On the 14^th of January there was hold a Holy Service in the church of the Transfiguration of Jesus on Jasna Mountain in Goshiv. The Service was honored by the presence of His Eminence Iryney Bilyk, OBSM, Canonic of the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

Bishop Iryney led the Holy Service in this church first time after the return of the monastery to the true owner – the Order of St. Basil the Great, on the holiday of the Three Saints, February 12, 1990. At that time the church and the monastery were ruined after the atheistic communist disaster. The original frescos were destroyed, walls rent and the roof holed.

Weak beams of the sun were falling on the temporary altar through the wide cracks in the walls and ceiling during this first postwar Service. There were broken windows and no doors in the church and because of the terrible draught monks wore capuches while shriving. On that historical day father Nykodym Gyralyk, OBSM and father Matey Gavryliv, OMSB were serving together with the Bishop. The Basilian Order and our multisuffering Mother-Church were going out of the catacombs to meet new expectations and hopes. 

As it used to be before a lot of palmers from the near and far places are coming to Jasna Mountain to for the Holy Service. The restored church, newly painted and penetrated by the prayers is attracting numerous believers by its spirituality. People arrive to the renewed glory of the Queen of the Carpathian Mountains on Jasna Mountain with various needs and requests. They return home spiritually stronger, their souls fulfilled with happiness.

This time it was the same. Bishop Iryney, who used to be a frequent guest of this church, arrived from the Eternal Rome City, the Apostolic Capital, from the House of His Holiness to exalt the Service and give his Archiereyal blessing.

In his speech Bishop emphasized the triple dimension of the Holiday. First of all, this is the holiday of the Old Testament baptism and naming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when God the Father chooses name Jesus for His Son, which means “the Messiah”, because He was called for the Saving Mission.

Through our personal christening, through the actions of the Holy Spirit in our life we also participate in this Saving Mission of Christ, and through the name accepted after the christening together with the Sanctified kindness we also receive our Heaven defender a Guardian Angel and protection of a Saint, after which we were named.  

The second dimension of the Holiday is the commemorating of the great Saint of our Church – Saint Basil the Great, who was named the Great even during his rather short life (49 years), because of his noble deeds.

He came from a multichildren but a rich family. He got the highest possible at that time education and had a possibility to be successful in life and enjoy earthly life. But he chose the road of the complete consecration and serving to the Lord. Great Archipastor, great theologian, his colossal charity activity make him really great in the eyes of people and God. 

His dogmatic works about the Deity of Jesus Christ and work about the Holy Spirit, which is the tractate about the Deity and Unity of the Holy Spirit Entity, his ascetic works and first of all, Big and Small Statutes of the monastic life, which became not only the basis for the new life of monks in the South, but also influenced the development and structure of the monastic life in the West; his preachments on the dogmatic, moral and esoteric themes are the part of the priceless heritage of the Church.

He practiced love to neighbors through his deeds, building charity institutions for sick, poor and old people; houses for palmers and travelers, workshops, crafts and art schools.

Saint Basil is close to us, he lives among the Ukrainians due to one great thing – the Order of the Saint Basil the Great, which at all the times was raising for our people persistent spiritual leaders, heroes of the Church and the People, famous missioners, due to whom the Lord’s word, prayer and Ukrainian song are heard on all continents, where our basilians went following Ukrainian emigrants, who were searching for a better life.    

Bishop Iryney called our youth to take the life and activities of st. Basil the Great as an example to follow in their lives, in serving to the Lord, Church and People.

Afterwards the Bishop emphasized the importance of entering the New year. God is the Creator of the Universe, hence the space and time in which we live. That’s why for us, Christians, each year is dedicated to God and not to anything else, as it is in the Eastern Calendar or other religions. 

In the end His Eminence greeted everyone and first of all the Basilians with their “family” holiday and gave his Archiereyal blessing to all present.

Historical reference: “History of this old church and monastery, - as we read in the book published by the Basilians in Rome, 1992 “Delineations of the history of the Basilian Order of the Saint Josaphat”, - goes back to 1570, though it was first mentioned in the chronicles only on the beginning of the 17^th century.

It was famous in the whole Galych Province as the biggest confession place with the beautiful icon of the crying Mother of God painted after Mother of God from Chenstokhova. Since the beginning of the 18^th century from the most distant places of Galychyna, Bykovyna and Carpathians there hurried hundreds of people to “the Queen of the Carpathian Mountains”, as she was called. And since 1937 on the 200^th anniversary of the miraculous icon there went about half a million of the palmer over the Jasna Mountain, which was renewed and rebuilt in 1930.

Then we read in the book of father Mykhaylo Vavryk, OBSM “Through the Basilian Monasteries”, which was printed by the Basilian printing house in Toronto, 1958: “there is no count to the miraculous icons of Her in our churches and monasteries, just as uncountable is the gentle piety to the Queen of Heaven and Mother Ukraine in the Ukrainian soul…  Like the Niagara waterfall fell the rivers of palmers from capacious Podillya and Opillya into Zarvanytsya – “the well of kindnesses”. All Posyannya had on the Paclav Kalvariya its own capital for the Most Holy Mother of God. In the Krekhiv monastery She accepted people’s greetings simultaneously from two miraculous icons. And each of Her miraculous icons on the Galych land was a healing Well of the God’s Kindness, spiritual power and unbelievable upsurge for thousands of prayers, which were flowing to them from nearer and farther neighborhood during the anniversaries and pilgrimages. But over all of them there rose the Holy Queen of the Carpathian Mountains on the Jasna Mountain in Goshiv. Her snow-white church was seen and the thunderous sound of its bells was heard far. And just like a middle age fortress it spread its power over the Vysoky Beskyd, Transcarpathian Mountains, Chornogora and whenever the age-old glory of Her Miraculous Icon could reach.”