Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada

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The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC) is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Canada, primarily serving Ukrainian Canadians.

It has cathedrals in the cities of Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal. The Metropolitan Cathedral, seminary (St. Andrew's College), and central administrative office are all based in Winnipeg. Its membership is about 12,000, and the current primate of the church is Metropolitan John (Stinka).

History

Most ethnic Ukrainians moving to Canada from Western Ukraine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were Greek Catholics, and were tended early on by the local Roman Catholic hierarchy. At the same time, a smaller group of settlers arriving from Bukovina were mostly Orthodox. Initially served by the Russian mission, by then established in the northwest of North America through Alaska, the Orthodox settlers sought a native Ukrainian church, which they organized in the summer of 1918 in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The UOCC had strong ties to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church after 1921, when that body was established in Ukraine. In 1990, it became a canonical church by being accepted into the Church of Constantinople.

In July 2005, at the Twenty-first Sobor of the UOCC, Metropolitan (then Archbishop) John (Stinka) was elected Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of All Canada. In late 2005, Archbishop John finally replaced Metropolitan Wasyly (Fedak) after the former's acceptance by the holy synod of bishops. Metropolitan Wasyly, who died in January 2005, had served as metropolitan for nearly 20 years.

Currently, the UOCC has just two bishops; this number is fewer than preferred, as three bishops makes a council of bishops, and the UOCC prefers to have four bishops to help them better look after their flock. To help resolve this situation, the Twenty-first Sobor chose Very Rev. Fr. Michael Skumeda as bishop-elect, and an Extraordinary Sobor will be held in July 2007 to elect at least one bishop. The Sobor was postponed due to the decision to not consecrate Fr. Michael as bishop. In July 2006, Metropolitan John will be enthroned as Archbishop of Winnipeg and the Central Diocese.

Bishops

In Ukrainian (Slavic) Tradition, the metropolitan is the primate of the church, and then followed by the archbishops and bishops.

In the UOCC, the metropolitan is styled the Archbishop of Winnipeg, of the Central Diocese, and All-Canada, while the next two bishops are styled (Arch)bishop of Edmonton, and the Western Diocese and the (Arch)bishop of Toronto, and the Eastern Diocese. When the Church has 4 Bishops, the 4th is always styled the Bishop of Saskatoon, and Vicar of the Central Diocese. Usually the church only has four bishops, but if there is a need for more, then the titles available are Bishop of Montreal, and Vicar of the Eastern Diocese, and Bishop of Vancouver, and the Vicar of the Western Diocese.

List of bishops, past and present, who served in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada:

  • His Eminence, Archbishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) (later Archbishop, and Metropolitan of UOC of USA, and in 1990-93, Patriarch of Ukraine in the UAOC), deceased
  • His Beatitude, Metropolitan Ilarion (Ohienko) (first metropolitan in the UOCC) (1950-1972 as metropolitan), deceased
  • His Beatitude, Metropolitan Michael (Khoroshy) (1950-1977), metropolitan from 1972 to 1975 (at the XV Sobor in 1975, Metropolitan Michael resigned as Metropolitan, as he wished to remain in the Eastern Diosese), deceased
  • His Beatitude, Metropolitan Andrew (Metiuk) (d. 1985), metropolitan from 1975 to 1985 (first Bishop of Edmonton), deceased
  • His Eminence, Archbishop Boris (Yakovkevych) (first Bishop of Saskatoon), deceased
  • His Eminence, Archbishop Nicholas (Debryn), deceased
  • His Beatitude, Metropolitan Wasyly (Fedak) of Winnipeg (1978-2005), metropolitan from 1985 to 2005, deceased
  • His Eminence, Metropolitan John (Stinka) of Winnipeg (1983-present), metropolitan from 2005 to present
  • His Eminence, Archbishop Yurij (Kalistchuk) (1989-present)

External links