When I recently visited the Ukrainian museum in Toronto to see Sacred Straw, the exhibit of icons reminded me of a treasured icon of the Virgin Mary hanging on our bedroom wall. The artist, Myroslava Boikiv, had created a beautiful icon of the Holy Mother as well as others out of straw and wood. Frames are by Roman Vorotnyk.
Reflections
The artworks caused me to reflect on my baba’s deep faith. Her belief in God had sustained her through World War I, and all the wars that followed in her beloved Ukraine. It’s surprising to me that with all her losses—four children and a husband—she continued to pray throughout her life. She never wavered in her Christian faith. Her heartbreaking story is well-documented in my novel,Sunflowers Under Fire and its sequels: Lilacs in the Dust Bowl, and Paper Roses on Stony Mountain.
Our Treasured Icon
The treasured icon hanging in our bedroom is one my mother and father gave us just before our wedding. It’s a Ukrainian tradition for the parents to bless the couple with an icon and bread, often a korovai (a decorated loaf of bread). This icon was special in my family because my baba, Lukia Mazurets, had rescued it from a fire set by Bolsheviks around 1919. When she and her children returned from the refugee camp in the Caucasus, the Bolsheviks were on a rampage in Volhynia, attacking the clergy and destroying icons and churches.
“Between the Bolsheviks and the Poles, her faith was being challenged on all sides. Even one of her nephews had fallen in with some atheists and was going around the countryside burning icons and bibles. When she’d seen him igniting a pile of religious artifacts, she yelled first and then scolded him. He paid no attention, just looked the other way. In the end, she was relieved to have rescued a few icons before they were too badly burned.”
from Sunflowers Under Fire
The treasured icon Baba rescued from the fire is one her mother had received when she went on her annual pilgrimage to Pochaiv Lavra, a cathedral and monastery 360 km. south of Kyiv. Despite the bad burns on the back of the icon, you can still see the Pochaiv stamp at the top right of the image.
Theotokos of Pochaiv
In the Dormition Cathedral by the Pochaiv monastery is another treasured icon, known as Theotokos of Pochayiv. Many miracles are attributed to this elaborately made icon.
“She breathed deeply then gazed at the ornate golden icon of the Blessed Virgin suspended from the ceiling in the middle of the nave. The sun streaming through the windows bounced off the icon’s gold frame, creating a dazzling light display on the walls. Egnat read that the icon had been donated to the monks in the sixteenth century by the noblewoman whose brother had been cured of blindness after praying to the Virgin. Viewing the glorious icon, the three of them prayed for a cure.”
from Sunflowers Under Fire
The Black Madonna
What is it about icons that keep the faithful praying to them?
Last summer, when Robert and I visited the packed Roman Catholic cathedral of the Jasna Gora Monastery in Poland last summer, we saw all eyes turned to the Black Madonna, another treasured icon. The Black Madonna is also known for its miracles, much like the Theotokos of Pochaev that drew my great grandmother, Fedoshya Korneluk (Baba’s mother) to Pochaiv Lavra annually. It must be hope that draws the crowds—a deep belief in a higher power.
My Faith
Though I’ve strayed from the church, I thank my parents and Baba for raising me in the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox faith. I’m no longer sure where, who, or what God is, but I felt his presence growing up and that faith sustained me through some hard times. While I was in Toronto, I attended a service at St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral with my daughter and granddaughter. I lit candles for my mother, father, and Baba. I even crossed myself out of respect for my mother and baba.
At the end of the service, the choir sang Ukraine’s National Hymn, a prayer asking God to protect Ukraine. As I listened, I was moved to tears. Here is the hymn sung on Saturday Night Live shortly after the war broke out in Ukraine in February, 2022.
How I Learned About the Exhibit
I’d learned about the Sacred Straw exhibition from a pamphlet I’d picked up in the building housing Kontakt Television’s studio in Etobicoke. I’d gone to the studio to be interviewed by Uliana Hlynchak about the Ukrainian family saga trilogy I’d written. The network broadcasts to the Ukrainian diaspora in North America in both English and Ukrainian.
Closing Thoughts
When I look at the world today, with the war in Ukraine, and our climate emergency, and so many struggling to get out of poverty, it helps to have faith, whether it’s following the teachings of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddism or another religion that lifts you up . Perhaps my cockeyed optimism is a product of my early faith. I still have hope for our beautiful world. What are your thoughts?
