The central celebration of the Rusyn National holiday was held on Saturday, January 21, 2023.
The first part of the celebration – the Bishop’s Liturgy, was held in the Greek Catholic Church of Ascension of Holy Mary in Kucura. On that occasion, Bishop Georgij Džudžar handed over to the parish priest, Fr. Rac Decree declaring the parish Church of Ascension of Holy Mary in Kucura a pro-cathedral church of the Eparchy of St. Nikolai.
After the liturgy, in the premises of the Parochial Caritas in Kucura, the exhibition “Traces for memory” by artists from Kucura – Mikola Buša, Silvester Puskaš and Silvester Makaji – was opened. The exhibition, as well as accompanying materials, was prepared by Olga Karlavaris. The event was opened by the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, Tomislav Žigmanov, who congratulated all Rusyns on the National Holiday. On behalf of the organizers, the director of the Institute for the Culture of Vojvodina Ruthenians Saša Sabadoš welcomed all the guests. Sabadoš pointed out that this exhibition in a certain way marks 100 years since the birth and 50 years since the death of the first Ruthenian academic sculptor Eugen Kočiš, as well as his followers. Irina Hardi Kovačević also greeted the attendees with suitable words, and on that occasion read the verses of the writer Janko Fejsa.
After the exhibition, a rich ethno-table was set up for the visitors in the Church Hall. Many women from the Women’s Activity of KUD “Žetva”, headed by the president Kocana Kolesar, prepared various delicious homemade dishes for this holiday.
