Vladika Nicholas, Nun of Maaloula, I.A.O and Doroteusz Fionik wins Ostrogski Awards 2013

17/1/14
Paweł Cecha

Read more on the award here:

Dmitry (Drozdou) – Vladika of Vitebsk and Orsha, Nicholas (Chatzinikolaou) – Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, nuns from Saint Tecla Orthodox convent in Maaloula in Syria, headed by ihumenia Pelagia (Sayyaf), the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy and Doroteusz Fionik have been granted awards in the twenty-fifth edition of Prince Konstanty Ostrogski Awards.

During a session on 11 January, the award committee, chaired by Eugeniusz Czykwin, editor-in-chief of “Przegląd Prawosławny”, granted the awards in recognition of the contribution to the development of Orthodox thought, culture and spirituality as well as actions for uniting Christians.

Archbishop Dmitry, earlier an engineer, became a monk in 1977 and was appointed bishop in 1989. Therefore, he worked as a bishop during the restoration of the Orthodox Church in the East – both in the spiritual and material aspect. He not only managed to meet the numerous challenges, but also greatly exceeded them. His work could be measured with the number of erected churches, revived monasteries, opened theological schools and Sunday schools as well as courses for the congregation or summer health camps, but it would still not do justice to his achievements. It should be noted that when the Vitebsk Eparchy was formed from the Diocese of Polotsk, the earliest Christianised part of Belarus and in the 20th century its most atheised one, there were nine churches and 12 clergymen. At present, there are 187 parishes with 143 Orthodox churches as well as six monasteries and 178 working clergymen. Vladika Dmitry is above all a man of prayer, who sees the sense of his mission not in erecting buildings, but in forming souls.

Nicholas, the Greek Metropolitan also has technical education. A graduate of prestigious American universities, he completed his degree in astrophysics at Harvard and in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Also, he worked in biomedical engineering and was an advisor to NASA. His interest in bioethics and the sociological implications of biomedicine led him to give up his academic career. He became a monk, then a priest and later a bishop. Nevertheless, he is still interested in bioethical problems, for example the question of transplantation from the patient’s perspective. Last year the Polish version of his book “Where God Cannot Be Seen”, translated by nun Elżbieta Niczyporuk, was published by the Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Zaleszany. It is a collection of stories about passing from one world to the other as well as about the fear of those who are passing away and those who are staying. Moreover, it touches upon the question of how faith may liberate one from this kind of pain.

Christians have become victims of the civil war in Syria. Killed, expelled and robbed, they also suffer from being forgotten since the world does not want to hear about their torments, which are not being covered by mainstream media. We handed the award to ihumenia Pelagia and other nuns from Saint Tecla Orthodox convent in Maaloula, established in the first centuries of Christianity, located 55 kilometres from Damascus, who were kidnapped and imprisoned by the Muslim extremists. Their fate is still unknown. The award is a manifestation of our solidarity, empathy with our brothers and sisters in faith as well as with all aggrieved people who are suffering injustice.

The Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, formed twenty years ago out of the initiative of Greek Members of Parliament, gathers representatives of 26 countries from all continents. They are politicians, who care not only about political issues, but above all about the challenges facing Christianity and protection of traditional values. They manifest their solidarity, tolerance and brotherhood, looking for diplomatic ways of resolving conflicts in which the Orthodox people are entangled in the Balkans, the Middle East and every region in the world. The authority of the Assembly improves continuously and the organisation remains faithful to its motto “Orthodox Church in the new reality”.

Doroteusz Fionik, long-time collaborator of “Przegląd Prawosławny”, is the founder of the Museum of Little Homeland in Studziwody, near Bielsk Podlaski, which protects traditional Belorussian culture in all its aspects by publishing books, a magazine as well as reviving forgotten rites, old singing and handicraft. His activity is not limited by any boundaries, encompassing the culturally homogeneous area of Podlachia and Polesia. Doroteusz Fionik’s activities for protection of culture combine harmoniously with his involvement in the life of the Orthodox Church. In his work, nationality and faith are inextricably intertwined.

Source:
OCP News Service