The documentary is not so much about the biography of Josyph Slipyi as about his courage and great deeds, through which one can see and understand all the greatness of the Patriarch. It consists of three parts.
The film highlights the key citations of the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, including the call made in his Testament, for the unity of the Church and the granting of Patriarchate: “So I bequeath you all: pray, work and fight for the preservation of the Christian soul of every Ukrainian descent and the whole Ukrainian people, and ask the Almighty God to help us end our longing for unity and our struggles for church unity in patriarchy of the Ukrainian Church!”
The film lasts almost 14 minutes, but during this time, you can see all 92 years of life and the indefatigable pastoral ministry of Josyph Slipyi, as a free man and in captivity, his invaluable contribution to the development of the UGCC, the strength, and invincibility of faith. In general, the life of this giant of spirit is clearly characterized by his motto "Per aspera ad astra!" (Through the thorns – to the stars), which is mentioned at the beginning and end of the tape.
On the film worked: Director of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies, Halyna Bokhonko; Coordinator of the Project "Ecumenical Social Week," Oksana Ilenkiv; Coordinator of the Distance Learning Master's Program of Ecumenical Studies (Ukrainian version), Taras Kurylets.
For the tape were used photos from the personal collection of Fr. Iwan Dacko and the archives of the Josyph Slipyi Room-Museum at the Ukrainian Catholic University.
The musical design clearly communicates every period of the life of the Great Patriarch. Here you will hear Jeffrey Peterson's Movie Score and Tree of Life's Rix, Kevin.
The film was released with the assistance of the economist, Head of the Ukraine Economic Outlook research group Mykhailo Kuhar.
The film can be watched here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6PyYvL6Q0E&feature=youtu.be
Photo – footage from the film.
Prepared by Anna Hrapeniuk