TV documentary series on religious architecture includes episode on Ukrainian churches (10/02/05)

TV documentary series on religious architecture includes episode on Ukrainian churches

by Ika Koznarska Casanova

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The multicultural make-up of urban Canada provides the setting for the 13-part documentary series "Building Faith" - a multilingual exploration of the world's religious architecture produced for broadcast on OMNI television.

The series, which started airing on September 3 and runs through December 5, traces the history of the world's great religions, the large-scale movement of people and the origins of many of the city's communities. It relates how people from around the world have brought the distinctive forms of their temples, churches, mosques and synagogues to North America.

The series, which provides an in-depth look at the architectural traditions of 13 local religious communities in and around Toronto, comprises the following episodes: Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras, Coptic Christian churches, Chinese Buddhist temples, Zoroastrian fire temples, Islamic mosques, Sinhala Buddhist temples, Greek Orthodox churches, Ukrainian churches, Jewish synagogues, as well as Armenian, German Lutheran and Slovak churches.

The three churches that are presented in the segment on Ukrainian church architecture are: St. Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Long Branch, Ontario - Yurii Kodak, architect; St. Elias the Prophet Ukrainian Catholic Church, Brampton, Ontario - Robert Greenberg, architect; and, Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church, Toronto - Radoslav Zuk, architect.

The presentations include the identification of the major exterior and interior features of the churches, an outline of the fundamental liturgical design concepts, as well as their historical development and classic examples or precedents of the buildings presented. Computer-animated models and still photographs of various ancient buildings are used extensively.

Each of the 13 episodes is being broadcast in two languages: English and the dominant language of the local faith community.

The "Building Faith" series was produced for OMNI Television by Angus Skene, architect and director of Rewind Inc., in collaboration with producer Catherine Drillis.

Architect Walter Daschko of Toronto is a consultant to the program and narrator of the Ukrainian-language episode. A former associate professor at the University of Toronto, and an executive member of the Canadian Society for Ukrainian Architecture, Mr. Daschko has lectured and written extensively about Ukrainian architecture. As a professional architect with his own practice since 1993, he has helped design and implement major commissions in Canada and the United States.

The Ukrainian episode of "Building Faith," with narration in Ukrainian, airs on Saturday, October 8, at 10-10:30 p.m., on OMNI 1; and again on October 13 at 2-2:30 p.m. Subsequent air dates, with English narration, are: Saturday, November 19, at 10-10:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 20, at 8-8:30 p.m.

(Note: in Toronto Rogers Cable ONMI 1 is on Channel 4; if in doubt, check with your local cable supplier. OMNI 1 is available across Canada to Starchoice subscribers on Channel 343 and to ExpressVu subscribers on channel 215. LOOK carries OMNI 1 on Channel 65 in Ontario.)

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A brief profile of the architects whose churches are featured in the "Building Faith" series, along with commentary by Mr. Daschko, follows.

Yurii Kodak (1916-1991): A graduate of the Kyiv State Art Institute (1940), Mr. Kodak established his own architectural firm in Germany in 1946 and, upon emigrating from Ukraine, conducted his practice in Canada (1949-mid-1970s). Mr. Kodak is the designer of, among others, the following churches: St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Hamilton, Ontario; Descent of the Holy Spirit Orthodox Church, Regina, Saskatchewan; St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church, South Bound Brook, N.J.; and Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church, Burlington, Ontario.

Mr. Daschko refers to Mr. Kodak's collective work as that of "the most skilled and accomplished practitioner of the Neo-Ukrainian-Baroque style, hybridizing historicist elements of Ukrainian architecture, with contemporary methods and materials."

Robert Greenberg, the architect for the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Elias in Brampton, Ontario, is emeritus professor of architecture and longtime chairman of the department of architecture at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in Toronto. An avid student and teacher of cultural history for over 50 years, Prof. Greenberg has been a consultant on numerous heritage-related architectural projects and continues to lecture on cultural, historical and heritage architectural topics throughout Ontario.

It is worth noting that in addition to Prof. Greenberg's contribution to the design of St. Elias, it is generally acknowledged "that the driving force behind the construction of St. Elias in the fashion that was done" is the pastor, the Rev. Roman Galadza, as well as the parish's protodeacon, David Kennedy.

Mr. Daschko suggests that "in addition to the hard-working local designers, credit for this striking church should also go to the real 'conceptual' architect for St. Elias Church - the original architect/builder of the beautiful, diminutive, old wooden Church of St. George in Drohobych, Ukraine (originally built in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and moved to Drohobych in the late 18th century), on which St. Elias appears to be modeled but significantly enlarged."

Radoslav Zuk, an internationally recognized architect and emeritus professor of architecture at McGill University in Montreal, has designed nine Ukrainian churches, in association with or as consultant to a number of architectural firms, in North America; seven of the churches have been built in Canada and two in the United States. Most of Prof. Zuk's award-winning churches have been recognized in the international architectural press. Most recently, his 10th church, the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, which is in the final stage of completion in Lviv, was featured in an article in the August issue of the German journal Baumeister: Zeitschrift für Architektur.

Prof. Zuk, a graduate of McGill University and MIT, is a co-recipient of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Governor General's Medal for Architecture, the highest architectural honor in Canada. Prof. Zuk's many accomplishments include an influential teaching and writing career.

Commenting on the work of Prof. Zuk in the field of church architecture, Mr. Daschko notes the following: "These beautiful churches are all unmistakably contemporary in form and design while unquestionably rooted in the Ukrainian architectural tradition. They are inspired by the best of traditions of Ukrainian architecture, especially its wooden architecture churches. These churches have striking strong silhouettes and a rich palette of natural materials. Prof. Zuk strives to capture the spirit of Ukrainian architectural traditions mainly through the articulation of scale and proportion, using complex mathematical devices rather than overt copying or hybridization."

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For information on video sales of the documentary series, schedules or comments viewers may send e-mail to [email protected]. or call OMNI, 1-888-260-0047 (toll-free); ask for the viewer line, ext. 4500, or for Sandy Zwyer, ext. 3590, program information coordinator. Viewers may also consult the station's website: www.omnitv.ca.

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