10 April 2022 | parkcitiespeople.com
Community ARTIST ADMIRES ZELENSKY’S STAND AGAINST RUSSIAN INVADERS Ukrainian-born iconographer decorated Saint Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
V
ladimir Grygorenko came to Dallas from his native Ukraine in 2000 to paint the iconography that adorns the Saint Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral – a process that took nine years. Grygorenko, 56, grew up in Dnipro, Ukraine, in the south-central part of the country, when it was part of the old Soviet Union and trained in mechanical engineering. Through his painting and religious iconography, his faith grew.
Vladimir Grygorenko was hired to paint the iconography at Saint Seraphim Cathedral around 2000.
(PHOTOS: COURTESY VLADIMIR GRYGORENKO, AND RACHEL SNYDER)
I know that people are united around him. Vladimir Grygorenko “Eventually, I found God,” said Grygorenko, who was baptized in 1991 around the time Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union. His work as a professional iconographer in the traditional Byzantine style eventually brought an invitation in 2000 to decorate the Dallas cathedral. The artist lived
close to the cathedral located on Wycliff Avenue, near Oak Lawn Avenue, for 14 years and continues to attend services there. He’s gone on to work for various other churches around the country. The Saint Seraphim congregation is decades old and remains the hub of devotional life for more than 300 Christians, many of Ukrainian
and Russian descent. Grygorenko is among at least 15 congregation members with relatives and friends in Ukraine. Some of his have joined the war efforts during the Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24. He phones Ukraine every day. Ukraine has “become extremely united,” said the artist, who, like
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is of Jewish descent and speaks Russian as his first language. Grygorenko had reservations after Zelensky’s election in 2019 but now praises the Ukrainian president’s leadership. “He is not going to give up,” Grygorenko said. “He stays in the war zone. I know that people are
united around him.” The Orthodox Church in America, of which Saint Seraphim is a part, has collected donations for Ukrainian refugee relief. The donations go to a humanitarian agency of the Polish Orthodox Church, which is registered with the Polish government and assisting with the refugee crisis. “None of it’s good,” Bishop Gerasim of Saint Seraphim said of the war. “It’s all painful. it’s destructive to our church community as well. … Right now, our focus is on helping the faithful from Ukraine.”
‘Ukrainians Are Very Brave’ But Need Our Help Olena Jacobs bustled around Ukie Style on a recent Saturday afternoon, fielding questions from shoppers and BETHANY others at her increasE R I C KS O N ingly busy store in Preston Valley Shopping Center. The store, catering to all things Ukrainian culture, has drawn new attention in recent weeks. Many come to buy yellow and blue signs of support and pick up photocopied lists of medical supplies Jacob and other Ukrainian immigrants are collecting. Her fellow Ukrainians, some Americans, and “even some Russians” come to help pack everything up for shipping. As Jacobs spoke with Dallasites eager to help, her friend Oksana Toporina also fielded calls and questions. Toporina has anxiously watched the news and social media and talked to family and friends back in Ukraine when she can. “I couldn’t get a hold of a couple of my aunts for a couple of days, and that worried me a lot,” she said. “I have friends all over Ukraine — some are on the move, and some are afraid to come out. Ukrainians are very brave.” An Airbnb host in Ukraine echoed that sentiment when we spoke about renting his spare room. I had no intention of staying there but, like many others, wanted to support
Ukrainians directly. “We are stronger every day,” Andrey said. “Believe in us. This war will end someday, and you are welcome any time here.”
We’re overwhelmed, but American people are good people. We’re doing what we can to help, and I think it’s great that people are coming together on this side of the world. Oksana Toporina Iryna Fedorets, another Ukrainian I reached, had to take down her crochet stuffed animals from her Etsy shop, HandmadeByIrynaToys, when the war began because shipping from Ukraine became impossible. She pivoted to offering digital prints that buyers can download. Her daughter, Anastasia, created a painting before the war that she felt embodied the “free and independent” Ukraine she loves. “There are many people here in Ukraine who have suffered from the war,” Fedorets said. “They lost their homes, relatives, children, friends — everything they had. All that is left is a backpack with documents and essentials.”
Ukie Style owner Olena Jacobs has been collecting medical supplies to send back home. Ukrainians remaining in their country have praised American efforts to help, including purchasing their artwork online. (PHOTO: COURTESY UKIE STYLE, UKRAINIAN ART: ANASTASIA FEDORETS/HANDMADEBYIRYNATOYS)
She said her family was OK, “but the situation is very unstable and changing very quickly.” “Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow,” she added. “I just start crying when I see how much people are trying to support our country and our people. I hope this awful war ends soon and everyone can come here and see our beautiful country and people.”
In the meantime, Jacobs and Toporina continue collecting medical supplies. “It’s very fluid right now — but for right now, it’s only medical supplies that can be shipped,” Toporina said. “We’re overwhelmed, but American people are good people. We’re doing what we can to help, and I think it’s great that people are coming together on this side of the world.”
