Presentation of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj’s “Testament” edition held in Rome
On Sunday, April 24, a presentation of the monumental edition of The Testament of His Beatitude Patriarch Josyf Slipyj in the original and translated into eight foreign languages spoken by Ukrainians “scattered abroad” was held at the house of the Religious Society of St. Sophia in Rome.
Speaking about the publication’s relevance, Father Marko-Jaroslav Semehen, president of the St. Sophia Religious Society in Rome, noted that its novelty lies in the fact that the Testament will now be able to serve different nations.
“In his Testament, the patriarch raises issues that existed 50 years ago but have not lost their relevance today: our loyalty to God in times of trial, the value of the Christian family, and the preservation of our native Ukrainian school. As the spiritual father of our nation, he wants to protect future generations from the mistakes he noticed in the Church and Ukrainian society of the time,” Fr. Marko-Yaroslav convinces.
According to Ms. Iryna Ivankovych, Executive Director at Ukrainian Religious Society of St. Sophia, “Testament by Josyf Slipyj is a kind of confession in which he brings his soul to the reader as a spiritual leader of the Church and a national leader of the people. The author appears before us as an ethnarch when Ukraine was in want of leaders, and the state was treated as a colony dominated by an alien and hostile ideology. Josyf Slipyj tactfully but clearly defines his role for all Ukrainian believers.”
In particular, during the presentation, the audience could hear the voice of Patriarch Joseph proclaiming his Testament. Then, St. Sophia Catholic School students read extracts from the book in different languages.
At the end of the meeting, Fr. Marko-Jaroslav thanked the entire U. S. community, represented by Ms. Iryna Ivankovych, for their hard work in creating a valuable publication of a significant historical figure of our Church to be passed on to future generations.
The UGCC Department for Informationbased on the materials of the press service of Religious Society of St. Sophia
