Wisdom, humanity, and simplicity – these are the three qualities that were most often used to describe Major Archbishop Lubomyr Husar by guests at his 80th birthday celebration in Kyiv. The former member of the Ukrainian scouting organization Plast, member of the association Obnova, and successor to Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky celebrated his birthday with the youth.
"Up to age 40 try to spend time with older people, and after 40 with young people, in order to stay young,” the archbishop jokingly said in a greeting address to the young people at his celebration.
February 28 is not just Major Archbishop Lubomyr Husar’s birthday celebration, but also a celebration of 55 years of his priestly ministry.
At the age of five the bishop already had his calling to become a confessor. "The whole family still slept when he rearranged the furniture so that in the middle was a table from where he could celebrate Mass," said his niece Maria Rypan from Canada. At that time nobody knew that this child would become on a par with the Patriarch Josyf Slipyj and Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. By the way, his first meeting with the latter was very symbolic.
As told by Lubomyr Husar, he first saw Andrey Sheptytsky when he was about 5 or 6 years old. "Students organized a sporting event with different exercises,” he says, immersed in memories of childhood, as if looking at an old photo. “They were making a tower, and my dad at that moment asked me to return to the car with an open roof, in which sat a senior gentleman with large gray hair." In his memory were etched his father’s words that it was the metropolitan, but, he says, that at the time the tower interested him much more than Sheptytsky. Bishop Lubomyr says that 15 years ago, when he succeeded him, that image flashed before his eyes and he thought: "I looked at the Metropolitan ... Maybe he saw a small boy with big ears. Did he think then by some prophetic spirit that the small boy would be his successor?”
He was a father to many, representatives of various denominations say about bishop. "As a father should be the first in the family, so was he, providing a future for his successors,” says Jesuit Father Andriy Zelinsky, who was also present at the jubilee. “Indeed, Lubomyr Husar was the father of many, not only among the Greek Catholics. In the interfaith context, he was the first to reach out to representatives of other churches, so that the walls of the churches would not reach the sky. Among all things, Lubomyr’s humanity stands out. Having gone down a difficult path, he remained a good man – this is seen in both the grace and art of his work with God’s grace.”
Professor at the National University of Ostroh Academy Father Vasily Zhukovsky also highlights this, noting that Bishop Lubomyr was an interdenominational Christian, a true Christians who was not confined within his own denomination and did not dwell on denominational differences. Zhukovsky names a special characteristic of BIshop Lubomyr the ability, being older in age, to remain younger for many young people.
Major Archbishop Lubomyr Husar was admired for his ability to approach other people, says Father Rostyslav Pendiuk, chairman of the youth commission of the UGCC. "He was never focused on himself, but was open to the world and ready to give what he could – wisdom, attention, and love. Despite his venerable age and infirmity, he travels the country and meets with young people." Such sincerity resulted in numerous friendly comments about His Beatitude, and the mere fact that the celebration was attended by about 200 young people from different regions of Ukraine is perhaps the greatest sign of his special commitment.
For Olena Bidovanets, the president of Obnova, Bishop Lubomyr is associated with a kind of Atlas, who indicates the bar, which one should reach, and is an example of a true Christian, she said. "He is a testament of a person whose lifestyle shows loyalty to God and brings peace and tranquility,” she says.
"I am glad that young people have so much hope,” Lubomyr Husar said to the youth. “You are the people who are starting to feel the joy of being a student. I see that student in you and hope that you will continue to impress us." At the end he said a humorous goodbye to the young people: "Rejoice in God's gift of youth and see you in 10 years at the next jubilee, although then you will not be so young."