Esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen!
World War II
ended for Germany 25 years ago with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In Ukraine,
World War II ended with the Maidan.
What was the Maidan?
The Maidan was
a spontaneous youth rebellion, with millions following. The center of this
movement was a place named “Independence Maidan” in the center of Kyiv, and the
movement lasted from the end of November 2013 through February 2014. The people
of Ukraine rebelled because they felt they were too often deceived by the authorities.
This nation of protesters included people of all ages, social standings, and
religious denominations. They spoke in different languages, and came to Kyiv from
all the regions of Ukraine.
An
archetypical person from the Maidan was a slave who rose from his knees,
because he (or she) felt that such a kneeling position is unnatural for a human
being. This outburst encompassed hundreds of thousands of people, and because
of this the Maidan movement was named the Revolution of the Spirit. An uprising
of slaves does not mean that the slaves are fully transformed by their freedom:
some of them will not be able to fully accept the responsibility of freedom,
and thus will return to slavery. Today, the most insidious slavery for any Ukrainian
is corruption. It accompanies him even before his birth, from his conception
and unto death and even burial. But once the slave has tasted freedom, he can
no longer exist without this life-giving spirit. The Maidan was a territory of
freedom, where mutual respect, mutual assistance, solidarity, and freedom
prevailed!
Why did people die at the Maidan?
For
Christians (and not only for Christians) it is impossible to imagine the Maidan
without God’s Providence. In fact, it was an atheist who said to me
(paraphrasing): see, a Greek Catholic priest, a member of the Maidan! The Maidan
was akin to a celestial battle, which arose in heaven between the Angel of Light
and an unknown angel. After the battle, the first angel was named Satan, and
the other Michael. The reward of the unknown angel who asked “Who is like God?”
was his name -- Michael. Others followed him. The power of authority and
legitimacy was in the hands of the leader of the angels, the future Satan. The
power of freedom and the search for truth seemed smaller and not as authoritative,
and had no obvious guidance, but with this freedom and truth changed
everything!
The
same happened in Kyiv from November 2013 to February 2014. The peaceful people
of the Maidan, armed with smiles and in search of dignity, had their freedom of
expression and protest restricted by the armed forces; but these forces could
not extinguish the revolution of the spirit, so they brutally attacked and
murdered their ideological opponents. What the post-Soviet nomenklatura reigning in Kyiv did not understand, was that a human
being consists not only of the body, but it also has the spirit and soul! The hope
for the power of good, faith in the Almighty, and the feeling that evil is a
denial of goodness -- these were the victorious weapons of the Maidan!
The religious aspect of the Maidan
The
Maidan was not organized by any church authority, presbyter or layman. At
first, the people at the Maidan were afraid of being co-opted by a religious
group, so they even did not allow clergy to speak into a microphone. The same
treatment was given to politicians. However, as the Maidan became a true
revolution of the spirit, it delved into the depths of our human nature: our
search for the ultimate meaning of life, our quest to understand the deepest
existential questions. The Maidan turned every participant’s face to their
Creator! It could not be otherwise. As the Holy Spirit of Christians helped
open the hearts and minds of all people to a higher being, non-Christians created
a community of solidarity, which became the Church outside the institutional
Church! Here many Christian churches found their place in the sun: they participated,
served, and blessed offerings brought by the people! In that place a mutual dialogue
between Church and society arose, where both groups learned from each other. This
bred confidence and trust, because they saw in each other sincere seekers of
righteousness, not from an earthly perspective, but from a perspective of the wisdom
of God!
The
priestly mission at the Maidan is a sacrifice of all who are baptized, and the blood
of unbaptized for the love of their neighbors. The mission of a presbyter is to
offer sacrifices in the name of Christ in the Eucharistic sacrifice. So this
sacrifice of all became dear to the Lord! Those who brought their secular ministry
to the Maidan deeply felt the need for such sacrifice, because it led them to
good and to a personal conversion.
I must
add one important fact: that without twenty-five
years of Catholic social education in Western Ukraine, accompanied with the
hard work of Greek-Catholic clergy and laity, such a revolution of the spirit
with the results we experienced at the Maidan, would not be possible today in
Ukraine.
