Agapius Honcharenko

Reverend Agapius Honcharenko (August 31, 1832–May 5, 1916, real name Andrii Humnytsky, aka Ahapii or Ahapius) was a Ukrainian patriot and exiled Greek Orthodox priest. He was a prominent scholar, humanitarian, and early champion for human rights.

Born in Kryva, Tarascha county, in Kiev Oblast, Honcharenko was the first Ukrainian political émigré to arrive in the United States. He graduated from the Kiev Theological Seminary and entered the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. He was sent to Athens in 1857 to serve as deacon at the embassy's church, where he began to contribute articles to Alexander Herzen's "Kolokol". He was discovered and arrested in 1860, but escaped and traveled extensively before immigrating to the United States in 1865, where he traveled around the country, helping establish a Greek Orthodox church in New Orleans before finally settling in San Francisco. Before immigrating, he had changed his name to protect his family from persecution for his anti-Russian writings.

A plain-spoken man, Honcharenko was known to openly denounce his own church for corruption, immorality, and other failings, so much so that he was declared a schismatic. He published "The Alaska Herald", aimed at residents of Alaska, from 1868 to 1872, the first American newspaper to include Russian and Ukrainian language supplements. He wrote the first book for the educational use of Alaska Natives. After moving to his farm, "Ukrania," located in Hayward, California, in 1873, he continued to publish political literature, which was smuggled into Czarist Russia. These actions made him a thorn in the side of pro-Tsarist Russians, who called his writings "the drivelling of a half crazy old man."

He and his wife Albina are buried on the farm, which is now registered as California Historical Landmark #1025, located in Garin Regional Park near California State University, Hayward.

References

*cite web|title=Alameda County California Historical Landmarks|publisher=California Office of Historical Preservation|url=http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=21388|accessmonthday=25 August |accessyear=2005
*cite web|title=The Rev. Agapius Honcharenko|work=Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Vol. 2|publisher=University of Toronto Press|url=http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/1999/259904.shtml|accessmonthday=6 February |accessyear=2006
*cite news|title=California dedicates new historic landmark: Ukraina|first=Maria|last=Lewytzkyj|date=1999-06-25|publisher=Ukrainian Weekly|url=http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/1999/259903.shtml
*cite news|title=Our Foes|publisher=Orthodox American Messenger|date=December 27, 1896|pages=140|url=http://www.holy-trinity.org/history/1896/12.27.Orth.%20Am.%20Messenger.html

Persondata
NAME=Honcharenko, Agapius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Humnytsky, Andrii (birth name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Ukrainian political émigré and newspaper publisher
DATE OF BIRTH=August 31, 1832
PLACE OF BIRTH=Kryva, Tarascha county, Kiev Oblast
DATE OF DEATH=May 5, 1916
PLACE OF DEATH=Hayward, California