Blessed Volodymyr Pryima (1906-1941), patron of laity

Volodymyr Pryima was born on July 17, 1906 in the village of Stradch in the Lviv region.

He graduated from a school for cantors, which was at that time under the care of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi. He was a cantor and a choir director in the local village church in Stradch. On November 10, 1931, he married Maria Stoyko with two young children.

Volodymyr Pryima was a worthy and honest man. He had a strong faith and was not afraid of the persecution of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church by the hostile Bolshevik regime. He was an active participant in church life.

His family was a role model. Volodymyr Pryima's father was a deacon, and his brothers, Myron and Maxym, were priests. Local residents respected him as a worthy, honest and fair person.

On June 26, 1941, cantor Volodymyr Pryima and Father d-r Mykola Konrad went to confess a sick woman. On the way home, they were overtaken by NKVD soldiers. They took the priest and the deacon to the Birka forest and brutally killed them there. The body of Count Volodymyr Pryima was severely wounded. He proved his faith in God by martyrdom.

Volodymyr Pryima is also a visible sign of unity between laymen and priests. After all, both carried Christ to the sick woman. These two blessed ones died for the two Holy Mysteries – Confession and the Eucharist. Volodymyr died for the Mystery of Priesthood, as well.

From the interview of Yuriy Skavronskyi: "He [Fr Mykola Konrad] went with the Holy Mysteries, he went to do his holy duty to confess a woman in a neighboring village. He could not help but go, even though he was stopped. I know that they stopped him and said: "Father, don't go, because look what is being done, the war has started, anything can happen." He said, "This is my holy duty, and I must go." He put on his clothes and left with cantor Volodymyr Pryima... and did not come back. A week later, they were all found dead. People understood that they had to be looked for somewhere and found them. Because now everyone rushed... Fear God... The woman had two children. One was about three years old, the other four. Mom told: when they found it, everyone was horrified by what they saw. Cantor was especially cut, his chest was pierced with a bayonet."