Posted May 30, 2022
As war rages in Ukraine, local Ukrainian Catholic clergy led prayers at the graves of Ukrainian-American veterans on Memorial Day, gathering for a panakhyda, a short liturgy for the dead, at St. Mary Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Jenkintown.
(Read a feature story on the May 30 prayer service.)
The commemoration has taken on new significance for the Ukrainian American community, as the current Russian invasion of Ukraine — now the focus of numerous genocide and war crime investigations — has claimed thousands of lives while displacing over 14 million.
(Photos by Gina Christian.)
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Members of the Ukrainian American Veterans Post 1 stand at attention during a Memorial Day prayer service at St. Mary Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Jenkintown.
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Ukrainian American Veterans members John Rittenhouse Hill (left) and Eugene Zyblikewycz described Russian aggression against Ukraine as longstanding and genocidal.
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A member of the Ukrainian American Veterans Post 1 plays “Taps” during a Memorial Day prayer service at St. Mary Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Jenkintown, May 30.
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Father John Ciurpita (left) and Father Roman Pitula (right) lead a Memorial Day prayer service at St. Mary Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Jenkintown, May 30.
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During the Memorial Day service, Ed Zetick, commander of Ukrainian American Veterans (UAV) Post 1, read the names of UAV members who had passed away over the last 18 months.
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Deceased Ukrainian American veterans were honored at the May 30 service with a wreath of sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, and wheat, a symbol of the Holodomor, Joseph Stalin’s 1932-33 artificial famine that killed between 4 to 6.5 million Ukrainians.
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Participants listen to a performance of “Taps” during a Memorial Day prayer service at St. Mary Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Jenkintown, May 30.
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