PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC) on August 9-12 marked the centennial of its establishment on Canadian soil in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, as it concurrently held its Extraordinary Sobor (national council meeting). More than 190 clergy and delegates were registered for the Sobor.
The four-day celebration began on Thursday with a hierarchical divine liturgy celebrated by Bishop Andriy of the Eastern Eparchy at the Chapel of St. Petro Mohyla Institute, founded 102 years ago. Clergy, under the direction of the Rev. Michael Lomaszkiewicz, sang the responses.
The St. Petro Mohyla Institute played a major role in the founding of the UOCC, as the first “confidential meeting” of Ukrainian Orthodox faithful was held in Saskatoon on July 18-19, 1918. The meeting was held to defend the institute from efforts by Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Nykyta Budka, who was seeking ownership. Some 154 delegates from three Prairie provinces, led by 30 prominent lay leaders, decided that the needs of the community would best be served by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church established on Canadian soil, and it was this meeting that is seen as the birthplace of the UOCC.
Metropolitan Yurij blesses the faithful.
Following divine liturgy on Thursday, an All-Canada Clergy Conference was held at the institute. Presentations were made by Bishop Sotorios of the Greek Orthodox Church of Canada and exarch of Canada for the Ecumenical Patriarchate (who delivered greetings from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew); Archbishop Job of Telmessos, a personal representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches in Geneva; Archbishop Daniel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. (UOC-U.S.A.); and the Very Rev. Taras Udod, chancellor of the Consistory of the UOCC.
Concurrent with the clergy conference, the annual general meeting and workshops of the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada (USRL, the umbrella lay organization of the UOCC) was held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Saskatoon. Presentations by Emil Yereniuk and Dr. Peter M. Kondra focused on the restructuring and revitalization of parish community organizations.
To conclude the first day’s activities, vespers were served at the St. Petro Mohyla Institute Chapel, followed by a wine and cheese reception, as the delegates registered for the Sobor.
Friday’s events began with a hierarchical divine liturgy celebrated by Metropolitan Yurij at Holy Trinity Cathedral, with responses sung by the Lastiwka Ukrainian Orthodox Choir under the direction of Larry Klopoushak. Following the liturgy, the newly commissioned centenary icon of St. Andrew the First-Called-Apostle, written by iconographer Vera Senchuk, was presented for veneration.
Centenial resolution
Afterwards, Metropolitan Yurij opened the Sobor with the reading of the Celebratory Resolution. (The full text can be found on the UOCC website, www.uocc.ca.)
The resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the Sobor, provided a historical overview of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada and reflections for its ministry toward a new centennial. From its origins in Saskatchewan in 1918, to the second Sobor held in three cities that approved Metropolitan Germanos (Shehadi) of the Antiochian Orthodox Church as its hierarch, who ordained three priests – the Revs. Samuel W. Sawchuk, Dmytro Stratychuk and Petro Sametz – to serve the community. With the arrival to North America of Archbishop John (Theodorovych) of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, who was elected at the fourth Sobor as the UOCC’s prime hierarch. Following the second world war, the UOCC continued to grow, and opened its theological school, St. Andrew’s College, in Winnipeg in 1946.
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The icon of St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle, written by Vera Senchuk.
The resolution traced the hierarchical lineage to the succession of Archbishop Mstyslav and Archbishop Polikarp, and the establishment in 1951 of the Metropolia, led by the Church’s first metropolitan, Ilarion (Ohienko). From there, the Church has elected Metropolitans Michael, Andrew, Wasyly, Ivan and now Yurij.
The resolution also acknowledges the work of the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League, which is associated with the Ukrainian Women’s Association (CYK), the Ukrainian Self-Reliance Association (TYC) and the Canadian Ukrainian Youth Association (CYMK). The USRL’s affiliated institutions include St. John Institute in Edmonton, St. Petro Mohyla Institute in Saskatoon, St. Vladimir Institute in Toronto and the Ukrainian Museum of Canada.
Also noted was the role of the newspaper Ukraiyinskyy Holos (Ukrainian Voice), founded in 1910 in Winnipeg, originally as Pravoslavny Visnyk (Orthodox News), by the Rev. Vasyl Kudryk. The years 1951 to 1975 saw an enormous growth in the Church, called the Golden Age. The Church celebrated the millennium of Christianity in Ukraine in 1988, and was granted canonical unity with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Today, the UOCC’s hierarchs “lead the clergy and faithful in supporting the process which today fills us with such hopeful anticipation: the granting of the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine by its mother Church, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, after centuries of subjugation by Kyiv’s daughter, the Church of Moscow,” reads the resolution.
Noting the centennial celebration of the UOCC, the resolution stated: “Full of heartfelt gratitude for all that has been achieved in the past 100 years, and of joyful anticipation of future achievements in proclaiming and embodying the gospel of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, in company with the multitude of saints and martyrs of the Church of Ukraine in the homeland and in the diaspora, especially in our wonderful country of Canada, we resolve to increase our endeavors to bring about the growth of the Kingdom of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in our land of Canada, our ancestral homeland Ukraine and throughout the world. All praise, glory and honor be to Him now and forever. Amen.”
