Personal Journey: On a trip to Poland, finding family and faith

I knew about the three sisters from the letters. In 1912 my grandfather, George, left his village of Siderka (then Russia) about an hour north of Bialystok, and never returned. Throughout his life, his brothers Vladimir and Makary sent him letters. Last year my Uncle Walter gave me a box of their letters and we worked on getting them translated. I am a priest, serving the Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross in Medford, and this effort coincided with a trip our Diocesan Bishop Michael was planning to Poland for August 2014.

Translation was not so easy. The letters were handwritten in "po-nashomu" - a combination of Belorussian, Ukrainian, and Polish - in what might be called "the language we speak." With some help, I came to learn about family living in that area. One in particular, Mariola Rybinska, an English teacher in Bialystok, communicated by e-mail with me weeks in advance of our trip, and served as our translator.

I learned that three of Makary's daughters, Vera, Nadezhda, and Lubov (Faith, Hope, and Love) still live in the Siderka area. Grandfather had written one unmailed letter, addressed to the Orthodox priest in the village of Jaczno. On the weekend when Bishop Michael traveled to Kiev, my son John and I headed for the Church of the Holy Resurrection in Jaczno.

We were welcomed by the community's pastor, Father Peter Omelczuk, and I was invited to serve at the Divine Liturgy. At the end, I addressed the community and explained how and why we were there.

I mentioned grandfather's letters. The people gave us a sense of where to go, and they revealed information about grandfather's family, his wife, his children, and grandchildren. They invited him to visit. I ended by saying that no doubt with his blessings, love, and best wishes John and I had returned in his place.

The sisters - Makary's daughters - were the first relatives I met, and looking at them, I thought of Leo Tolstoy's story "The Three Hermits." As described to an Orthodox bishop, "for the most part they did everything in silence and spoke but little even to one another. One of them would just give a glance, and the others would understand him." When asked how they prayed, one responded: "We pray in this way, 'Three are ye, three are we, have mercy upon us.' "

Following the service, we all shared a meal and discussed as much as we could about family history. We exchanged photos. We visited Siderka and Makary's house, where Lubov still lives. We went to the cemetery where family members are buried.

Our visit provided some answers and raised more questions. Mariola and I continue to exchange news and photos. John keeps in touch with new cousins. We remain open to more discoveries.