Rev. Mykola Burchak-Abramovych (St. Michael's Church, 1915)
Zhytomyr
from
from
History of St. Michael Church
Written by G.Mokrytskyi, 2006
Translated by S.Sidorenko
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So called "Memorial Book of the Volyn Province. Year 1914" bears testimony to the versatile pedagogical, secular and public activities of Rev. Mykola Burchak-Abramovych. In this reference book, which keeps record of all important events in the province, his name is mentioned ten times. Here are only several of Mykola Burchak-Abramovych's many responsibilities in 1914: Speaker for Zhytomyr district at the Province Assembly, member of the Province College Council, Honorary Member of the Volyn Bishopric College Council, member of the District College Council, Lecturer in Law at the First Higher College and Pokramovych Private Women Gymnasium, member of the Public Committee of the Russian Music Association, etc.
On 13 March 1915, Mykola Burchak-Abramovych made the following entry in the Register of Births of St. Michael's Church:
"Date of birth: 7 March 1915. The child's name: Svyatoslav. Parents: Teofil Danylovych Richter, freelance painter, Lutheran, and his wife Anna Pavlovna, Orthodox. Godparents: Mykola Pavlovych Moskalyov and Karolina Yulianivna Arndt."
Though seemingly just another of many birth records in the register, those words announced to the world the birth of an outstanding artist, "Pianist Number One" Svyatoslav Richter, whose name would become known all over the world.
Of course, in those days of 1915 Rev. Burchak-Abramovych had no idea that his hands were dipping into the baptismal font a genius, the "pianist of the 20th century".
Unfortunately, when the star of Svyatoslav Richter's talent began to rise, at the time when he, a student of Moscow Conservatoire, gave his first concerts at Zhytomyr Musical College in Bazarna street, Mykola Burchak-Abramovych had already passed away. Like many other representatives of the clergy and intelligentsia, he fell victim to political repressions.
In 1937 Rev. Burchak-Abramovych was a priest at Nikolska (St. Nicholas') Church in Smolyanka, one of the four churches which then functioned in the city.
Every evening, returning to his house at 24 Khlibna (today on this place stands a five-storey panel block of flats), Mykola Burchak-Abramovych was greeted by his daughter Nina, waiting for him at the gate.
One day Nina saw her father turning the corner of Gogolivska street near the Labour House and began waving to him, as usual, expecting him to wave back to her. But that time everything was not as it had been before. Suddenly her father was approached by two men in civil clothes who grabbed his arms and led him away … Nina was never to see her father again.
The recollections of those tragic events were noted down by Iryna Dumanska, who was Nina's neighbour and student.
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