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Coptic Solidarity

Shepherd of Believers from the David Ensemble

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
thou who leadest Joseph like a flock!
Thou who art enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
before E’phraim and Benjamin and Manas’seh!
Stir up thy might,
and come to save us!
Restore us, O God;
let thy face shine, that we may be saved!

The founding members of Coptic Solidarity, held a conference, June 19th-20th, to launch the activities of their new organization.

The gathered members elected Adel Guindy as president, and a ten-member Executive Committee. Attending and speaking were Dr. Dwight Bashir, deputy director of USCIRF; Tina Ramirez, congressional fellow; Taniel Koushakjian, director of Grassroots at the Armenian Assembly; Pierro Tozzi, senior legal counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund; and Dr. Walid Phares, professor of political science and senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

Coptic Solidarity’s overall mission is to “empower the Copts in Egypt to help them attain full and inalienable citizenship rights and equality, under secular constitution and laws; drawn in accordance with current international standards set by Human Rights conventions.”

For more on the persecution of Coptic Christians (and the reason for the Coptic tattoo tradition) see Missing the point of Coptic tattoos from GetReligion.

Art, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Poland’s Hurdy-gurdy builder

From Interia: Najstarszy w Polsce wytwórca lir korbowych (An Elderly Pole Manufacturers Hurdy-Gurdies)

In Haczów, Poland 83 year old Stanisław Wyżykowski has been hand crafting Hurdy-gurdies. He has built more than sixty since 1967.

Mr. Wyżykowski built his first Hurgy-gurdy for the late actor, Wojciech Siemion. It was modeled after an instrument owned by his family.

His instruments are primarily purchased by music groups, museums, and fans of the instrument in Germany, Sweden, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Hungary, Ukraine, and Slovakia.

Mr. Wyżykowski is a carpenter by profession. For several years he played in folk bands. In addition to Hurdy-gurdies he produces cymbals, double bass, and classic violins which look like sticks. He has also trained several students.

Here is Andrzej Nixon playing the Hurdy-gurdy at a dance workshop (from Maciej Cierliński’s Hurdy-gurdy page)

[audio:https://www.konicki.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/AnrzejNixon.mp3]

W Haczowie na Podkarpaciu żyje najstarszy i jeden z nielicznych w Polsce wytwórca lir korbowych. 83-letni Stanisław Wyżykowski od 1967 roku zbudował ponad 60 lir, które znalazły nabywców w kraju i za granicą.

Pierwszą lirę zbudowałem dla świętej pamięci Wojtka Siemiona. Wzorowałem się na instrumencie, który był własnością mojej rodziny – powiedział Wyżykowski.

Większość wyprodukowanych przez niego instrumentów trafiło do zespołów muzycznych i muzeów.

Wśród nabywców są miłośnicy tego instrumentu z Niemiec, Szwecji, Stanów Zjednoczonych, Nowej Zelandii, Australii, Węgier, Ukrainy, Słowacji. Wielokrotnie liry korbowe Wyżykowskiego były wypożyczane jako rekwizyty do filmów i spektakli.

Wyżykowski z zawodu jest stolarzem. Przez kilkadziesiąt lat grał także w kapelach ludowych. Najczęściej można go spotkać w jego pracowni w Haczowie.

Nie brakuje mi zamówień. Bywa, że pracuję po kilkanaście godzin dziennie. Dzięki Bogu zdrowie dopisuje – mówi 83-latek.

Oprócz lir wytwarza także cymbały, kontrabasy i oryginalne skrzypce. Te ostatnie swoim wyglądem przypominają laski. Wykształcił kilku uczniów.

Lira korbowa znana była w Europie od wczesnego średniowiecza. Jej popularność przypada na X-XIV wiek, później stała się instrumentem muzyków ludowych. Do dziś można ją spotkać w składach niektórych kapel ludowych Ukrainy, Białorusi, Słowacji czy wschodnich regionów Polski.

Instrument posiada gitarowy korpus rezonansowy i skrzynkę z komorą kołkową, wyposażony jest w 1-2 struny melodyczne oraz 2-4 struny boczne. Wszystkie struny pocierane są nie smyczkiem, lecz wmontowanym w instrument drewnianym kółkiem natartym żywicą i obracanym za pomocą korbki.

The Hurdy-gurdy has been present in Europe since the early Middle Ages. It became an instrument of folk musicians. To this day it can be found among traveling folk bands from Ukraine, Belarus, Slovakia, and eastern Poland. It is still is played by professional, often blind, itinerant musicians known as lirnyky. Their repertoire is primarily para-religious in theme, although it includes many historic epics known as dumy and folk dances.

