BRIGHTON BEACH — Father Sergiy Emanuel raked his fingers through his hair to point out the silver strands that have begun to appear since Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago.
He was born of Polish heritage in the Czech Republic, but he grew up in Ukraine, where his elderly mother still resided at the start of the war on Feb. 24, 2022. A year ago, he brought her to New York to stay with him.
“It has still, for three years, continued,” lamented Father Emanuel, coordinator of the Russian-speaking and Ukrainian immigrants in the Diocese of Brooklyn. “And, for three years, everyone is tired from this.”
Father Emanuel, who is also the pastor of Guardian Angel Parish in Brighton Beach, which celebrates Mass in Ukrainian on Saturdays, said that when fighting began, many people thought it would end quickly.
However, this grinding war of attrition has not produced a decisive victory for either side.
By mid-March this year, both sides were wrangling over the idea of a 30-day ceasefire in advance of more tough negotiations to end the fighting.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has reported that about 1 million people on both sides have been killed or wounded.
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The Tablet caught up with Father Emanuel on March 13 via FaceTime as he visited family in Poland. While it is hard to say for sure that his silver hairs resulted from war fatigue, there have been some “silver linings” over the past three years for the local Ukrainian community.
“The people are turning back to the faith, back to their heritage, and to their own language,” Father Emanuel said.
Father Emanuel said he began to notice this trend soon after the start of the war when he posted a Ukrainian flag beneath a U.S. flag in an upper-floor window of the parish rectory.
“If you are walking, you can see this flag from far away,” he said of the blue-and-yellow banner. “Many see that somebody understands them in their Ukrainian language. So, they come knocking on the door of the rectory, asking about help.”
Father Emanuel said the parish responds with food assistance, referrals to the Ukrainian embassy, access to a computer, and other services. Many were not in the faith. Still, not all, but some started coming to the church and were baptized.
“They had a conversion to God,” he said. “Now they are active, helping other people.”
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Mass in Ukrainian has helped others re-engage with their language and culture, Father Emanuel said.
It’s not an observation to stir up national pride. Rather, it’s confirmation that throughout history, Ukrainians, like people from other cultures, have fueled faith through their unique stories and customs, he noted.
For an analogy, Father Emanuel explained that an estimated 80% of his parish is composed of Spanish-speaking Catholics whose language gives a unique perspective to the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Likewise, he noted the legend of how the apostle St. Andrew was reportedly the first early Church leader to evangelize in what today is Ukraine. St. Volodymyr the Great, a 2nd-century Slovak king, was baptized and championed for Christianity.
Both men helped unify Ukrainians in the faith, which can inspire people today, Father Emanuel said.
“Our heritage, our roots, help for us to keep our faith,” he said.
Father Emanuel said Russian-speaking Catholics in the diocese have expressed solidarity with Ukrainians as well.
“They condemn this war,” he said. “Some come to me and say, ‘Father, I’m sorry that I’m Russian. This is the reason why we immigrated to the United States — because there’s no freedom for religion in Russia. [It’s] only on paper.’
“I say to them, ‘No, you do not need to say this. You need to be proud that you lived in Russia.’ ”
Father Emanuel said he had to end the interview to catch a train to Kraków to pray at the Sanctuary Shrine of the Divine Mercy. This basilica is dedicated to the devotion of the Divine Mercy, which is associated with the apparitions of Jesus to St. Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s and the famous Divine Mercy painting.
Before he left, Father Emanuel said he would pray for real and lasting peace for Ukraine, Guardian Angel Parish, and Bishop Robert Brennan.
He also said he’d pray in the spirit of the appearances of Jesus’ mother to three children at Fátima, Portugal, in 1917. He recalled how the Lady urged the world to pray for a conversion of Russia to God.
“Then, the peace will come,” he said.
