Victims of Babyn Yar commemorated in Philadelphia

October 08, 2023

On October 8, metropolitan Borys Gudziak attended a commemoration for the victims of Babyn Yar organized by the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center in Shalom Memorial Park (Huntingdon Valley, PA)

Babyn Yar, a site in Kyiv where over a two-day period in 1941 close to 34,000 Jews were killed. In the 1990s a local Jewish community erected a memorial in Shalom Memorial Park. This year’s commemoration was overshadowed by the Hamas attack on Israel. Archbishop Borys and many representatives of the Ukrainian community joined to express solidarity with the Jewish people and the people of Israel.

“Our two peoples understand each other in a special way. In 2016, I had the privilege to visit Babyn Yar for the 75th anniversary. I flew from Paris, where I served as bishop. I come today from close by to be with you, for us to be together. Our relationship and presence speak louder than words”, said the Archbishop.