Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and President of the Ukrainian Catholic University Borys (Gudziak) became the winner of this year's Vasyl Stus Award which was presented in Kyiv, according to Radio Liberty which cited the Ukrainian Center for the International PEN Club.
Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and President of the Ukrainian Catholic University Borys (Gudziak) became the winner of this year's Vasyl Stus Award which was presented in Kyiv, according to Radio Liberty which cited the Ukrainian Center for the International PEN Club.
It is noted that he is the first representative of the clergy who was awarded this prize.
“It is a great honor for me. I was educated from my youth with the legacy of Stus and other dissidents. When I was still at school, 12-13 years old, on January 12, every year we went on a hunger strike at Chornovol's call. We used these penny savings to buy stamps and postcards to write to dissidents,” said Bishop Gudziak during his speech.
In the speech, he has also mentioned Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov who has been starving for more than 100 days in a Russian colony in Labitnangi.
“Stus is a living story and position, his prize is a challenge and a duty. This is our time and, unfortunately, our dilemmas. Especially now, when Oleg Sentsov is imprisoned beyond the Arctic Circle, passing over to another inhuman milestone of pain and suffering – one hundred days of starvation,” said the bishop.
Since 1989, the Vasyl Stus Prize has been awarded to writers, artists, directors for a special contribution to Ukrainian culture and active civic stance.
From 2016 the prize is presented by the Ukrainian branch of the international PEN Club.
The winners of the award in different years were Serhiy Zhadan, Ivan Svitlychny, Nadia Svetychna, Maria Burmaka, Olga Bogomolets, Galina Sevruk, Opanas Zalivakha, Mikhailyna Kotsyubinskaya and others.