Category Archives: UOCC
Statement of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops beyond the Borders of Ukraine on the The 24th Anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence
Statement of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops beyond the Borders of Ukraine on the The 24th Anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence
24 August, 2015
To the Clergy and Faithful of the Holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church beyond the Borders of Ukraine and all Ukrainians in Ukraine and throughout the world celebrating the great anniversary of Ukrainian Independence, August 24, 2015 —
The Grace of God has brought Ukraine and all her faithful people to this, the twenty-fourth anniversary of its exodus from the evil empire, its declaration of independence and the enjoyment of the fruits of freedom, righteousness and equality.
Today, our ancestral homeland faces another almost incredible challenge to this independence through the invasion of terroristic forces sponsored and supported, as the whole world knows, by the neighbour that simply cannot accept the loss of its illegal and illogical domination a nation, which has been the most profound example of spiritual, cultural and social life for that neighbour for over a millennium.
The Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops beyond the Borders of Ukraine prayerfully rejoices on this auspicious and significant anniversary and is joined by our clergy and faithful in conveying heartfelt congratulations to our brethren in Ukraine and to those of Ukrainian ancestry dispersed throughout the world at this day’s celebration of the sacred gifts of freedom, independence and sovereignty.
Ukraine has never backed away from the challenges confronting her throughout history. Even during the most difficult of times, when to speak Ukrainian could bring death as attempts were made to annihilate the very idea of a Ukrainian nation, beneath the surface — within the subconscious reality of the people — their identity was alive and preserved, waiting to rise from the ashes like the Phoenix of old to become the nation she is today. Other nations of the world have all experienced the same challenges during the infancy of their independence and have only benefited from lessons learned — and so shall Ukraine.
In commemorating with gratitude to Almighty God such a great and precious gift as independence and sovereignty, we remain convinced that such gifts are, indeed, from God and are beneficial for the nation and her people if fully embraced and responsibly lived by all who are privileged to enjoy them.
Therefore, we call upon the citizens of Ukraine to be vigilant in the pursuit of freedom and to exercise it with a profound sense of responsibility and without abuse.
We call all to a shared vision of a nation in which all have the opportunity to grow and develop in every aspect of their lives by their own hard work, without corruption and greed, which destroy from the inside out.
Mindful of the immense responsibility, which is placed upon those called to govern, we prayerfully commend to Christ, the Way, Truth and Life, through the prayers of His Holy Mother and all the Saints, the Honourable President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, all civil authorities and those who serve in the military.
We remind them that the sacred trust of governing and safeguarding, which they exercise, is from God – the Giver of every good and perfect gift – and is to be exercised so that all the inhabitants of Ukraine might lead a calm and peaceful life in all Godliness and sanctity under the tranquil guidance of those who govern – for which we pray at every Divine Liturgy.
May God-loving and God-protected Ukraine, continue to develop under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
May she ever be that bastion of Faith and Righteousness envisioned by those sainted Fathers and Mothers — many of them martyrs — who journeyed with St. Olha and St. Volodymyr on that path which leads to Christ and the fullness of life.
May she be a land of justice based on a sound and honest legal system.
May she be a home from which her citizens no longer feel the need to flee.
May she be a beacon of light to all the developing nations of the world.
For our God-loving and God-protected Ukraine, her government, armed forces and all her people, we pray to the Lord.
With prayers and hierarchical blessings,
† YURIJ, Metropolitan
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† ANTONY, Metropolitan
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
Locum Tenens of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Diaspora
† IOAN, Archbishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Diaspora
† JEREMIAH, Archbishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Brazil and South America
† ILARION, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† ANDRIY, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† DANIEL, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
Archpastoral Visitation • Hierarchical Liturgy — St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral Parish: Sunday, July 26th, 2015
My Son, the first degree of the Priesthood is that of Reader. Therefore it is fitting for you to read every day in the Divine Scriptures, that they that hear, beholding you, may receive edification, and that you, in no way putting to shame your election, may prepare yourself for a higher degree. For by living your life temperately, in holiness and uprightness, you shall gain the mercy of God, the Lover of Mankind, and be counted worthy of a higher ministry: in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.
[ From the Office for the Appointment of a Reader and Singer ]
Sunday, July 26th, 2015 — Hierarchical Liturgy together with the Cheirothesia (rites of making a Reader and Subdeacon), the Sunday before the Feast Day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Great Prince Volodymyr — Ukrainian Orthodox Chapel of All Saints of Ukrainian Lands, Oakville, Ontario.
