Strength in Solidarity

Ukraine State Convention Hosts Nation’s First Fourth Degree Exemplification

By Cecilia Hadley

June 14, 2023

Knights of Columbus lay leaders and chaplains, led by State Deputy Maletskiy and State Chaplains Archbishop Mokrzycki of Lviv and Bishop Bubniy of Odessa, gather outside the seminary in Bryukhovychi after participating in Ukraine’s first Fourth Degree exemplification May 27. — Knights of Columbus lay leaders and chaplains, led by State Deputy Youriy Maletskiy and State Chaplains Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv and Bishop Mykhaylo Bubniy of Odessa, gather outside the Roman Catholic Seminary in Bryukhovychi after participating in Ukraine’s first Fourth Degree exemplification May 27. (Photo by Andrey Gorb)

Knights in Ukraine were received into the Fourth Degree for the first time in late May, committing themselves to the Order’s principle of patriotism as their country’s defensive war against Russia entered its 16th month.

The Fourth Degree exemplification took place during the Ukraine State Convention held May 26-28 in Bryukhovychi, outside Lviv in western Ukraine. More than 100 delegates and nearly 50 chaplains traveled from across the country: Knights were present from Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Poltava and Odessa; the now-liberated region of Kherson; and the city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine, still occupied by Russia.

“The Knights of Columbus need the principle of patriotism more than ever here in Ukraine,” said State Deputy Youriy Maletskiy. “After all, only by believing in our country can we really work together and help others. Without faith, it is impossible.”

Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly presented Maletskiy with a Fourth Degree sword and gave him the authority to induct Ukrainian Knights into the patriotic degree in April 2022, during his Holy Week visit to Poland and Ukraine.

On May 27, State Deputy Maletskiy conferred the degree on more than 85 delegates and 21 chaplains. The convention and exemplification were the culmination of more than a year of difficult work and charitable witness. Knights in Ukraine have tirelessly distributed humanitarian aid throughout their war-torn country, assisted widows and orphans, and called their communities to prayer.

Bishop Mykhaylo Bubniy of Odessa, state chaplain of the country’s Ukrainian Greek Catholic Knights, praised the Ukrainian Knights for exemplifying the Order’s mission.

“The motto of this organization is ‘Faith in Action’ — that is, not only to believe in Jesus Christ, not only to believe in the truths that we recognize and profess in the symbol of faith, but to act, to put them into practice,” Bishop Bubniy said.

Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv, state chaplain of the country’s Latin-rite Knights, likewise applauded their courageous efforts on behalf of their homeland: “I see what great good God is doing through the Knights of Columbus in Ukraine, in this country that is so tired and weary right now.”

This witness has also inspired hundreds of Ukrainian men — many of them in the central and eastern regions — to join the Knights in the last year. “During these 15 months of war,” Maletskiy said, “our Order in Ukraine has become stronger.”

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CECILIA HADLEY is senior editor of Columbia.