Basilian fathers have new provincial superior in Canada (11/03/96)

Basilian fathers have new provincial superior in Canada

by Christopher Guly

OTTAWA - The Order of St. Basil the Great, or the Ukrainian Catholic Basilians, recently acquired a new superior general and a new provincial superior for its Canadian province.

The Rev. Dyonisius Lachovicz, 50, superior and pastor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Curitiba, Brazil, was recently appointed superior general of the order for an eight-year term.

The Rev. Lachovicz recently spent two years teaching philosophy in Ukraine. He succeeds the Ukrainian-born Rev. Isidore Patrylo, who held the position over two terms for the past 20 years.

The Rev. Patrylo, 76, will remain in Rome, where the Basilians' general headquarters is based.

The Rev. Lachovicz recently chose the Rev. Myron Chimy as the new Basilian provincial superior for Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Rev. Chimy, 62, succeeds the Rev. Isidore Dziadyk, who will remain in the provincial house in Winnipeg and serve as pastor of St. Basil's Church in the southwest section of the city.

The Rev. Chimy began his four-year term on October 1. "I guess it's a promotion of sorts, but it's also going to be a lot of work," he told The Weekly.

Faced with diminishing membership and having only one candidate for the priesthood at its Mundare, Alberta, novitiate not far from Edmonton, the Rev. Chimy realizes his new responsibilities present a tall order. (Given his mighty physical stature, the man could pull off the job).

Indeed, as a teen growing up in rural Alberta, the Rev. Chimy fancied the idea of joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. More than 40 years ago, Canada's venerable Mounties had a minimum height requirement that cadets be at least 5-foot-10-inches tall in their stocking feet. At a strapping 6-foot-6, the Rev. Chimy certainly bested that.

Though he did take advantage of his size to play volleyball in school, the Ukrainian Catholic Basilian priest was more enamored by another role model: his parish priest. "I used to go into church and watch the priest stand alone at the altar," the Rev. Chimy explained from his office in Mundare, where he recently served as superior and master of novices of Ss. Peter and Paul Monastery. "It's hard to explain, but it was almost a spiritual experience for me."

At the age of 16, the Rev. Chimy joined the Order of St. Basil the Great. Ten years later in 1960, he was ordained a priest. Now, 36 years later, the monk will head the Canadian wing of his order.

The Rev. Chimy comes from a family filled with vocations. Two of his deceased uncles were Basilian priests: Jerome, the first bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of New Westminster, British Columbia, and Athanasius, a former provincial consultor. The Rev. Chimy's aunt, Sister Jerome Chimy, 82, is a former superior general of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate.

The Rev. Lachovicz, 50, selected the Rev. Chimy from among three Canadian candidates. The other two were the Rev. Mark Zazula, superior of St. Gregory of Nyssa Monastery in the Toronto suburb of Weston, and the Rev. Zuzula's colleague in Weston, longtime choral master the Rev. Boniface Malowany.

The Rev. Chimy, who was born in Raday, Alberta, has been based in Mundare since 1982. His priestly career included two years' service serving with former Canadian provincial superior, the Rev. Vladimir Shewchuk, as associate pastor of St. Nicholas Church in Winnipeg from 1965 to 1967.

That is where the Rev. Chimy will return this fall when he will be faced with trying to add to his religious province's 42 members.

"It's been tough to attract new candidates," he said. "Some write with interest in knowing more about the order, but they never follow up. But, we're not the only community faced with dropping membership. Even the Latin rite is faced with the same problem. Across the board, there's a lot of frustration."

At the moment, Basilian novices spend two years in Mundare learning about the monastic lifestyle, and another six years studying philosophy and theology in Rome.

The Rev. Chimy's provincial council will include his predecessor, the Rev. Dziadyk, the Rev. Malowany, the Rev. Larry Huculak - his successor in Mundare - and the Rev. Eugene Richlark, the order's new secretary and bursar, who will also serve as associate pastor of St. Nicholas Church.

The Rev. Chimy is Canada's 10th provincial superior.

In addition to the Rev. Dziadyk, the other surviving former provincial superior is the Rev. Vital Pidskalny, who was recently named superior of St. Basil's Monastery in Edmonton. Like the Chimys, the Pidskalny family has two members among Basilian ranks in Canada. In fact, the Rev. Pidskalny's nephew. The Rev. Joseph Pidskalny, is pastor of St. Nick's Church in Winnipeg.