Ukrainian community of Ottawa celebrates with Father Chirovsky (01/15/06)

Ukrainian community of Ottawa celebrates with Father Chirovsky

by Rosemary O'Hearn

OTTAWA - Two events brought the Ukrainian Catholic community together on November 26-27, 2005, at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine in Ottawa. The first was a pontifical divine liturgy, during which Father Andriy Chirovsky was elevated to the rank of mitred protopresbyter.

Father Chirovsky is well-known to the Ukrainian Catholic community in Ottawa, as well as throughout Canada and the United States. He is the founder of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, initially established at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1986.

In 1990 Father Chirovsky transferred to St. Paul University in Ottawa. The institute was established as a unit of the Faculty of Theology in 1992, and has since developed a full program of theological studies, from a one-year certificate to the doctorate.

In 2003 Father Chirovsky moved to Arizona for personal health reasons. He continues to teach students at the Sheptytsky Institute through teleconferencing and with frequent trips to Ottawa.

The pontifical divine liturgy was presided over by Bishop Stephen Chmilar, who drove from Toronto for the occasion. He noted that the bestowal of Father Chirovsky's new mitre will make him stand out among the people and he thanked Father Chirovsky "for bringing joy and beauty to our Church."

A long-time friend and acting director of the institute, Father Andrew Onuferko, delivered the homily. He asked the community to pray for Father Chirovsky's work as a theologian and teacher, for his priestly ministry, and for his desire to do good in life.

Father Chirovsky thanked the bishop for bestowing this blessing upon his head but stressed it belonged to the institute and to those with whom he has worked over the years at the Sheptytsky Institute and on the Sheptytsky Institute Foundation. "MASI is the work of many people and there aren't enough mitres around for those who deserve them. I must first bow to those who have helped me along the way."

He thanked Father Onuferko, as well as fellow professors Father Peter Galadza and Father John Jillions. He acknowledged the support of foundation President Eugene Cherwick and Directors Ed Hladunewich and Walter Bilous, who were present for the occasion. He recognized Vice-Rector Colin Levangie and the administration of St. Paul University. Finally, he expressed his gratitude to Peter and Doris Kule, and to the many others who support the institute in prayer and generous giving.

The following morning, Father Chirovsky celebrated the early morning Ukrainian divine liturgy in celebration of 25 years of priesthood.

Father Galadza preached before the parish community, noting Father Chirovsky's remarkable achievements and dedication, against great odds. The Ukrainian Catholic Women's League generously provided a reception in the church hall after the service.

Father Chirovsky thanked St. John the Baptist Shrine for allowing him to minister there for over a decade. He expressed his deep love for the Ottawa community and asked for continued prayers for himself, his wife, Halyna, and the rest of his family.

Father Chirovsky, born in 1956 in New Jersey, studied in Rome at the Pontifical Urban University, Seton Hall University in New Jersey and St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, where he earned an M.A. in theology at the Institute of Christian Thought; he did doctoral studies at the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary of the Lake, earning a doctorate in sacred theology in 1990. He is the Peter and Doris Kule Professor of Eastern Christian Theology and Spirituality at St. Paul University. He is also the editor-in-chief of the respected scholarly revue Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies.

The author of numerous books and articles of both a scholarly and popular nature, Father Chirovsky has lectured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Australia. He married Halyna Pawlyshyn of Rochester, N.Y., in 1979. They have two children, Sophia (born in 1983) and Alexander (born in 1987). He was ordained to the priesthood by Patriarch Josyf Slipyj in Castelgandolfo, Italy in 1980.

In addition to published articles on iconography, Father Chirovsky also produced two video programs on the subject: "The Iconography of Ss. Volodymyr and Olha Church in Chicago," and the six-hour series "To Write an Icon," both available from the Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa.

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