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<p>NANTICOKE &#8212; For members of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Lent is a holy time of fasting that requires preparation. And for members of Transfiguration of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church, that preparation comes by way of a feast, held Sunday.</p><p>For 10 years, the church has been hosting the event, called Myasopusna, which features a $15 dinner with traditional Ukrainian food, music performance and traditional Ukrainian dance. &#8220;Myasopusna&#8221; comes from the Ukrainian words for &#8220;goodbye to meat,&#8221; according to the program for the event.</p><p>The Rev. Walter Pasicznyk, pastor of the church, explained why Myasopusna serves as a preparation of the fast that comes along with the Lenten season.</p><p>&#8220;Traditionally, we would eat all of the meat in our house before this day, and then abstain from animal products for all of Lent,&#8221; Pasicznyk said.</p><p>While Pasicznyk admits that these restrictions have become &#8220;more relaxed&#8221; over the years, he said that fasting still plays an important role in religious traditions.</p><p>&#8220;Fasting is not about punishing ourselves,&#8221; Pasicznyk said. &#8220;It&#8217;s about training ourselved to be soldiers for Christ.&#8221;</p><p>But until that fast officially begins, the members of Transfiguration of Our Lord were hard at work to prepare the feast for parishoners and others.</p><p>Christine Ferrato, 52, of Nanticoke, helped prepare the dinner, calling it &#8220;kind of like Mardi Gras,&#8221; comparing it to the Roman Catholic tradition of a day of indulgence before the beginning of the Lenten fast.</p><p>Ferrato said that the event&#8217;s combination of food, music, dance and other forms of entertainment was meant to be something enjoyable for the community.</p><p>&#8220;We wanted to do something that was ethnic, religious and also fun,&#8221; Ferrato said. &#8220;And it&#8217;s gotten so big, we barely have to advertise; people ask me when it&#8217;s going to happen.&#8221;</p><p>Besides the food and the entertainment, several vendors were on hand, selling various Ukrainian goods.</p><p>One such vendor, Oles Cheren, 67, of Cleveland, was selling goods from his Ukrainian publishing company, ranging from books and mugs to &#8220;pysanka&#8221; eggs, which are eggs that have been hollowed out and hand-painted. Pysanka eggs are, according to Cheren, Ukraine&#8217;s &#8220;cultural contribution to the world.&#8221;</p><p>Cheren has been selling his products at the event for 10 years and said that it&#8217;s the first good thing that happens after the winter holiday season.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s one of my favorite events of the whole year,&#8221; Cheren said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a sign of good things to come.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Heidi Dages, 11, of Jim Thorpe, dressed in her Ukrainian dance attire, waits outside before her performance at a Myasopusna event at Transfiguration of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church in Nanticoke. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_ttl021817ukrainian-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Heidi Dages, 11, of Jim Thorpe, dressed in her Ukrainian dance attire, waits outside before her performance at a Myasopusna event at Transfiguration of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church in Nanticoke. </caption0><photoCredit0>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_ttl021817ukrainian-2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Oles Cheren, of Cleveland, Ohio, reacts to Paula Holoviaki, of Sugarloaf, holding up a Vyshyvanka (a Ukrainian embroidered shirt) she was thinking about purchasing during the celebration. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_ttl021817ukrainian-2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Oles Cheren, of Cleveland, Ohio, reacts to Paula Holoviaki, of Sugarloaf, holding up a Vyshyvanka (a Ukrainian embroidered shirt) she was thinking about purchasing during the celebration. </caption1><photoCredit1>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_ttl021817ukrainian-3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bob Longenberger, of Shickshinny, spoons out holubtsi, stuffed cabbage rolls, in the kitchen. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_ttl021817ukrainian-3-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Bob Longenberger, of Shickshinny, spoons out holubtsi, stuffed cabbage rolls, in the kitchen. </caption2><photoCredit2>Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6119.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Ukrainian Catholic Church prepares for fast with feast