Alexander I Chomicz
Reader Alexander Ivanovitch Chomicz (1909-2001)
— by Michael Woinowsky-Krieger, Montréal (edited)
Alexander may be spelt Alexandr, Alexandre, Aleksandr.
Birth ; early service ; exile
Alexander Ivanovitch Chomicz was born in Ukraine, at that time in the Russian Empire, on 14 September, 1909.
Already in Ukraine and then in exile in Germany, where he lived during the 1950s, Mr. Chomicz was busy on the "kliros" (the raised platform to one side or another of the "solea", the platform in front of the iconostas), putting his wonderful talents to work, teaching choir music and reading in Old Church Slavonic.
Move to Canada ; service at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Montréal
When he arrived in Montréal in the early 1960s, he became "psalomshtchik" (psalm-reader) at Saints Peter and Paul's Cathedral, and he assisted the then choir director Alexander Alexandrovitch Kaminsky, sometimes substituting for him in his absence.
A trainer of readers
Here, as in Europe, Alexander Ivanovitch continued teaching, singing and reading. It is impossible to say exactly how many candidates for tonsure studied with him. I remember how once, sitting in his kitchen and talking over a cup of tea, he showed me his notebook where he wrote the name and date of birth of each of his students. I did not begin counting, so exhaustive was the list. He continuously looked for, and found, new students. He was very attentive to each one of them, putting a lot of effort into teaching them to sing and read. He knew, and he understood that there can never be too many singers and readers. The Church always needs them. This was the purpose of his life-long efforts : to serve the Church.
Those who attended church services on Sundays saw what I saw during the 1970s and 1980s, when I would come from Québec City to Montréal with my parents, to go to church 3 or 4 times a year. The choir-singers gathered in the choir-loft at the west end of the church, with Mr. Kaminski at his post ; and there, on the side, stood an elderly gentleman in dark glasses, sometimes leaning on his cane. Upon the exclamation “Blessed is our God”, Mr. Chomicz would read the third hour ; and that is pretty much all that was heard from him for the rest of the service, since the choir then took over.
On Pascha, when in the first years I would serve in the Altar, or in the later years when I would join the choir with my brother to try to sing, Mr. Chomicz would give me a chocolate egg as a present. I thanked him, although I did not know nor understand who he was.
Fifteen to 20 years later, after finishing my Masters studies in Québec City, I moved to Montréal for work, and I began attending church services on a regular basis. There, I saw an entirely different picture, a more complete picture, one which was contemplated by those who attended church services on weekdays and on Saturday evenings. Archbishop Sylvester, our long-time rector who also headed our diocese for nearly 30 years, was serving in the Altar, joined by the priests. On the "kliros" stood Alexander Ivanovitch Chomicz, supervising the entire reading and choir-singing duties. Sometimes, there were 6 of us ; but, more often than not, a quartet gathered to sing under his direction. He handed out his music books (they were difficult to read, since they were written by hand in his later years, when he was already tiring), and we sang and read in turns. He often had to use a magnifying glass as his sight faded, but he always managed to find the right page in the books.
Alexander Ivanovitch was a very gentle and pleasant person. He loved to joke, to tell stories, to philosophise, and he was very attentive to his conversants. You simply liked being around him (somewhat like being around your grandfather), and it was impossible to turn him down when, on occasion, he would ask a favour.
He loved to invite you over to his place, and he was always offering you something—a cup of tea with cake, or fried cabbage, or something else. It was pleasant to sit down with him, and it was difficult to get away. Of course, Mr. Chomicz had a very special character, and each person would look at him in his or her own way. Although he walked bent over and leaning on his cane, he would occasionally stop, stand straight and, waving his hand, energetically voice his opinion on an issue which stirred him inside. He was a simple man, yet he had his flashes of wisdom. Some students would consistently arrive late at the service ; he would tell them : “I have a good trick for you so that you arrive on time : leave home earlier !” To those who arrived late in the spring because they “forgot to change their watches”, he answered : “Why don’t you arrive an hour early in the autumn when the clocks go back one hour ?”