Archbishop Daniel greeted the UOCC on behalf of Metropolitan Antony, clergy and faithful of the UOC-U.S.A., underscoring the intertwined nature of both Churches, noting the events of the 1960s when hierarchs of the UOC-U.S.A. offered service of leadership to the UOCC and this year, when Metropolitan Yurij offered his service and pastoral leadership during the centennial celebration of the UOC-U.S.A. on July 28 in South Bound Brook, N.J. (Metropolitan Antony was hospitalized for injuries sustained in a car accident on July 27.)
Symposium, bus tour and more
A symposium organized by St. Andrew College included presentations on the priesthood in Quebec, the Church of the Prairies and Ukrainian Canadian pioneers, Ukrainian Orthodox chaplaincy during World War II, the UOCC and contemporary Orthodoxy, and vocations and service to the Church.
A bus tour of the Canadian Prairie churches in Saskatchewan visited the first official parish and church of the UOCC, St. Mary the Protectress (Pokrova) Parish in St. Julien, and St. Michael Parish in Lepine, and passing by Ukrainian family farms, many of which are still owned by descendents of the original settlers.
Other options included a youth program at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, featuring instruction in making beeswax candles, and catechetical sessions with the Revs. Peter Haugin and Timothy Charpko. The younger participants also engaged in a youth choir rehearsal for a concert on Sunday.
Gala banquet and concert
The day concluded with vespers followed by a supper talk by Dr. Oleh Gerus on the roles of the Very Rev. Sawchuk and Metropolitan Ilarion in the evolution of the UOCC. An opening reception was held at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada with an exhibit dedicated to the history and ministry of the UOCC.
Saturday’s events began with a hierarchical divine liturgy at All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church, co-presided by Archbishops Job and Daniel, with responses sung by the Edmonton Ukrainian Male Chorus under the direction of Orest Soltykevych (son of the renowned choir master Roman Soltykevych). A memorial litany was prayed for the reposed hierarchs, clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada through the past century.
After lunch, the Sobor participants had a choice of either a cruise on the Prairie Lily Riverboat through the heart of Saskatoon on the South Saskatchewan River or a historic landmark city bus tour, visiting the two previous St. Petro Mohyla Institute sites, where many of the founders of the UOCC met to lay the groundwork for the Church, as well as the original Holy Trinity Cathedral site and the Eaton Internment Camp site, dating from the first world war, where Ukrainians were interned as “enemy aliens.”
The Prairie Lily prepares to depart for a cruise on the South Saskatchewan River.
The day concluded with vespers served at All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church, followed by a gala banquet and concert at the Saskatoon Inn that attracted more than 350 people. Greetings were delivered by government and Church dignitaries, among them Bishop Brian Bayda of the Saskatoon Eparchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, showing the fraternal love between the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic faiths. Archbishop Daniel delivered statements of greeting on behalf of Metropolitan Antony and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. – which included statements from Archbishop Jeremiah of South America. Archbishop Daniel underscored the significance of the 1,030th anniversary of the Baptism of Ukraine and the centennial celebrations of the UOC-U.S.A.
In his greeting, Patriarch Bartholomew wrote: “…On this day of celebration, we share in your joy and paternally encourage all of you from the Mother Church: the shepherds, to continue their pastoral ministry; the priests, their priestly vocation in the preaching of the divine word; and the laity in the diakonia (service), to remain faithful to our life-giving and charitable Lord Jesus Christ and to the Mother Church of Constantinople. Rest assured always that we, your patriarch, love you, keep you close to our heart and pray continuously for your illumination, well-being, success and salvation.”
Metropolitan Sotirios, as a representative of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, read a statement from the patriarch, reminding the faithful that he prayed “that our Lord guide you by His light and grace for the continuation of your diakonia to the Holy Church. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit – together with our paternal love and wholehearted patriarchal blessings – be with all of you, our dearly beloved brothers and sisters and chosen children of the Holy and Great Church of Christ.”
The centennial concert featured performances by the Lastiwka Ukrainian Orthodox Choir and Orchestra of Saskatoon, under the direction of Mr. Klopoushak; Kateryna Khartova; the St. Demetrius Quartet of Toronto; the Rev. Volodymyr Kouchnir from Montreal; the Dibrova Ukrainian Folk Ensemble of Saskatoon, directed by Stanyslav Hawryliw; violinist Carissa Klopoushak; jazz pianist John Stetch; the Edmonton Ukrainian Male Chorus, under the direction of Mr. Soltykevych; and the Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble, directed by Serhij Koroliuk.
As a finale, the choirs combined under the direction of Mr. Klopoushak for the spiritual-liturgical song “Preslavnyy Nyni Den” (A Most Glorious Day) by S.A. Dekhtyariv, referring to the day of Pentecost. It was a fitting tribute to the role of the Holy Spirit in the formation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.
The celebrations concluded on Sunday with a hierarchical divine liturgy led by Metropolitan Yurij, with Archbishops Job and Daniel, Bishops Andriy and Ilarion, and in the presence of Metropolitan Sotirios and Metropolitan-emeritus John (Stinka), at Holy Spirit Cathedral, followed by the presentation of Centenary Awards of St. Andrew (recipients’ names were unavailable at press time). A pig roast luncheon and a youth program concert followed. An Akathist to St. Andrew was celebrated at Holy Spirit Cathedral with veneration of the newly commissioned centenary icon of St. Andrew.
For more information, readers can visit the revitalized website of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, www.uocc.ca.
Sources: www.uocc.ca, www.uocofusa.org.