Metropolitan Sheptytsky’s role in rescuing Jews and his principles of humanity to be studied in Lviv

The summer school “Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky’s Social Thought: Rescue of Jews and Modern Problems of Humanity” was launched on June 25 in Lviv. Twenty-five students from all over Ukraine are participating in the program. It is the second consecutive year that the Institute of Religion and Society (IRS) of the Ukrainian Catholic University has organized the school, press service of UCU reports.

The summer school was opened with a prayer led by Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv Archeparchy Venedykt Aleksiychuk. The director of IRS, vice rector of UCU Myroslav Marynovych, commented: “We wanted to attract the attention of the Ukrainian society, including students and post-graduate youth, to Metropolitan Andrey. To ‘chip away’ at the stereotypes that surround one of the central figures in the history of the Ukrainian church.”

This year the organizers are focusing on one aspect of Andrey Sheptytsky’s activity, namely the rescue of Jews and problems of humanity. According to Myroslav Marynovych, this page of the metropolitan’s life is still unknown and invaluable in Ukraine: “We are always fluttering between different ideologies, trying to pick the right one. At the same time we forget that the line of demarcation between good and evil does not go through ideology but through the human heart. And in Sheptytsky’s fate and work this is all very well expressed. This knowledge we want to give to the Ukrainian society,” said the vice rector.

Canadian scholar Andrii Krawchuk, historians Yaroslav Hrytsak, Liliana Hentosh, Ihor Smolsky, political and cultural scientist Taras Vozniak, and political scientist Yaroslav Kit will teach at the program.

In addition to lectures, the participants of the summer school will visit some places associated with Metropolitan Sheptytsky, meet with the Jewish community, and pray together in the crypt of the Cathedral of St. George, where the metropolitan’s mortal remains repose.