Melania and Paweł Steranka from Nowa Wieś – in thee 70% programme – Saturday 8PM

In Nowa Wieś Vasyl Masciuch was born on 30 March 1873. On 11 December 1934 pope Pij XI appointed him as the Apostolic Administrator of Lemkovyna. Vasyl Masciuch died on 12 March 1936, he is buried at the cemetery in Nowa Wieś. At the cemetery, grandfather of our respondent is buried also, priest Vasyl Smolinski who was a parish priest in nowa Wieś for a long time. “The contemporanoues church no longer exists. It was buried at night after inspection of Polish primate in 1975. The old church was used by Catholics, as they are using the new church built at the place of the buried church” – as you can hear in today’s programme.

Today’s guests, Paweł and Melania Steranka, cannot remember the Apostolic Administrator of Lemkovyna – they were little back then, but his memorial at the cemetery and photography of priest Masciuch on it they remember till today. This, modest mon ument as for today, back then – on the background of wooden crosses – was looking very rich. Although, as we know, the priest was not appointed for archbishop, the inhabitants of Nowa Wies would  call priest Vasyl Masciuch as Lemko bishop – out of respect.

And when it comes to priest Smolinski – they remember him well. And they can tell us something about him. Also about school, teachers, relations in Nowa Wies between Lemkos and Polish, Jews and Romanies… You will also get to know how people would confess back then, what methods of teaching were used in schools, who was taken from Nowa Wies first to the Red Army and what sharvarok is.