Tens thousands of Lviv residents paid a last tribute to Lubomyr (Husar)

Today, on June 3, a mournful procession was held through the streets of Lviv. Tens of thousands of Lviv residents accompanied the coffin with the body Lubomyr (Husar) from the Cathedral of St. George to the Church of St Michael the Archangel. UGCC Patriarch Sviatoslav compared the last travel of Lubomyr by the streets of Lviv with the funeral of the Righteous Andrey Sheptytsky.

The funeral procession started at about 12:00 after the Divine Liturgy at St George’s Cathedral of Lviv. Clergymen carried the coffin onto the square to the monument to Andrey Sheptytsky. At the same time, the big screen near the temple played a video with His Beatitude where he gave instructions about the Church and faith. People had the last opportunity to be together with their pastor and to hear his words. Many believers who came to bid farewell to His Beatitude knew him personally, talked with him and received his spiritual guidance.

Subsequently to the applause of people who until then filled the entire space near the cathedral, the coffin with the body was placed on an artillery gun carriage. The young people marched ahead of the procession, they carried the cross and banners, followed by seminary students, monks and nuns from different congregations of the Church. Greek Catholic hierarchs led by Patriarch Church Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) followed the car with the coffin.

Participating in the funeral procession were representatives of the authorities, religious communities from different cities and villages in Galicia. Many young people came to pay the last tribute. They prayed during the procession. Sometimes the procession stopped and clergymen read the Gospel. And near the monument of Shevchenko a military brass band was waiting for the procession. When the car with the coffin cane up to the orchestra, the musicians performed mourning melodies.

The mourning procession lasted for two hours.

At the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Patriarch Sviatoslav appealed to all present on behalf of His Beatitude Lubomyr. He spoke to the seminarians of Lviv seminary, students and teachers of the Ukrainian Catholic University, thanked the soldiers and the authorities. He called the today’s procession a historic event and compared it with the funeral of the Righteous Metropolitan Sheptytsky.

“This day will go down in history,” he said. “You will be proud to tell your children and grandchildren that you participated in this event ... Today, His Beatitude is saying goodbye. In some time, he will leave for Kyiv in order to go to eternal rest at our baptistery font of the Dnieper-Slavuta. He will be laid to rest where our Kyivan Church was born.”

His Beatitude Lubomyr (Husar) passed away on May 31, 2017, at 18:30, 85 years of age, after a serious illness. On Thursday, the coffin with his body was brought to St George’s Cathedral of Lviv. The temple was open during this time. To bid farewell to His Beatitude, people had to stand in long queues for an hour or two. A large screen was installed for the believers in front of St George’s Cathedral, which showed the film about Lubomyr (Husar), the interviews with him.

The coffin with the body of the former head of the UGCC in Ukraine remained in Lviv for three days.

On Sunday, June 4, the procession with the body of Patriarch Lubomyr came to Kyiv to the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection.

On Monday, June 5, at 11 am the mournful Pontifical Divine Liturgy with the burial rite will be held.

His Beatitude will be buried in the crypt of the Resurrection Catrhedral.