The Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, together with the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, will present the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Award and Medal to the laureates on Wednesday, April 30.
In 2025, the Sheptytsky Medal will be awarded to Ukrainian poet, writer, and dissident Lina Kostenko, as well as French philosopher and filmmaker Bernard-Henri Lévy.
The award ceremony will take place at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington.
For the Jewish community, the figure of the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky (1901–1944), holds special significance because during World War II, he organized the rescue of Jews from the Nazis. He managed to save at least 150 people, despite risking his own life. Metropolitan Andrey is considered the only church figure of such a high rank in occupied Europe to have publicly defended Jews during the Holocaust — something even Pope Pius XII did not dare to do.
In 2012, the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine established the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Award and Medal.
This year, the medal is being awarded “in recognition of fearless devotion to justice and truth.”
Lina Kostenko is considered the most prominent Ukrainian poetess. During Soviet times, her works were banned due to the themes she addressed: the defense of human dignity and the right of nations to self-determination. She has consistently stood up for the identity and rights of Jews, Poles, Tatars, and other peoples who suffered under totalitarian regimes. Her works continue to inspire Ukrainians in their struggle against Russian occupation. Lina Kostenko has always been a voice of truth — one of the core values upheld by Metropolitan Sheptytsky.
Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French philosopher, filmmaker, and author of 49 books and 9 films. He is one of the most prominent Western intellectuals advocating for democracy. In 2014, he spoke before the participants of the Revolution of Dignity on Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti. He represented the President of France at the 75th anniversary commemoration of the Babyn Yar massacre. He actively supports the Ukrainian people in their resistance to Russian aggression. Lévy is the author of three documentaries about Ukraine: Why Ukraine (2022), Glory to Ukraine (2023), and Glory to the Heroes (2023). His fourth film about Ukraine, Our War 2, will be released in summer 2025. Lévy’s work aligns with the legacy of Metropolitan Sheptytsky’s moral courage, especially in defending human rights and the Jewish people.
The laureates of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Award and Medal will be announced by President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Borys Lozhkin and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter James Constantine Temerty.
The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, April 30, in Washington DC.
When: 6:15 PM Washington time (which will be 1:15 AM on Thursday, May 1, Kyiv time).
Where: 1st St SE, Washington, DC 20515, USA. U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Room SVC 201-200.
Contacts:
- ioffe_inna@ukr.net, tel./WhatsApp: +380503823423, +972547243470
- annachernovaa@gmail.com, tel./WhatsApp: +380667855016
The award ceremony will be livestreamed on the YouTube channel of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and on Borys Lozhkin’s YouTube channel.
Media partners: Oboz.ua, RBK-Ukraine, NV.ua, Telegraf.ua