The World Academy of Rusyn Culture is an academic and charitable institution founded by Steven Chepa in 2001 for the purpose of encouraging new work and preserving the insights and beauty of Rusyn culture for the benefit of all mankind.
To recognize outstanding Rusyn cultural support and achievement by awarding "Fellow" designations to worthy individuals who include Rusyn culture among the treasures of their human experience.
To further recognize and reward Rusyn cultural achievement by awarding a Chepa Bear along with other tokens of appreciation to individuals on an annual basis in recognition of outstanding contributions to Rusyn culture in the categories of architecture, art, music, theatre, literature and outstanding support.
Rusyns (also referred to as Ruthenians, Ruthenes, Rusins, Carpatho-Rusyns, and Rusnaks) are a modern ethnic group that speaks the Rusynlanguage and are descended from the minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt a Ukrainian national identity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Rusyns are an ethnic group that never attained the status of independent statehood, except for a half a year period in 1919 (Podkarpatska Rus) and a few days in 1939 (Carpatho-Ukraine).
Many Rusyns are Eastern Catholics, who since the Union of Brest in 1596 and the Uzhorod Union in 1646, are united with other catholics under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, but retain their Old Slavonic liturgy and most of the outward forms of the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Church.
He's become the number one activist for the Rusyn nationalist cause," said Tom Trier, a Danish filmmaker who screened his documentary, "The Warhol Nation," yesterday at the Warhol Museum on the North Side.
Rusyns, who have lived along the crest of the Carpathian Mountains for 1,500 years, have never had a nation of their own.
The biggest issue for Rusyns is in the Ukraine, where three-quarters of European Rusyns live, and which has denied them minority rights recognition in its recently adopted constitution.
Shandor said that the politicization of the Rusyn identity, especially its association with Russian interference and fears of secession, has led many Transcarpathian residents to disassociate themselves with their cultural roots.
In 2001, the number of Rusyns rose to 24,000, while the number of Ukrainians decreased to 11,000.
U.S., which is believed to have one of the largest Rusyn Diaspora communities in the world, Rusyn and Ukrainian communities are not close, according to Shandor.
Everyone is welcome to donate funds to purchase a porcelain tile brick that will become part of the Cultural Center's "Wall of Honor." Perhaps you want to buy one in memory of each set of your Rusyn grandparents or their villages, or perhaps you want one commemorating your fraternal lodge, chapter or church.
Rusyn Heritage Tour: Travel to the Rusyn territory in Poland, Slovakia Ukraine.
We hold in high esteem the continuity of life which connects the living Rusyn culture to its treasured and ancient heritage.
The World Academy of Rusyn Culture has a good site on the language called Rusyn by its speakers and sometimes Ruthenian in English (or "western Ukrainian" by those who do not recognize it as a separate language):
Rusyn is also spoken in a few scattered communities in northeastern Hungary and among emigrants from Carpathian Rus’ who settled in the *Vojvodina and Srem regions of present-day Yugoslavia and far eastern Croatia and in the United States and Canada...
Another difficulty in classification is related to the fact that the dialects have in the past and continue to be influenced by numerous sociolinguistic or extralinguistic factors from the larger world in which Rusyns live, whether in Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, the United States, or Canada.
This independent website, that debuted in January 1995, is the result of the support of countless fellow Rusyns worldwide as well as independent research and the efforts of many friends.
Announcing a new CD album to be released in June 07 I M M I G R A N T Featuring Ethnic Lemko/Rusyn/Ukrainian songs as well as original songs.
Numerous contributions of articles by readers, many organizations and various Rusyn authors/researchers/ authorities over the years have helped to make this site a valuable respected resource for all Rusyns to use.
R u s y n s R e c o g n i z e d a s I n d i g e n o u s N a t i o n a l i t y o f t h e T r a n s c a r p a t h i a n O b l a s t o f U k r a i n e
( S v i t o v a a k a d e m i i a r u s y n s k o i k u l t u r w, 8 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 7 )
T h e R u s y n w o o d e n c h u r c h i n K o m a Dc z a / K o m a n c h a , P o l a n d , w a s d e s t r o y e d b y f i r e o n 1 3 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 :
Carpatho-Rusyns have also been known as Rusyns, Rusins, Rusnaks, Ruthenes, Ruthenians, Carpatho-Russians, Carpatho-Ruthenians, Carpatho-Ukrainians and Lemkos.
We would be happy to publish it here.
Please enter Rusyn Article as the subject line in your e-mail to gregk@rusyn.com.
This site is best viewed using Internet Explorer at a high resolution, in high color.
"Search this site for genealogical and historical information if you have Carpatho-Rusyn heritage-it provides information on Rusyn villages in Slovakia and Poland, as well as settlements in the northeastern United States.
Check out the links to photos, discussion forums and mailings lists, too."
