Christina Dochwat

World Class Ukrainian American Icon Writer (Painter), Christina M. Dochwat, has Fallen Asleep in the Arms of the Lord.

In the early morning hours of Thursday, March 26, 2026, world class Ukrainian American  iconographer, Christina M. Dochwat, age 91, a longtime resident of Jeffersonville (East Norriton Twp.), PA, peacefully fell asleep in the Lord. 

Christina was born on September 22, 1934 in the Village of Burkaniv, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine to Osyp and Emilia (Cymbryla) Dochwat.  She had a sister by the name of Lubow.  Widowed at an early age, Christina's mother resolved to save the family from the fires of World War II and the anticipated brutality of approaching russo-soviet occupation. 

Escorted by Osyp's brother, Christina and her mother and sister, bravely confronted and survived the known grave and serious risks of the journey to the Displaced Persons camps of the American zone of occupation.  In 1947 the family emigrated to the United States and settled in the City of Philadelphia. 

Christina loved and always vividly remembered her homeland, where, at age five, she first picked up the pencils and pastels that never left her hands: "I still dream of running through the wheat fields as a small child, with the wheat waving above my head." 

Christina's passion for God, for the Church, for Ukraine, for her people and for Ukrainian culture was profound.  Her career was dedicated to that passion; her writing (painting) of iconostasis (icon screens) and icons and her creations of majestic frescos and mosaics had one overarching goal: "to bring people closer to God"  "The most important thing for me is that my work can motivate people to pray;  when people pray in front of an icon, it is not my work, it is God’s work.”

Christina studied at Saint Basil's Academy in Jenkintown, PA  and in 1951 matriculated to the famous Ringling College of Arts and Design (Sarasota, FL).  She took another degree at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts in 1956 and began working in the field of iconography that same year.  From 1956 to 2006 Christina created iconostasis, separate cycles of icons, frescoes, and mosaics for approximately  eighty  Churches.

On November 14, 2021 in a moving ceremony at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which is adorned by her Masterpieces, Archbishop Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, on behalf of Patriarch Sviatoslav and the bishops of the Synod, inducted Christina into the Order of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, the highest honor in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. She is only the fourth recipient of this prestigious award.

Christina's masterpiece  iconstasis (icon screens), cycles of icons, mosaics and frescoes are found in many prestigious locations including The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchial Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Philadelphia, PA; The Cathedral's  Treasury of Faith Museum; The Byzantine Rite Chapel in the National Shrine, Washington DC; and St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Christina was an avid bowler and golfer, scoring no less than six holes in one.  On an impromptu fishing trip off the coast of Florida, she caught a huge 200 lbs. marlin. 

Christina parts company with: her nephew (predeceased sister Lubow's son), Oleh Szankowskyj: her extended family in her native village of  Burkaniv; and her dear friend Jeannie Moon and her sons, Michael and Eric and their families.

Relatives and friends are invited to her viewing on Tuesday, April 7, at 9 AM at SS Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church, Phoenixville, PA, 19460.  Requiem Liturgy will be celebrated at 10 AM.  Interment will follow at St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, Elkins Park, PA.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Christina Dochwat, please visit our floral store.