UOCC Eastern Eparchy Family Celebration: The Divine Liturgy with the Office at the Ordination of a Presbyter and the Order of the Lesser Sanctification of Water — June 14, 2015
Chapel of All Saints of Ukrainian Lands, Oakville, Ontario — June 14, 2015.
Photographs by Jerry Hluchaniuk.
Let us enter into His tabernacles; Let us worship at the place where His feet stood. Arise, O Lord, into Your rest, You and the ark of Your holiness; Your priests shall clothe themselves in righteousness; Your saints shall greatly rejoice.
“Blessing, I shall bless her provision; I shall satisfy her poor with bread; And I shall clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall rejoice exceedingly with great joy.”
[ Psalm 131: 7-9; 15-16 ]
$5.00 Perogy Lunch: Wednesday, July 1st, 2015, St. George’s UOC, St. Catharines ON
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. George
8 Augusta Ave.
St. Catharines, ON L2M 5R2Parish Hall: (905) 397-8340
Archpastoral Visitation of His Grace, Andriy, Bishop of the Eastern Eparchy of the UOCC to Holy Trinity Parish in London, Ontario
On May 31st, our Orthodox Church celebrated a great feast in the history of humankind — the Feast of the Holy Trinity. On this same day, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity — the Holy Spirit — opened itself to man. On the fiftieth day after Christ’s Resurrection, at the Saviour’s instructions, all the Apostles, the Theotokos and other disciples of Christ gathered in Jerusalem. Suddenly came a rushing sound from heaven, resembling that of a storm, filling the whole building. The Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire. When the Apostles emerged from the upper room, people who had come to Jerusalem for the feast, heard each their own language from the lips of the Apostles. The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles was the beginning of preaching the Gospel of Christ through all the nations of the earth. That is why the Feast of the Holy Spirit is often accepted as the birth of Christ’s Church on earth.
It was on this same festal day that His Grace, Andriy — Bishop of the Eastern Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, made an Archpastoral visitation to Holy Trinity parish in London, Ontario. Head of the parish council, Mrs. Vera Olynyk, together with the congregation joyfully greeted the ruling Bishop with bread, salt, and also with warm words of greeting. Parish Priest, Very Rev. Archpriest Vasyl’ Fediv welcomed Bishop Andriy into the temple. Bishop Andriy thanked him for the greetings and said that it was with profound joy that he arrived in our parish on the parish’s feast day.
The Holy Divine Liturgy was led by Bishop Andriy. At the Liturgy — the parish choir, under the direction of Mrs. Oksana Metulynsky, sang uplifting hymns with extraordinary and prayerful enthusiasm; the Apostol was read in Ukrainian by Professor Viktor Venhrzhanovsky and in English by Michael Drul. Near the end of the service, His Grace Bishop Andriy turned to the faithful with an archpastoral homily on the Acts of Grace of the Holy Spirit. Also on this day, a number of parishioners were honoured to accept Holy Communion. The Divine Liturgy ended as according to the ustav — with the Mnohaya Lita.
After Liturgy, a communal lunch, with everything prepared through the efforts of our sincere parishioners, was held in the church hall. Bishop Andriy warmly and movingly greeted all present with the feast of the temple and the Feast of the Holy Spirit. During the celebratory lunch, greetings were presented His Grace by the following:
• President of Holy Trinity Parish, Mrs. Vera Olynyk,
• Parish Vice-President, Mr. Ivan Danylchenko,
• President of the London Branch, Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Mrs. Daria Hrytskiv,
• President of “Golden Years” Mrs. Vera Choma…
…and others.
Also on this great and joyous day, Holy Trinity Parish greeted its long-serving members with beautiful song. The Divine Liturgy served by Bishop Andriy truly became a spiritual celebration for all those fortunate enough to pray this day in Holy Trinity church in London. The joy and uplifted spirits at this meeting with the Bishop of the Eparchy will remain in the memories of parishioners for a time to come. We express our sincere gratitude to Bishop Andriy for his visitation to our parish, his prayer and archpastoral blessings.
— Very Rev. Archpriest Vasyl’ Fediv, Parish Priest, Holy Trinity, London ON
The Office at the Ordination of a Presbyter: Booklet
Axios! Axios! Axios!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
The Office at the Ordination of a Presbyter — a brief, yet vital rite in the life of the Church which will be celebrated together with the Resurrection of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ at the Liturgy this Sunday. As with all Orthodox services, it is liturgy — literally, “the work of the people” — a rite in which the whole Church is called to active participation, so that with one voice, one heart we may declare of one who has answered the call to serve in God’s own vineyard: “Axios! Axios! Axios!” — “He is worthy!”