The
ennoblement and conversion of every person is the main challenge of the Maidan moving
forward: will the Maidan move from the central square of Kyiv to the hearts of
millions of Ukrainians? If so, then the Ten Commandments, which are inscribed
into each person by the Creator, notwithstanding their religion or world view,
will become the basis of a new social order. If not, then the lack of
transparency in human relations and a duality of truth will again spread to
unacceptable levels, and people will once again rise up against evil; but along
the way they will partake of the poison of self-deception needlessly! In this
regard, Christian social communities should be a true example to others!
The fruits of the Maidan
This
part is about the future. That said, the fruits of the Maidan are already
present in Ukrainian society. From the Soviet citizens of Ukraine was formed a
Ukrainian nation, a nation that speaks Ukrainian and Russian! There was a
turning point in the consciousness of the typical post-Soviet Ukrainian citizen;
that bad laws should not be obeyed, because God’s law and man’s conscience
should be essential components of an effective and fair law. Members of society
began to come to life and realized that they also contribute; not only to lend
credibility, but to help serve society, especially through dialogue and vigilance.
In
addition, the Churches were changed. They realized their arrogance, and that
they cannot simply serve to neighbors in their own name, but must serve in the
name of God! They understood that they also have a common sin, which makes
their testimony of Christ false for many people. The name of the sin is a horrific
separation among Christians! The phenomenon of the “Lenin-fall” became very
widespread, when the idol of communism was finally removed from the main squares
of Ukrainian villages and cities! This was a national phenomenon of a communist
religion, which killed millions of people for an angel of darkness. We hope
that Christian missionaries will be able to fill all empty hearts with a faith
in the true God!
The Russian-Ukrainian war
Another
consequence of the Maidan was the Russian military invasion of Ukraine! This
happened because the spirit of a free society is not acceptable to the
post-Soviet nomenklatura, which
currently controls the Russian Federation! It was to no avail that so-called “experts”
organized repressions at the Maidan, and not even snipers killing innocent
people could stop the inevitable. The Russian Federation lost this battle!
Because World War II finally ended in Ukraine at the Maidan, and the process of
the destruction of nihilistic dictatorship will certainly move to Russia. The
old nomenklatura feels that it needs
to stop this, and this can be done only by starting a new World War! Therefore,
the war in the Ukrainian Crimea, Donbass, and Luhansk is not just a war against
Ukraine, but against the spirit of dignity and freedom, which now is
represented (with difficulties and limitations) by the European Union and the
democratic world! This is why Maidan is so terrible in its consequences for
post-Soviet Russia’s ruling elite, because it restores Christian values and
meaning. The Maidan raised the bar for an understanding of freedom not only in the
sphere if Russian interests, but also for the entire North Atlantic region.
Freedom is not only about power and economy; it is also about the values! Those
values, in which the builders of the European Coal and Steel Community
believed! This is the price of the current war in Ukraine.
Conclusion
If
we still believe in the human person, who has his or her own dignity, which transforms
into a word and the law, then no matter what challenges arise in the future of
our civilization, we will worthily and peacefully overcome them.
Let
those words of hope be especially valuable to us, Christians in Germany, Ukraine
and Europe, including Russia! In all circumstances, with the daily example of
our lives, we must express the values for which we currently struggle in
Ukraine! The line between good and evil was never the Berlin Wall, nor is it the
Russian-Ukrainian border today. This line runs through the heart of every one
of us, when we decide every day whether to remain part of the problem or become
participants in the solution! Let us be the warriors for good!
This
is the meaning of the Maidan, which I have experienced and which I carry in my
heart for my own joy and for every person of good will on earth! This is meaning
of the Maidan I wanted to share with you, my dear friends! Thank you!
Europe-Academy Schmochtitz 2014
25 JAHRE WENDE IN
MITTELOSTEUROPA
20 JAHRE OSTEUROPA-SEMINARE
Bishof-Benno-Haus,
Schmochtitz
9-13 november 2014
Mitred
Protopresbyter
Doctor,
Dozent Mychajlo Dymyd
Lviv,
Ukraine
Ukrainian
Catholic University
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