv celebrated the Liturgy. Even though this took place in the woods, it was somehow solemn, sacred, and somehow majestic praying to God in such unusual circumstances. Truly, it seemed that the prayers came from the very depth of the heart, because all sincerely asked for such times, that we might be able to pray not in the woods, but in our Ukrainian Catholic Churches, of which there are so many in our western territories and which were in the hands of the Orthodox Church. And we see that these prayers were heard because the time has arrived, that we are now able to freely pray in our own churches.

P.N.:Please describe to us what the Divine Liturgy looked like in the woods? Where were you able to make the altar, how was all this done?

Fr. S.:This was done: they would borrow a table from someone in the family, and carry it into the woods. Someone would bring tablecloths, someone candles, someone an icon. And so, in a level place under a tree they would place the table, which would serve as an altar. They would cover the table with a beautiful tablecloth, place the cross, the candles, and hang the icon above the table on a tree. People with candles and lanterns would help to light up Bishop Pavlo’s missal, so that he could read and serve the Divine Liturgy. That was an experience, you know, that is difficult to convey with words. Everything was done so sincerely, with love, with such deep faith, that it seemed that truly these were people whom no power could shake from their decision. These people were such that no power could remove from their hearts their faith in God, love for their nation and their Church. These were truly deep, convinced faithful Ukrainian Greek Catholics

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Religious life of believers contents Legalization of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church