Mr. Chomicz was also stubborn ; but, who amongst us is not ? He was a real Christian, open and sincere. He would never say something while thinking the opposite. If we had a run-in during the service, all was forgotten by the time we sang the last “Amen”.
It happened on occasion that I sang an entire service alone with him. In a certain way, these are the services I cherish the most in memory. Sometimes, he would lead the singing and reading ; at other times, I would ; and, without a word or direction, we sang the service, with no interruption or hiccup, in a relaxing and prayerful way. No matter what day or what service, no matter what the weather or the transportation conditions were (strong winds, scorching heat, freezing rain, snow drifts, no bus service), Alexander Ivanovitch was always on time. When I arrived at church straight from work, my first glance was to the "kliros", and there he always stood, ready.
Vladyka Sylvester had great respect for Mr. Chomicz, and he was grateful for his efforts. This was obvious to see, and, clearly, the feeling was mutual. Although one was a bishop and the other a layman, both understood very well each other’s role and duty and, together, they carried out their duties and prayed together with and for the parish. During the course of 5 years when I observed this relationship, I recall only a single instance in which Vladyka pointed out a mistake ; and yet, it was well known how Vladyka strictly followed the "oustav" (ordo, typikon). At the annual parish meetings, when Vladyka Sylvester recalled the multitude of services held during the past year (the number would exceed 200 hundred), he always pointed out how Alexander Ivanovitch Chomicz had not missed a single service.
Mr. Chomicz lived a frugal life, but he knew how to take care of himself. He knew even better how to take care of others, especially those who served on the "kliros", or who served in the Altar. A week before Great Lent, he would buy boxes of chocolate and wine, and he would especially look for herring. He would prepare it "à la russe" and, when Lent started, he would offer some to the clergy, to choir members and to other parishioners. I will never forget the time when I visited him during his last year, when he was in the hospital, where he was recovering from pneumonia, and it moved me to tears. As I entered his room and saw him lying in bed, weak and with the oxygen tube in his nose, I asked him how he was, and his first words were : “Misha, I prepared some chocolate boxes. Please hand them out”. This is how he was : not a single complaint about his health, about his solitude, only concern for others. On his 90th birthday, he had served dinner to the entire parish in the church hall. He was already making plans for his 95th birthday.
In his last years, his health continued to decline, and it became increasingly difficult for him to move around. His back and knees were ailing. He was hoping so much that his relatives could immigrate to Canada and take care of him, and he steadfastly refused to move to a senior citizens’ home. Sadly, he did not outlast the immigration process.
Repose
On 11 December, 2001, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral parish of Saints Peter and Paul in Montréal, Québec suffered a great loss. Mr. Alexander Chomicz, who for several decades had carried out the duties of reader, and who had assisted in choir duties for the parish, reposed in the Lord. He was 92.
The "otpevanie" (funeral service) was held on Monday, 17 December, following the Divine Liturgy for the departed. He was interred in the Saint Seraphim Cemetery in Rawdon, Québec.
It was sad to see how few people were able to gather and pay their last respects to a person who gave his entire life to the Church, and who served the parish so well and with such dedication for such a long period of time. There is some consolation, however, in that the Church prescribes panikhidas (memorial services) on the 9th and 40th days of repose (falling-asleep in Christ, death). By God’s Grace, in the case of Alexander Ivanovitch Chomicz, these days coincided with 2 well-celebrated Church feasts on which many faithful gathered. These were the feasts of Saint Nicholas (19 December, OS), and the Great Feast of Theophany.
Alexander Ivanovitch Chomicz was one of those parishioners whom you could easily not know anything about. He was an unnoticeable, discrete and humble person, and his duties and responsibilities in the parish did not draw any particular attention to himself (nor did he require any). However, throughout more than 4 decades, he served the parish, and he served it well, as a reader ("psalomshtchik", as it is known in Russian), as a singer, and as a teacher. He did his work with unfloundering dedication and attention.
Let us all be particularly fervent in our prayers to God that He give rest to the soul of His departed servant Alexander, and make his memory to be eternal !
Reference :
Our elders in the faith - Memory Eternal - "Canadian Orthodox Messenger" (Spring, 2002)
Additional information :