Wasyl "Basil" Mykhailovych Kushnir (; September 17, 1893 – September 25, 1979) was a Ukrainian priest and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

who was elected as the president of the

World Congress of Free Ukrainians Ukrainian World Congress ( or ''СКУ'') is a non-profit organization, nonpartisan association, international coordination assembly of all Ukrainian public organizations in diaspora. Originally founded in 1967 as the World Congress of Free Ukrai ...

(WCFU) from 1967 to 1969 and 1973 to 1978, and Ukrainian Canadian Committee (UCC) from 1940 to 1953 and 1959 to 1971.

Early life and education

Kushnir was born on September 17, 1893, in Vikno,

West Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...

, and finished his high school education in

Ternopil Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...

and

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

. He served in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

on the Italian front during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and spent three years in captivity. After passing via

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

, he joined the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and served in

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

and

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

before fleeing to his hometown. He was a teacher in 1923–1924. Kushnir studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

Theological Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

in Lviv and the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, after the war. In 1929, he was awarded a

doctorate of divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...

from the latter institution. He was a professor at the Theological Seminary in

Stanislaviv Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

, from 1930 until 1934.

Career

In May 1934, Kushnir immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and was ordained as a Ukrainian Catholic priest in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. The customary Zeleni Svyata memorial service for fallen warriors, started in 1936 by Kushnir. Father Kushnir would go on to serve as UCC president for more than two decades. Kushnir oversaw UCC efforts to assist Canada's government in the early post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

repatriation of over 40,000 anti-Soviet Ukrainian

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

s. He was particularly eager to support and encourage the official initiative to receive veterans of the Waffen SS Galicia. In December 1945, he left for a tour of the Ukrainian displacement camps under American and British occupation. A strong opponent of communism, Kushnir led a team to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

' first session in 1945 in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where they contested the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

's authority to represent Ukrainians. He presided over the UCC from 1940 to 1953 and again from 1957 to 1972. He was one of its founders. He signed the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

declaration in 1954 as one of Canada's delegates. Under his direction, the Sts. Vladimir and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral was constructed between 1947 and 1951. He became the UCC's first president, serving in that capacity for the majority of the following thirty years (1940–53 and 1959–71).

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

promoted Kushnir to the rank of

Domestic Prelate Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

in 1951.

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

Josyf Slipyj Josyf Slipyi (, born as ; 17 February 1892 – 7 September 1984) was a Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. Life Genealogy Josyf Slipyj's father, Joannes (Ivan) Slipyj, was born 17 ...

designated him Mitred priest in 1968. Initiating and chairing the inaugural WCFU, he also served as president of its executive board from 1968 to 1969 and from 1973 to 1978. He founded and served as president of the Pan-American Ukrainian Conference. Kushnir was dubbed the protonotary apostolic in 1977 in honor of the priesthood's 50th anniversary. He gave radio interviews on

Svoboda Svoboda () means "freedom" in various Slavic languages. It may refer to: People * Svoboda (surname) Organizations Media * Radio Svoboda, operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty * ''Svoboda'' (newspaper), a daily Ukrainian language newspa ...

and published articles in journals.

Death

On September 25, 1979, in Winnipeg, Kushnir passed away. He was buried in the All Saints Cemetery,

Rural Municipality of West St. Paul West St. Paul is a rural municipality (RM) in Manitoba, Canada. It lies adjacent to the north side of Winnipeg, and directly west of the Red River. It is part of the Winnipeg Metro Region, and had a population of 5,368 at the 2016 census. I ...

Awards and recognitions

Kushnir has earned the following honors: * CAN Order of Canada Officer ribbon

Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

(OC; 1972) * CAN Canadian Centennial Medal ribbon

Canadian Centennial Medal The Canadian Centennial Medal () is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint in 1967 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation and was awarded to Canadians who were recommended by government, professional, ...

(1967) *

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

(1953) * Shevchenko Medal of the UCC (1961)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kushnir, Wasyl Canadian activists Ukrainian activists 20th-century Canadian Christian clergy Ukrainian Christian clergy People from Ternopil Oblast Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Ukrainian emigrants to Canada 1893 births 1979 deaths Officers of the Order of Canada University of Innsbruck alumni