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Shown during the Ukrainian independence program in New York City- on January 25 are, first on the left: Mrs. Irene Padoch, UNWLA Constitu tion and Bylaws Chairman; Mrs. Mayala Miltenberger, administrative as sistant to Mrs. Spafford; Mrs. Stefania Pushkar, UNWLA president and NOW Migration Chairman; Mrs. Belle Spafford, president of NCW-US; Mrs. Helga Obolins, president of Baltic Women’s Council; front row — Prof. Roman Smal-Stocki, president of Shevchenko Scientific Society; Prof. Karl Menges, professor of Turkish and Oriental languages at Colum bia University; Mr. Stefan Sprynsky, secretary of “Providence” Assn., and Mr. Rostyslav Chomiak, Radio Liberty. GREAT SAINT AND RU LER COMMEMORATED This year the entire C hristian world will observe the 1,000th anniversary of the death of Queen Olha, who was canonized a saint of the Church for her personal qualities and her ef forts to bring C hristianity to her people. Churches and m onaste ries were nam ed in her honor and under her patronage were founded m any schools and even universities. B ut for us Olha is im portant in one other respect — she was the first woman ruler of the U krainian people in the Middle Ages. The life of Queen Olha has still not been researched com pletely. Some sources say th at she was the daughter of a Pskov king, while others claim th a t she was a commoner, whom king Ihor m et one day on a hunt and can be revived here. The bonfire is one of these. B ut the w ater sprinkling on E aster M onday and the Holy Thursday supper can and should be revived. They are beautiful custom s, all the m ore dear to us because they are one m ore link w ith the land of our fathers and the rich cul tural tradition which it nur^ tured. later m arried. W hichever story is true, we know th a t she was not destined to be a bride for long. Several years after the m arriage, king Ihor was killed while collecting taxes am ong his subjects. Following Ihor’s death, the young widow ruled as regent for her young son, Svyatoslav. Two im portant dates are re corded in the chronicles of her reign, 944-960. In 944 she rode at the head of an arm y in an attack on the De- revyany tribe who had killed her husband. In keeping w ith the pa gan m ores of her tim e, she re venged herself cruelly on the people who had killed her hus band. In 957 she travelled to Byzan tium , which a t th a t tim e was the C hristian and cultural center of the civilized world. H er trip, which was m ade for political reasons, undoubtedly had some religious overtones as well, for we know th a t at this tim e Olha was already a convert to C hris tianity. The date and circum stances surrounding her conversion to C hristianity are hard to estab lish, but we know from the chro. nicies th a t she was a fervent Christian. Olha built tw o church es: the St. Nicholas Church and the church of St. Sophia. The latter, being built of wood, burned down, and in its place was built the m ajestic Church of St. Sophia w hich we know to day. W hen Svyatoslav grew to manhood, Olha turned over the reigns of governm ent to him . Svyatoslav refused to be con verted to C hristianity, but un der the influence of his m other he abstained from persecuting the C hristians in his realm . Svyatoslav, who was known as the “w arrior king” was frequent ly engaged in battles which took him away from his kingdom, and during these periods Olha ruled in his stead. H er authority was equal to th a t of her son. Olha died in 969 and there was great m ourning throughout the land. She soon became som e thing of a legendary figure, and countless songs and prayers evoked her nam e. The day of her death, July 11, became an im portant holy day w hich is com m em orated to this day of Slavic peoples. This year, U krainian women throughout the world will pay tribute to the m em ory of this great ruler and saint. In her per son are m irrored strength and determ ination of a great woman who was able to rule her land on the threshold of our history and whose m oral qualities have served as a source of inspiration for future generations. W HAT’S H A PPEN IN G AT UNW LA. UNW LA Vice President M rs. A nastasia Volker took p art in the October 18 m eeting of the Executive Board which was held in Philadelphia. M rs. Volker pre sented a work plan for the E ng lish-speaking Branches which she counsels. The plan w as dis cussed in detail by the Execu tive Board and will be presented to the N ational Board for a final decision. Two good talkers . not w orth one good listener. Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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