Ukrainian Catholic seminary rector appointed head of patriarchal tribunal (01/24/93)

Ukrainian Catholic seminary rector appointed head of patriarchal tribunal

by Christopher Guly

OTTAWA - The rector of Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Seminary in Ottawa has been appointed the first head of the Patriarchal Tribunal of the Church for Ukraine's estimated 6 million followers.

The Rev. Joseph Andrijishyn, 53, who had served as rector for 12 years, will assume his duties in Kyyiv this May.

Since the Ukrainian Catholic Church has long functioned in the diaspora and never had its own distinct Eastern code of canon law until now, no formal judiciary existed. "It's like the Supreme Court of the Ukrainian Catholic Church," says the French-born priest.

The Rev. Andrijishyn holds a licentiate it canon law from St. Paul University in Ottawa, as well as licentiates in theology and philosophy. A priest for 28 years, he has taught Eastern canon law at St. Paul University and speaks four languages, including Italian.

Arriving in Canada in 1974, the Rev. Andrijishyn spent two years serving Ukrainian Catholic communities in northern Manitoba.

"I worked in the bush near Neslon River, where nobody knew I was a priest," he recalls. "But at coffee breaks, some would approach me with their problems, maybe about a girlfriend, and I would listen. "Eventually, after asking me thousands of questions. they discovered that I was the priest serving Thompson."

The Rev. Andrijishyn eventually made his way to Winnipeg, where he served as an associate pastor at Blessed Virgin Mary Church and Ss. Vladimir and Olga Cathedral.

In 1981, he was named rector of Holy Spirit Seminary in Ottawa.

The hierarchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church nominated the Rev. Andrijishyn to his new post at a synod they held in Lviv last spring. Technically, the judicial position should be held by a bishop, since the tribunal head would deal with ecclesiastical matters involving priests and bishops alike. But the Rev. Andrijishyn says he is not aware of receiving any promotion to become an eparch.

Yet, the idea is not inconceivable. Although there are only 40,000 Ukrainian Catholics out of Kyyiv's population of 2 million, much speculations has centered on moving the see of the Church from Lviv to the ancient seat in Kyyiv, where Christianity was established as the state religion in 988. One possible scenario: the Rev. Andrijishyn could be named an auxiliary bishop in Kyyiv, until a decision has been reached.

His successor at the seminary also has yet to be named. The Rev. Andrijishyn says that the Rev. Stephen Soroka, who holds a doctorate in social work and serves as pastor of St. Anne's Church in Winnipeg, has been approached. A graduate of the American Catholic University in Washington, the Rev. Soroka's research has focused on clerical stress. In 1985, Dr. Soroka surveyed 900 Roman Catholic priests in the United States, discovering their major stress-related problems involved workload levels and role ambiguity.

But the 40-year-old priest, vice-chancellor and vocations director for the Archeparchy of Winnipeg, is hesitant to leave his ailing father in Winnipeg.

The vacancy is expected to be filled at a meeting in that city this March, following the installation of Metropolitan-designate Michael Bzdel.

Although Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Seminary only has two full-time staffers including the rector and the current spiritual director, the Rev. Roman Dusanowskyj, enrollment is at its highest ever at 31.

| Home Page |