Eastern Eparchy Eparchial Family Celebrations: Sunday, June 14th
Eastern Eparchy Eparchial Family Celebrations: Sunday, June 14th
On the occasion of the Eparchial Celebration and Feast-day of All Saints of Ukrainian Lands, His Grace, Bishop Andriy invites you to the solemn anniversary celebrations of:
- the 1000th year of the repose of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Kyivan Prince Volodymyr — Baptizer of Rus’-Ukraine
- and the 1000th year of the martyrs’ death and 900th year of the Translation of the relics of the Holy Princes, Borys and Hlib.
Celebration programme:
- 9:30 am – Greeting His Grace, Bishop Andriy
- 10:00 am – Archpastoral Divine Liturgy including the Ordination of Deacon Lubomyr Hluchaniuk into the Priesthood
- 12:00 pm – Lesser Blessing of Water
- 12:30 pm – Lunch/Picnic (bring your own lunch or purchase a Lenten meal from the kitchen)
- 1:30 pm – Afternoon program — discussion of trip to Ecumenical Patriarch and Ukraine
- 3:00 pm – Moleben to All Saints of Ukrainian Lands for peace, ending the war and God’s blessings upon our Motherland, Ukraine
St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre – free admission
1280 Dundas St. W
Oakville, ON
L6M 4H9
For more information, please contact:
- Fr. Walter Makarenko: 416.259.7241 | E-mail: makarenko@rogers.com
- Fr. Bohdan Hladio: 905.433.5577 | E-mail: bhladio@sympatico.ca
- Natalka Olynyk-Kowalenko: 416.787.3010 | E-mail: natalie.olynyk@gmail.com
Lenten Spring: Youth Retreat
The poster boldly proclaimed Lenten Spring. Thirty-six of our children and youth from seven parishes in the Eastern Eparchy came together to pause from the outside world and to gain insight and reflect on Great Lent, our preparation to celebrating the Resurrectional Feast Day, Pascha!
Activities varied with hands-on, singing, interactional and formal presentations. Hands-on experiences included Paska Baking with volunteers from UWAC and Candle-dipping with Alex Tury. Learning to sing a new Ukrainian “Христос Воскрес” was led by Oksana Klinovska.
“Questions and Answers” sessions were hosted by Fr. Bohdan Hladio and Dr. Peter Kondra. Reader Franko Diakowsky presented a fascinating, fact-filled talk on Fasting, Prayer, Confession, the Triodion and much more, giving new information to the participants.
Vespers was served at 5 pm by Fr. Bohdan. The responses were led by Sandy Takacs, Reader Geza Takacs and Reader Mark Schaefer.
A delicious supper was lovingly prepared by UWAC members for all the participants and parents.
The social activities in the evening were skating and paintball. It was a beautiful, thought-provoking but fun-filled time.
- A special thank you to St. Demetrius parish for use of their facilities.
- Photographs by Ron Demeda and Bob Rutkay.
- Poster design by Franko Diakowsky.
- And a big thank you to UWAC volunteers: from Knyahynia Olha branch – Anne Moskaluk and from Sophia Rusova branch – Nadia Chuda, Hazel Dotchison, Olga Kuch, Darcy Moskaluk-Rutkay, Helen Spendick, Ludmila Spivak.
The retreat was organized by the Youth Committee and Youth Chaplain of the Eastern Eparchy of the UOCC.
Submitted by Natalka Olynyk Kowalenko
Paschal Epistle of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops beyond the Borders of Ukraine
To the God-beloved Presbyters, Honourable Monastics, and All Faithful Children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Diaspora and in Ukraine,
“Angels in heaven, O Christ Saviour,
praise your Resurrection with hymns,
make us worthy here on earth
to glorify You
with a pure heart.”
(Paschal Stykhyra)
Rt. Reverend, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
CHRIST IS RISEN!
