Semaka, Yevhen

Semaka, Yevhen [Семака, Євген], b 1863 in Banyliv, Bukovyna, d 17 July 1912 in Chernivtsi. Church and civic leader; brother of Illia Semaka. He completed his theology training at Chernivtsi University and then was catechist in the Chernivtsi Ukrainian Gymnasium, from 1898. As a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox church consistory in Bukovyna, he defended the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox believers and opposed Romanianization of the church. He authored many religious textbooks for elementary schools and gymnasiums and an illustrated history of the Ruska Besida in Bukovyna (1909) under the pseudonym Yevhenii Dmytriv, and contributed articles to the newspaper Ruska rada (1898–1905). He also coedited the bilingual Romanian-Ukrainian church journal Candela.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]