During his visit to Zdolbuniv, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak took part in a commemoration of the Servant of God, Father Teodor Malko, a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church who was persecuted by the Soviet regime for remaining faithful to his Church. At the local cemetery, a memorial plaque dedicated to Father Teodor was blessed.
Following the 1946 Lviv Pseudo-Sobor, Father Teodor Malko refused to join the Russian Orthodox Church and continued his priestly ministry underground. He was arrested in November 1950 and, in January 1951, sentenced to ten years in prison. He served his sentence at Camp Unit No. 167 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Rivne region, located in Zdolbuniv, where he died on July 28, 1952.
Today, the cause for the beatification of the Servant of God, Father Teodor Malko, is underway in the Eparchy of Stryi of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Addressing those gathered, Metropolitan Borys emphasized the importance of preserving the memory of those whose lives bore witness to their fidelity to God and to the truth. Nearly 80 years after Father Teodor’s death, his witness, the Metropolitan said, takes on particular significance for a generation of Ukrainians who are once again experiencing war and Russian aggression.
Metropolitan Borys reflected on how, throughout the centuries, Russian occupations have threatened the Ukrainian people and their Church. He noted that this pattern has repeated itself in the 18th, 19th, 20th, and now the 21st century. Yet despite persecution and immense human losses, efforts to destroy the Ukrainian people and their Church have failed.
He particularly remembered those who today are giving their lives for truth and for God-given human dignity, as well as all those who risk their lives each day.
Speaking about the contemporary world, Metropolitan Borys cautioned against the belief that everything can become a matter of negotiation or transaction. In his words, a significant part of the Western democratic world has forgotten some of its fundamental principles. “In my country, at the highest levels, they talk about deal. We’ll buy, we’ll sell, we’ll pay, we’ll get rich. As if everything can be bought and everything can be sold.”
By contrast, the witness of Father Teodor Malko and the entire generation of those persecuted for their faith reminds us, Metropolitan Borys said, that some things cannot be compromised.
“There is good and there is evil; there is truth and there is falsehood; there is what is of God and what is of the devil. And we choose to stand on God’s side and bear witness to what is of God. And what is of God will prevail. And what is of God will remain forever,” he emphasized.
Addressing the young people present, Metropolitan Borys recalled Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, who served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine from 1972 to 1989. He spoke of the persecution of priests and dissidents and the suppression of the Ukrainian language under the Soviet regime. At the same time, he observed that many members of the younger generation today no longer know who Shcherbytsky was.
The memory of Father Teodor Malko, however, continues to grow with time. “Father Teodor Malko — recognition of him, his renown, is only growing. And God willing, there will be his beatification and canonization,” Metropolitan Borys said.
Honoring Father Teodor’s memory, Metropolitan Borys emphasized, is not merely about paying tribute to someone who gave his life for the faith. At this difficult moment for Ukraine, it is also an opportunity to remind ourselves of the need to stand for truth and remain faithful.
“Sometimes it comes at a cost, but this path of faith and truth is God’s path, the path taken by the Lord Himself, the Son of God Himself, Christ Himself”. He reminded those gathered that Christians, too, are sometimes called to walk the Way of the Cross, but that this road ultimately leads to the Resurrection.
“God’s truth will prevail. Let us not doubt it”
He noted that no matter how powerful those who resort to falsehood, violence, bloodshed, and genocide may appear, their power is not eternal. Those who remain faithful to the end, however, “will be with the Lord in peace and eternal joy.”
Metropolitan Borys also spoke about representatives of the Ukrainian Catholic Church from the United States who were visiting Ukraine with him. Among them, he mentioned Bishop Hlib Lonchyna and Father Mark, a sixth-generation Ukrainian American whose ancestors left Ukraine approximately 130 years ago and who was visiting the land of his ancestors for the first time.
The Metropolitan said that encounters with Ukrainian communities, their history, and their witness today are a source of profound learning and inspiration for the visitors from the United States. He expressed his respect for those who are risking their lives today or have already given them, as well as for all those who continue to serve, pray, and support Ukraine during the war.
He assured those gathered that the representatives of the Church from the United States would bring back to America what they had heard, seen, and experienced in Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of international solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
In conclusion, Metropolitan Borys encouraged those present to remember Father Teodor Malko not only through the circumstances of his death, but above all through his life, ministry, and faithfulness to God. Speaking figuratively in the voice of the Servant of God and conveying his message to the present generation, “They destroyed me; they crushed me like a grain of wheat. Like a grain, I died, but I live eternally.”
At a time when the Ukrainian people and the Church are once again facing an existential threat, Father Teodor’s witness, according to Metropolitan Borys, speaks to the present generation with a simple appeal: “Stay with God.”
“Just as you remember me today, so too will you be remembered as those who preserved God’s truth, opened themselves to God’s love, and lived by that love.”
Concluding his remarks, Metropolitan Borys expressed the hope that awareness of Father Teodor Malko’s ministry and sacrifice would continue to grow, and he invoked God’s blessing upon those gathered and upon Ukraine. “May the Lord grant, as soon as possible, the victory of His truth in our land.”