These itinerant musicians were heavily persecuted by Russian authorities up to 1902. The persecution reached its peak during the 1930’s when Soviet authorities deemed Ukrainian traveling musicians who played the Hurdy-gurdy to be an “undesireable” element. They organized an ethnographic conference for the lirnyky, and at that conference the 250-300 lirnyky attending were executed.

Here is Andrey Vinogradov playing and chanting at traditional Russian round dance:

Events, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

Bell Festival in New York Mills

Happening today, Saturday, July 10th (from the Rome Sentinel): Bell Festival in New York Mills

NEW YORK MILLS —” The annual Village Bell Festival will be held today and Saturday in the Main Street park. Food, rides, and games will be going on throughout the weekend. There will be an two-day long villagewide garage sale and craft fair starting at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. respectively.

The festival is a family affair and no alcoholic beverages will be allowed on village property.

Saturday

Starting at noon and lasting all day:

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church will offer various Polish dishes.
The New York Mills Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary will offer hot dogs, beverages, and a summer basket raffle.
The Red Knights will offer strawberry shortcake, a snowmobile trailer raffle, and a variety basket raffle.
Malson-Jones VFW Ladies Auxiliary will offer fruit turnovers.

Noon – 9 p.m. Kiddie rides and games.
Noon – Chicken barbecue sponsored by the New York Mills Lions Club
4 p.m. Hot air balloon walk and balloon tethering, weather permitting.
5 p.m. Gigantic Parade
6 p.m. Citizen of the year award
7-8:30 p.m. Joe Angerosa Elvis impersonator show in Veteran’s Park.
Dusk – Fireworks display from Twin Ponds Hill.

For more on the Bell Festival see my prior post: New York Mills PNCC Parish Continues to Support Its Community.

Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Commemorating and celebrating

From the AngloPolish Blog – July 15th marks the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, a major turning point in European history, when the combined forces of Poland and Lithuania turned aside the hegemony of the Teutonic Knights and their falsified claim on Polish and Lithuanian lands.

…and another in the series

The Battle of Grunwald was one of the largest battles in Medieval Europe. It took place on July 15, 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila (Władysław Jagiełło) and Grand Duke Vytautas (Witold), decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. Most of the Teutonic leadership was killed or taken prisoner. While defeated, the Teutonic Knights withstood the siege on their capital in Malbork and suffered only minimal territorial losses in the Peace of Toruń (1411). Territorial disputes lasted until the Peace of Melno of 1422. However, the Knights never recovered their former power and the financial burden of war reparations caused internal conflicts and economic decline in their lands. The battle shifted the balance of power in Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish–Lithuanian union as the dominant player in the region.

More from Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Christian Witness, PNCC, , , , ,

Praise God for His gift of liberty

On July 4, 1897, Independence Day, the Rev. Francis Hodur blessed the cornerstone of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

It was fitting that a Church which called men and women to the freedom given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and which recognized that they had the freedom of citizens, to self-govern and to have a voice and a vote in the legislative governance of the Church, a say over how their hard earned contributions are used, such that it is to the glory of God and for their benefit in reaching heaven, would look to this feast of freedom as a symbolic day. The Polish National Catholic Church, founded in Scranton, Pennsylvania, saw this enlightened moment in American history for what it was, a recognition that our independence, our rights as free people are not something given by man.

The founders were clear in their effort to establish this country on what is from God. Man’s judgments and attitudes are changeable. One man may be in a moment a freedom fighter and in the next a dictator. Instead, as the founders wrote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —” That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —” That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Self-evident truths and unalienable rights are not man’s truths or the rights given by men, are not just a fashion for the times, or a changeable fad, but rather eternally established truths and rights, set forth by God, for the happiness and enlightenment of all people. As Samuel Adams stated:

—He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all.— — from American Independence, a speech delivered by Samuel Adams at the State House in Philadelphia, August 1, 1776.

On this day which we honor as our birthday, the 234th anniversary of the founding of our nation, and a day on which we gather in churches throughout our country because we are free to do so by the very document signed this day, we also recognize that our Holy Polish National Catholic Church was established as a Church in which our freedom is honored, in which we have not only obligations, but rights. Let us exercise those rights and set forth to always put Jesus Christ first as He is our only mission, our only light, and the Word in which all freedom is established and found.

We thank Thee, Lord, for America, our home. We bless Thee for the liberty, the opportunity, and the abundance we share. But above all we praise Thee for the traditions which have made our country great, and for patriots who have laid the foundations through faith, courage, and self-sacrifice. Teach us in our own day the meaning of citizenship, and help us to be faithful stewards of the responsibility which Thou entrusted to us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — A Prayer for our Country from A Book of Devotions and Prayers According to the Use of the Polish National Catholic Church.

Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Articles from the Polish Culture website

Mark Twain’s Polish Acquaintances

Vienna in 1897 was the vibrant capital city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, that comprised more than a dozen nationalities, including Poles. The Empire had taken southern Poland in the 18th century partitions and called it the province of Galicia. Its residents became Austrian citizens and Vienna draw a share of opportunistic Poles. By the end of the 19th century, one in five Viennese was Polish….

Midsummer in Poland

At the end of June, at the time of Summer Solstice, when night is shortest and Nature bursts with blossoms and growth, we celebrate the Holiday of Fire and Water, also called Noc Kupaly, Sobótka or Kres…

The Black Madonna of Derby – Review

“The Black Madonna of Derby” is very readable and enjoyable novel about complexities of the life of a Polish origin family settled in Derby, England…

…plus many other interesting articles. Check out their good work.

Perspective, Poetry, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , ,

Dr. John Guzlowski – out, about, and reflecting

It is great to see John well on the road to recovery and writing. Two recent posts for your reading pleasure:

Charles Simic and Me: DP Poets

I got an email yesterday from a friend. He asked me what I thought about Charles Simic. He’s a poet that some of you might have heard of. He was the poet laureate of the US a couple of years ago. I think my friend was asking me about him because he figured that Charles Simic and I shared some history. We both came to the US after the war as Displaced Persons, refugees…

A really interesting reflection, and followed by a selection from Charles Simic and a new poem by Dr. Guzlowski, “A Dog Will.”

And for Father’s Day: Father’s Day

My father didn’t teach me to fish or play ball or paint a fence or drive a car. He couldn’t do any of those things. He was an orphan who worked on his aunt’s farm in Poland until the Nazis came and took him to a concentration camp. When he got to America after the war, he was too busy working to do much of anything else…

Also, compare and contrast to: My Father’s Gift to Me by Nicholas Kristof from the NY Times.

When I was 12, my father came and spoke to my seventh-grade class. I remember feeling proud, for my rural school was impressed by a visit from a university professor. But I also recall being embarrassed —” at my dad’s strong Slavic accent, at his refugee origins, at his —differentness.—

PNCC, , , ,

Another tribute to Ś.P. Walter Lasinski

From Fr. Randy Calvo of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in South Deerfield, MA: A Free Church

On May 27th a friend of mine and a dedicated historian of our church denomination passed away. His name was Walter Lasinski. He had visited our parish here in South Deerfield on several occasions over the years, always with his beloved wife Florence. His last visit was on May 31, 2008 when we hosted a talk by the local author Suzanne Stempek Shea. Mr. Lasinski would travel throughout our denomination to attend events that interested him about history, literature and music. When he was here, he took pictures of our church and cemetery for the extensive files that he maintained and constantly updated about all of our parishes. He even photographed the then-named St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in South Deerfield since that was the parish from which we emerged in 1929. If Mr. Lasinski was anything, it was thorough.

He devoted much of his life to our church, and that only became more true after his retirement. Many of his vacations were planned around seminars and his historical inquiries. No one could make better use of a business card than he could. With his card as a church historian in hand, his extensive knowledge of our religious history, an amazing memory and gift for gab, doors opened.

He absolutely loved the original ideals of this church. He saw in them the emancipation of mind and soul, and an entire generation of immigrant believers. He always maintained a profound admiration for Bp. Hodur and a respect for those early generations who built this church with him. He wasn’t a cheerleader for the church, shouting her praises no matter what. He respected what the church was, what it could be, and also took the time to compliment a parish or a person when they did something good for the church in the present.

He worshipped in many places, in many churches. He knew clergy of various denominations, and he knew just about all of the priests of our church. In our frequent phone conversations if I mentioned a priest or a parishioner from anywhere, I would invariably hear in reply, —Oh yes, so-and-so is a good friend of mine.— I would also wager that he had visited every parish of our church at one time or another.

I am certain that I am not alone in benefitting from Mr. Lasinski’s voracious reading of newspapers, periodicals, church pamphlets, religious publications and most recently of the internet. If there was anything that he thought any of us should know, out came the scissors and tape to make articles fit neatly on a regular sheet of paper, and off they were mailed to us, always in a neat folder, always with his return mailing address attached so that we would remember from whence it came. I do not know how many such pertinent gems Mr. Lasinski mailed me over the years, but they were always appreciated.

