September 16, 1997
Michael Palchey, founder of the Ukrainian Sabbatarian movement which survived and thrived under Stalin, Khruschev and other Communist leaders died on August 3 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He emigrated to the United States in November 1990 under terms of the Helskinki Human Rights accord signed back in the days of President Jimmy Carter. This accord gave favored emigration status to minority groups that suffered imprisonment in the Soviet Union for their religious beliefs. Michael Palchey was sent to Siberia in 1949 for his beliefs in the days of Stalin. His twenty year sentence was commuted when Stalin died and he returned to his village of Rokosova.
He spoke Ukrainian, Russian, Ruthenian, Polish, Hungarian and Rumanian. His house was open to all. In Transcarpathia 28 Sabbatarian congregations totalling 3000 people sprung up under his oversight. His love of God's word was known to all. He studied it closely and talked about it with everybody who came to his home which was always open.
Related Stories
- The Establishment of the Michael Palchey Memorial Fund for Transcarpathia on November 6, 2003
- The family of Michael Palchey, former leader of Transcarpathian Sabbatarians who died August 3rd would like to make this statement (9/9/97)
- An Open Letter to the Churches of God from the Ukrainian Sabbatarians (July 21, 1997)
- How I first got involved with the Sabbatarians
- Working with Sabbatarian Christians in Ukraine
- Sabbatarians refugees from Tajikistan who have resettled in Ukraine
- Now! UCG Russian language SERMON tapes available. Order here.
- UCG LITERATURE in RUSSIAN now available! You can order here
My wife and I were unable to attend his funeral in Raleigh, but decided to go visit his family on Sunday, September 14th. We spent the entire day with them and reminisced about their father's work. His daughter Anya spoke about how he prayed specifically for his pastor Don Mason, Oleh Zajac, Victor Kubik and before his death, Mr. Tkach three times a day.
The Palchey family finally withdrew from fellowship with the Worldwide Church of God because of incompatible doctrinal changes in the summer of 1996 and now meet among themselves. Thirty-seven of them had emigrated from Ukraine; they certainly have enough for a small congregation! They hold their services in the Ukrainian language to this day.
My trips to Ukraine have resulted in sending Bibles and now translated literature and tapes in their language to them. Starting in 1993 we worked with Ambassador University to send students to work for the summer teaching English as as second language. Volunteers have continued going there to this day.
From the very outset they have asked us for spiritual food. We have followed with humanitarian projects sending containers of food, medicine clothing and now sponsoring a dental mission to a province that has virtually no dental care.
Our major project this past year has been resettling refugees from Tajikistan where Moslem Fundamentalists are persecuting Christians.
All this activity has begun with our getting to know the Palchey's who came to the United States. As Michael Palchey told me, "we want to learn from you, but I hope that you can learn from us." I can truly say that his life and example has inspired and touched me. Preaching the gospel can be done anywhere....from the richest land in the world to the most religiously oppressed environment such as the Communist Soviet Union. It's amazing what God can do.