Fr. Vasyl Mutka was born in Drohobych, Ukraine, and came of age in the “catacomb church,” when the Ukrainian Catholic Church was considered the largest illegal church in the world because of its being banned by the Soviet Union. Fr. Vasyl recalls celebrating Divine Liturgies at midnight and praying with hushed voices in order to avoid detection by Soviet controlled police and receiving severe punishments. After the collapse of Communism, the Catholic Church was legalized, came out of the shadows, and men could once again be openly ordained. Fr. Vasyl is currently the pastor at St. Irene in Portland Oregon