Blessed Mykola Cehelskyj
Blessed Mykola Cehelskyj (born December 17, 1896 AD in Strusiv, Ukraine; died May 25, 1951 AD in a labor camp in Mordovia, Russia) was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and a married pastor who died a martyr in the Soviet gulag for his fidelity to the Catholic Church. Also written Mykola Tsehelskyi, he is venerated as a Blessed and martyr of the Church. His feast day is May 25.
A devoted parish priest and father of a family, Mykola Cehelskyj refused to abandon his communion with Rome when the Soviet regime pressured the Greek Catholic clergy to join the state-controlled Orthodox Church, and he died of the hardships of the labor camp. He was beatified in 2001 among the Ukrainian martyrs.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Mykola Cehelskyj
| Blessed Mykola Cehelskyj | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | May 25 |
| Profession | Priest; martyr |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church |
| Patronage | Married clergy; those persecuted for the faith; the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church |
| Attributes | Byzantine priestly vesture; palm of martyrdom |
| Birthplace | Strusiv, Ukraine |
| Death Place | Labor camp, Mordovia, Russia |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; died in a Soviet labor camp for fidelity to the Catholic Church |
| Primary Shrine | Ukraine |
Biography
Mykola Cehelskyj was born on December 17, 1896, at Strusiv in Galicia, in the western part of present-day Ukraine. He studied theology and, as was customary in the Eastern Catholic tradition, married before being ordained a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He became a zealous pastor, serving his people with devotion, building up parish life, and raising a family in the faith.
After the Second World War, the Soviet regime outlawed the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and sought to force its clergy to renounce union with Rome and join the Russian Orthodox Church, which the state controlled. Father Cehelskyj refused to betray his communion with the Catholic Church despite threats and pressure. For this fidelity he was arrested and condemned to years of hard labor.
He was deported to a labor camp in Mordovia, in the Soviet interior, where he endured exhausting toil, cold, hunger, and cruelty. Worn down by these sufferings, he died in the camp on May 25, 1951, a martyr. He was beatified on June 27, 2001, by Pope John Paul II at Lviv, among the Blessed martyrs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. His feast is kept on May 25.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: None
Death location: None
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Dynamic content
Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Mykola Cehelskyj have been added to the database yet.
Media
No media found for this saint.
Shrines
Dynamic shrines
No results
No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
Feast day
May 25
Prayers
Authored
There are prayers authored by this saint in prayers list yet.
Intercessory
There are no prayers asking for this saint's intercession in prayers list yet.