Pilgrims from Ukraine submit request to Yad Vashem leadership to recognize Andrey Sheptytsky as Righteous Among the Nations
Ukrainian pilgrims in Israel handed over to the Chapter of Memory of the Yad Vashem Institute the requests to recognize Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky as a Righteous Among the Nations.
The appeal was presented by the synkel for monasticism in the Lviv Archdiocese of the UGCC Fr. Yustyn Boyko to the Deputy Director of the Holocaust Museum.
The priest wrote about it on his Facebook page.
"REQUEST TO CONFER ON
Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky
the title of the Righteous Among the Nations has just been handed over to the Chapter of Memory of the Yad Vashem Institute
represented by Afat Bakhrakh Ron, Deputy Director of the Holocaust Museum
I express my gratitude to my Israeli friend Boris Kaplan for fixing the meeting for the transfer of documents for consideration," said Fr. Yustin.
As RISU already reported, in Lviv on November 16, the participants of the international scientific conference "Father Klymenty Sheptytsky (1869-1951): Life and Spiritual Path of the Blessed Father of the Catholic Church" appealed to the Israeli National Memorial of the Holocaust and Heroism of Yad Vashem with a request to recognize the Righteous Metropolitan Andrey as the Righteous Among the Nations.
"We come now, as of the blessed memory Rabbi Ezekiel Levin, who in July 1941 came to the Cathedral of St. George in Lviv to seek protection and salvation for his people, and who addressed with the following words to Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky:
"You said,' I am a friend of the Jews.' You have always emphasized your benevolence toward us. I ask that now, in a wave of terrible danger, Your Excellence gave proof of your benevolence by influencing the indignant masses who initiated the pogrom. I ask for the rescue of hundreds of thousands of Jews. And let the omnipotent and omniscient God reward Your Excellence a hundred times more for that."
And the proof of his affection was given by Metropolitan Andrey. Rabbi Levin's two sons, Kurt and Nathan, were saved during the Holocaust. Rabbi David Kahane and his family members Nethana and Ruth were also rescued. Cecilia and Lily Stern (Polman) were rescued. Faina Lagher was recued. Mark Veithrub was rescued. Herbert Khameides was rescued. Abraham and Anna Fink, and Wolf Lam, Danya and Hasekl and Jakub Geller, Ludwig and Yuzev and Anna Podoshin, and Oded Amaranth, Perle Lam, Solomon Gilfer, Feiga Fink, Irina Shpunar, and more than two hundred unknown to us sons and daughters of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, whose rescue was witnessed by the Studite monks under oath. Having given the title of the Righteous Among the Nations to the abbess of the Holy Protection Monastery, Mother Yosyfa (Elena Veter), schema-monks Theodosius (Theodore Tsybrivsky) and Lazarus (Luke Shiyan), hieromonk Nikanor (Mykola Deyneha), blessed Hieromartyr Klyment (count Casimir Sheptytsky) and Fr. Mark (Mykhailo Stek), these merits of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky were not only confirmed, but also highly appreciated. However, they were not stated openly," the appeal says.
The document was signed by 30 academicians and representatives of the clergy who took part in the conference.