One article that he did not need to mail me was written anonymously by him and printed in God’s Field on September 4, 1993. There he writes:

—In any research project in which you are reviewing page upon page of printed materials, looking for key events or facts in a person’s life that would be worthy of historical interest today, certain words or phrases, at times extraneous to the topic at hand, keep coming to the fore through constant repetition. … The word that appears constantly throughout the Polish texts in the pages of Rola Boza and Straz is wolny (free) and it always precedes the name of the church … as though it is an integral, inseparable part of the name of the Polish National Catholic Church.—

I share this selection of his with you during this month of Independence Day. I believe Mr. Lasinski was the first to point out to me that Fr. Hodur waited until the Fourth of July to bless the cornerstone of his church in Scranton. This reinforced the idea that by nature and design we are a —free— church.

Mr. Lasinski would work all day long at Scranton’s archives and sleep at the Seminary to save himself and the church money, and there, back in the day, we would share a beer at the end of the day. I hope to raise another glass with him again some day, but until then, may he rest in peace, and may he always be remembered for his good work.

A fitting tribute to Ś.P. Walter and also his co-workers who have passed before us.

They believed in a Church that was both Catholic and free. They belonged to the Church that espoused Scripture and Holy Tradition in combination with the gifts of freedom and culture which God provides to every nation and people. They knew that the Church’s lay members could and should have a voice and a vote over the resources they contributed to found and support the Church, and that no one could take the Church from them. They followed behind Bishop Hodur, in the Apostolic line, who followed Christ as our ultimate leader, teacher, and guide. They were the ones who stood firm against the whims of men for a Church that is Catholic in opposition to whatever current trends or popularity dictate. They were firm in adherence to the Catholic Church and its teachings, to the sacred ministry that cannot be changed by men who think they know better/more than the Church. They knew that freedom is not license to change the Church – and indeed why we did not melt away into just another Protestant sect changing with the breeze. May it ever be so.

Poland - Polish - Polonia

An account of the Siberian exile

Roma King recently read from her book, Footsteps in the Snow at Village Books in Pacific Palisades, California.

Footsteps in the Snow was written in memory of Roma King’s father, Romuald “Rom” Michniewicz. It is a love story and the true account of Rom’s amazing quest to find his wife and daughter, and their daring and dangerous journey to escape from Siberia.

As the Russian army swept into Poland during the early months of the Second World War, many Polish families were forcibly relocated to distant parts of Siberia in order to make way for resettlement of Polish lands by Russian nationals, and also to provide manual labor for the kolkhozy (collective farms). Her mother, grandparents, and she were among the hundreds of thousands of Poles who were torn from their homes and transported to Siberia with little hope of ever again seeing their families or native land.

Rom survives imprisonment by the Russians only to find that his family were among those who had disappeared. He devises an ingenious plan to find them and risks it all, undertaking a perilous journey across Siberia, to rescue his wife and child.

Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , , , , ,

Upcoming Capital Region events

This weekend: 2010 Annual Armenian Festival at St. Peter’s Armenian Apostolic Church, 100 Troy-Schenectady Road, Watervliet, New York on Saturday, June 12, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 13, 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m.

This year’s Festival will again be held for two days on the church grounds of St. Peter Armenian Church located on a majestic hilltop overlooking the city of Troy. Join our Saturday night Tavloo (Backgammon) Tournament: 4:30 P.M. $15 Registration Fee. Sunday afternoon free Armenian dance lessons will be offered. A local DJ will provide Armenian and Middle-Eastern music for dancing and listening enjoyment. Amusement rides as well as pony rides and games will be available for the children. Dinner & Ala Carte Menu (subject to change) including Kebab Medley Dinner: $15; Lamb Kebab Dinner: $13; Chicken Kebab Dinner: $11; Kid’s Meal: $5 (includes one hot dog, pilaf and tossed salad); Lahmejune: $3.00 each; Pilaf: $3.00 serving; and Cheese Beoreg: $3.00 serving.

The bakery will offer an array of Armenian pastries and homemade baked goods including paklava, cheoreg, simit, kadayif, boorma, kurabia as well as a variety of cookies, brownies, cakes and pies all sold at ala carte prices.

For more information, contact the St. Peter Church Office at (518) 274-3673.

At the Polish Community Center, 225 Washington Ave Ext, Albany NY

Friday, June 11: Polish-American buffet 4-8pm
Sunday, June 13: Jimmy Sturr Annual Polka Ball 3-7pm. Polish-American kitchen open as well as cash bar with variety of imported Polish beers!
Sunday, June 20: USA Ballroom Dance 6pm
Saturday, June 26: Mystery Dinner Theater 6pm

For more information, please contact the PCC at 518-456-3995.

Saturday, July 3, 2010: Bus trip to a Yankees Game! NY Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays. Leaving the PCC at 8:15 am, returning directly after the game (1:05 pm game time). Cost is $85 for PCC members, $90 for non-members. Price includes game ticket and round trip charter bus service. Seats in section 207 (main level). Contact Susan Matala at 518-355-7981 or by E-mail.

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