EVENT

First student church in Ternopil

Saint Sophia’s Church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has been built on the campus of Ternopil’s Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University. There are also numerous student dorms on the grounds. According to Rev. Vitalii Kozak in charge of the “student church,” the Liturgy is celebrated here on a daily basis, along with all other services and rites, as in any other house of God. This church is also expected to accommodate youth organizations and the Saint Sophia Intellectuals’ Society — its members consider themselves to be an innate part of St. Sophia’s congregation. The church was consecrated on November 1. Divine Liturgy was celebrated by bishops, reports Larysa OSADCHUK from Ternopil.

Monument to … corruptionist

A mobile monument is unveiled in Chernivtsi and will soon travel around Ukraine

Chernivtsi — “The Monument to the Unknown Corruptionist” — this is how the sculptor Anatolii Fedirko named his most recent work. This artist is well-known outside Chernivtsi, in particular for having discovered a hitherto unknown canvas by Kazimir Malevich and for his shocking installations dedicated to several presidential candidates.

The mobile monument has the form of a huge (one meter in diameter), bronze-covered metal thaler–dollar coin, bearing the portrait of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria on one side and the US dollar sign, on the other. Three hands support the coin, one giving and the other two receiving the bribe.

For convenient transportation, the work of art was set onto iron rails and wheels. “We did this to enable the demonstration of the monument in various parts of Chernivtsi and outside the city,” says the author, who believes his creation to be very timely in Ukraine today. The idea of this unusual monument was prompted by the history of Chernivtsi in the 18th century and by a recent visit paid to the city by an heir to the Habsburg dynasty.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire acquired Chernivtsi and entire Bukovyna as a result of bribing the combatants in the Russo-Turkish war of 1774. Two years ago, during a visit to Chernivtsi, the imperial heir was amazed to hear that Austrian Square was now named Soborna, which means “bribe” in Spanish.

“Such a combination of history and modernity (incidentally promoted by the pun in translation) inspired the idea of creating a monument to a corruptionist who feels at ease in various epochs, countries and social systems,” said one of the organizers of the installation, Serhii Osachuk, whose effort helped engage the sponsorship of the international organization Pan-Europe–Austria.

Fedirko worked on the implementation of his project for a month. In the author’s opinion, a bribe has some “erotic and philosophical implications” as it comprises two acts, that of giving and that of taking. By the way, one can see this sculpture piece only in daytime: since it was made of 250 kg of metal, it will be taken to a secure place for the night, just to be on the safe side, because hunters for scrap metal might outnumber corruptionists.