Sheptytsky Institute inaugurates new chairs, prepares graduate programs (12/07/97)

Sheptytsky Institute inaugurates new chairs, prepares graduate programs

OTTAWA - The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies began its sixth academic year at St. Paul University with a search for the position of professor in theology with a specialization in Ukrainian and Eastern Christian Church history.

The search follows the inauguration this past spring of the the second endowed chair at the institute, the Chair of Eastern Christian Liturgy, funded by the Kule family. In 1994 the institute had established the Chair of Eastern Theology and Spirituality, also funded by Doris and Peter Kule of Edmonton.

This fall 25 students, including 13 seminarians from Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Seminary, have enrolled in the undergraduate programs offered by the Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa. Another 15 students from other concentrations also attend Eastern Christian studies courses.

As part of its three-year undergraduate program, the faculty of theology offers seven Eastern Christian studies courses annually, taught by Orthodox as well as Eastern and Roman Catholic professors. Among professors lecturing this year are: the Rev. Stephane Bigham, the Rev. Andrew Morbey, the Rev. Andrew T. Onuferko and Prof. Horia Roscanu; as well as two full-time faculty of theology professors, the Rev. Andriy Chirovsky (Chair of Eastern Christian Theology and Spirituality) and the Rev. Dr. Peter Galadza (Chair of Eastern Christian Liturgy).

Ongoing preparations for master's and doctoral programs in Eastern Christian Studies should be completed by the fall of 1998, and the hiring of a third professor by May 1998 is an important step in this effort. Applications for the third full-time theology professorship with a specialization in Ukrainian and Eastern Christian Church history are being received by the dean of the faculty of theology at St. Paul University, 223 Main St., Ottawa, Ontario KlS lC4.

Founded in Chicago in 1986, the Sheptytsky Institute relocated in 1992 to Ottawa where, as an integral unit of the St. Paul University's faculty of theology, it has introduced hundreds of students to the theological and spiritual heritage of Eastern Christianity.

Inauguration of second chair

It was on April 28 that a capacity crowd of over 300 people from across Canada and abroad had gathered at the Sheptytsky Institute to celebrate the creation of the first endowed university Chair of Eastern Christian Liturgy in North America, and the installation of the chair's professor, the Rev. Dr. Galadza.

The evening, Easter Monday according to the Julian calendar, began with the celebration of paschal vespers, presided over by Archbishop Michael Bzdel, metropolitan of Ukrainian Catholics in Canada along with the Rt. Rev. Exarch Habib Kwaiter of Ss. Peter and Paul Melkite Greek-Catholic Church, the Rev. Galadza and Deacon Brad Moleski of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church). Also participating were Bishop Lawrence Huculak, the newly consecrated eparch of Edmonton, numerous representatives from the Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and other Christian communities, along with members of the Sheptytsky Institute Foundation and the local Ukrainian community.

The Sheptytsky Institute's director, the Rev. Chirovsky, along with a Sheptytsky Institute student, Monica Hladunewich of Edmonton, presided over the official inaugural program.

Sheptytsky Institute Foundation board members from every Canadian eparchy were formally introduced.

In particular, the university's rector, the Rev. Dale Schlitt, introduced the new chair's benefactors, Peter and Doris Kule of Edmonton, who in 1994 had funded the institute's Chair of Eastern Theology and Spirituality. Foundation President Eugene Cherwick of Winnipeg presented commemorative icons from Ukraine to the benefactors - who contributed $1 million for each of the two chairs.

The dean of the faculty of theology, Prof. James Pambrun, spoke of the unique contribution of the Sheptytsky Institute's Eastern Christian studies programs and expressed his conviction that the Rev. Dr. Galadza is undoubtedly the most qualified choice in North America to hold the new chair. Thus introduced, the chair's first professor was officially installed by the university's chancellor, Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa.

In his inaugural address, "Going to the Center to Find the Real: The Centrality of Liturgy in Theological Formation," the Rev. Galadza outlined how liturgical experience serves to make theology come alive. In the narrative sections of his lecture he drew attention to the fact that the liturgy chair was being inaugurated exactly 100 years after the Rev. Nestor Dmytriw celebrated the first Ukrainian Catholic worship services in Canada.

The Rev. Galadza holds a Ph.D. from St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, and has been teaching at St. Paul University since 1992. However, his association with the institute began many years prior to that, as he lectured at the institute's unique summer program at Mount Tabor Monastery in California.

The lecture brought the audience to its feet for an enduring ovation, and "Mnohaya Lita" was sung for the chairholder.

It is noteworthy that the professor's late father, Mychajlo Galadza, who spent his life as an extraordinary cantor, had been recognized and honored for his work by a special certificate from Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky some six decades earlier.

Summer programs in the U.S., Ukraine

As in previous years, in 1997 the institute once again offered its intensive summer programs both in California and Ukraine. With the Rev. Chirovsky lecturing on "Eastern Patristic Spirituality," and Father Abbot Boniface Luykx on "Byzantine Eucharistic Liturgy," 15 students from across the U.S., Canada and Ukraine attended the 11th annual Mount Tabor program at Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Redwood Valley, Calif. (June 21-July 19).

The summer program in Ukraine, co-sponsored by the Lviv Theological Academy, was held for the second year (July 5 - August 3) at Holy Dormition Monastery in Univ (one hour east of Lviv). Thirty students from all over the country participated in the program. Among them were not only Greek-Catholics, Orthodox and a Roman Catholic, but also a Lutheran and an Evangelical. Two courses were offered: "The Byzantine Liturgy of the Hours" (the Rev. Galadza) and "Eastern Christian Doctrine I: Trinity, Christ and the Holy Spirit" (Prof. Jaroslaw Skira).

At this remote Studite monastery founded by Metropolitan Sheptytsky, participants enjoy the Christian hospitality of the monastic community and experienced Byzantine liturgical and spiritual traditions brought alive through prayer and study.

The director of the institute, the Rev. Chirovsky, explained: "One of the important characteristics of all Sheptytsky Institute programs, whether here in Ottawa or abroad, is the unity of theological study and liturgical prayer. Whereas in the classroom we often make God the object of our study, in the chapel we seek to restore the proper relationship between God, the Creator, the Savior, the Source of all Life, and human beings, redeemed, living creatures, whose proud intellect is a mere reflection of the infinite wisdom of God."

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For more information on the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies and its programs, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please write to: The Sheptytsky Institute, St. Paul University, 233 Main St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 1C4. phone: (613) 236-1393, ext. 2332; fax: 782-3026.

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