On June 1, our parish of St. Volodymyr hosted a special cultural and educational event titled “Embroidered Voices from Ukraine to the World,” organized with the support of the Ukraine Support Foundation (USF). The event gathered numerous admirers of Ukrainian culture, traditions, and spiritual heritage.
The honored guests of the event were Lesia Voroniuk, founder of Vyshyvanka Day Worldwide, cultural activist, and researcher of Ukrainian heritage, as well as Nataliia Havdyda, Director of International Cultural Projects of Vyshyvanka Day in the United States.
During the presentation, participants had the opportunity to learn about the origins and global spread of Vyshyvanka Day, to become familiar with international projects aimed at preserving Ukrainian cultural heritage, including “Occupied Heritage” and “Saved Heritage,” as well as to hear about the activities of the publishing house “Vydyvo,” which promotes Ukrainian culture and history.
Special attention was given to the significance of the vyshyvanka as a spiritual and national symbol of the Ukrainian people, uniting generations of Ukrainians around the world and bearing witness to our identity, faith, and resilience.
A pleasant surprise for Ms. Lesia Voroniuk was that an embroidery ornament from her book was chosen for our iconostasis, which was skillfully brought to life by our parishioner Iryna Kulchytska. This symbolic element became yet another sign of the living connection between Ukrainian cultural heritage and the liturgical life of the parish.
After the presentation, the parish pastor, Fr. Roman Bobesiuk, expressed sincere gratitude to Ms. Lesia Voroniuk and Ms. Nataliia Havdyda for their long-standing dedication to the preservation and promotion of Ukrainian cultural heritage. In his words, he emphasized the special importance of nurturing and passing on to future generations our faith, language, traditions, culture, and the vyshyvanka as an integral part of Ukrainian identity.
The event concluded with a communal prayer for Ukraine and the singing of the spiritual anthem of the Ukrainian people, “God Great and One,” during which all those present united in prayer for peace, victory, and God’s blessing upon the Ukrainian people.
More photos from the event: PHOTO ALBUM