Hryhoriy Lakota

Hryhorij Lakota, also known as Gregor Lakota (Hryhorij being the Ukrainian spelling for Gregor, 31 January 1883 12 November 1950) was a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church auxiliary bishop who suffered religious persecution and was martyred by the Soviet Government.

Blessed Hryhorij Lakota
Born31 January 1893, Holodivka, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary
Died12 November 1950 (aged 67), Abez labour camp, near Vorkuta
Martyred byUSSR
Means of martyrdomgulag
Venerated inUkrainian Greek-Catholic Church
Beatified27 June 2001, the Ukraine, by Pope John Paul II
Hryhorij Lakota after arrest by NKVD 1946

Hryhorij Lakota was born 31 January 1893 in Holodivka, in Austrian Galicia, Lviv region. He studied theology in Lviv. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1908. In 1911, he later received his Ph. D. in Theology in Vienna.[1] He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Przemyśl on 16 May 1926. On 9 June 1946, he was arrested by the NKVD and sentenced to ten years imprisonment, as part of Joseph Stalin's suppression of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic (Uniate) church.[2] In exile in Vorkuta (Russia), he was recognized for his humaneness and humility as he took on unbearable conditions to make life easier for others. Father Alfonsas Svarinskas recounts Bishop Hryhorij's behavior in camp as reflecting "Christian virtues."[1] He was martyred at the Abez labour camp, near Vorkuta on 12 November 1950.

Lakota and another Ukrainian Catholic Bishop, Josyf Slipyj, became the inspiration for the character of Kiril Pavlovich Lakota in the novel The Shoes of the Fisherman.

Hryhorij Lakota was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 27 June 2001 in the Ukraine.[3]

References

  1. Church of the Martyrs: The New Saints of Ukraine. Turiĭ, Oleh., Lʹvivsʹka bohoslovsʹka akademii︠a︡. Instytut istoriï T︠S︡erkvy., Lʹvivsʹka bohoslovsʹka akademii︠a︡. Lviv, Ukraine: St. John's Monastery, Pub. Division Svichado. 2004. pp. \. ISBN 966-561-345-6. OCLC 55854194.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. Dunn, Dennis J. (October 1973). "Stalinism and the Catholic Church during the Era of World War II". Catholic Historical Review. American Catholic Historical Association. 59 (3): 404–428. ISSN 0008-8080.
  3. "Beatifications during the Pastoral Visit of His Holiness John Paul II in Ukraine (23-27 June 2001)"
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