On this joyful and holy day of the Most-glorious and Divine Resurrection of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, we extend most heartfelt greetings to all you Orthodox Christians with the feast of the Lord’s Pascha! The magnificent feast of the Resurrection of Christ calls all of us to consider again the eternal treasures of Christian teaching and offers a golden opportunity to fill our hearts with goodness and love for God and neighbour. The Resurrection of Christ unites us all through faith in the victory of light over darkness, goodness over evil and life over death. The Holy Apostle James reminds us that “as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (Jam 2:26) And so, on these joyful days of Pascha, we should endeavour with especial diligence to prayerfully alleviate the suffering of those oppressed by sorrow, encourage the downcast, perform acts of mercy, love and compassion, and help those in need, who are waiting for us to offer our aid.
Every person, and perhaps even whole nations, experience in their lives various hardships, derision, suffering and at such times often talk about the victory of evil over good. How many times in our own lives have we ourselves fallen into despair? And so, in order to avoid disenchantment and discouragement, we must remember that evil and untruth are overcome and conquered through the Resurrection of Christ. With faith in the Risen Christ many generations of Christians have finished their earthly journey, accomplished their ascetic struggle of fasting and prayer, patiently endured suffering and sorrow and accepted death, firmly believing in the coming resurrection and eternal life with Christ. St. John Chrysostom stated,
“Today people have joined together with the angels, and, clothed in flesh, together with the bodiless powers now offer hymns. Today the dominion of the devil is destroyed, today the bonds of death are broken, the victory of evil and hell is overcome. By His Resurrection Christ has opened to us the path to salvation”.
The Pascha of Christ has especially great meaning for every Ukrainian this year. We all believe and pray that the Resurrected Christ will assist our Ukrainian people and our homeland of Ukraine to be victorious over her enemy and overcome all difficulties and obstacles which our people are facing. We know that Christ the Saviour also experienced a Golgotha, after which came the Resurrection. These words give hope to our Ukrainian nation that we will be vouchsafed exceptional joy, peace, and unity following the cruel war and enmity. Our faith would not exist without the Resurrection of Christ. There would be no eternal life and without faith. Consequently, our purpose and essence of our spirituality is our belief in the Risen Christ. The Resurrection of Christ has become the heart and foundation of Christianity. The Holy Church prayerfully calls upon heaven and earth in celebration of this divine joy:
“Let the heavens worthily rejoice, and let the earth be glad. Let the whole world, both visible and invisible, keep the feast; for Christ, our Eternal Joy, is Risen” (Tropar of the 1st Ode of the Paschal Canon).
May this bright Paschal joy encourage us once again to offer our thanks to the Lord for His great and limitless love for us!
How should Christians respond to this Divine Love and sacrifice for us sinners? We should orient our whole life towards gratitude to God, to the fulfilling of His Сommandments and to learning how to love one another as God has loved us. The path to realizing this goal has been revealed to us by the power of the Resurrection of Christ.
Following the Resurrection, the Lord appeared to the Apostles and greeted them with the words “Peace be unto you.” After hearing Christ’s words, the Apostles felt this peace in their hearts and they felt joy and the Peace of God instead of fear. Today, the words “Peace be unto you” are very important and relevant for the Ukrainian people. The Peace which is brought by Christ is also the Peace between nations and people.
In celebrating the Pascha of Christ, we should remember that the world today has many conflicts and injustices which give rise to resistance and opposition. We are not lacking in this respect. And so, may the greeting of Christ the Saviour – “Peace be unto you” – resound throughout the world, especially in our Ukraine. For our part, let us also hear the voice of the Resurrected Christ for only sincere and patient love brings us the gift of this long-awaited Peace.
During these joyful spring days, the hopes and expectations of the people for a better future awaken along with the blossoming earth. Therefore, let us strive to increase our good deeds and positive thoughts, which will contribute to the renewal and unity of our Ukrainian nation.
On the occasion of these festal Paschal days, we again extend our most heartfelt greetings to the clergy, deaconate, and monastics of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Diaspora, to our youth and children, to all the pious Ukrainian Orthodox people in Ukraine and in the Diaspora, and especially to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine who are experiencing various kinds of difficulties and tribulations defending their homeland.
We believe and pray that a unified Orthodox Church will be established in Ukraine with the Lord’s help. Only under the conditions of spiritual unity will the Ukrainian people achieve a united nation. A strong Ukrainian society cannot exist without spiritual unity. Thus, may peace, love, and unity always be among us! On this joyous day of the Glorious Resurrection of Christ, let us forgive one another all insults and offenses, embrace each other and joyfully sing:
“Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!”
Truly, Christ is Risen!
With Archpastoral Blessings,
† YURIJ, Metropolitan
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† ANTONY, Metropolitan
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
Locum Tenens of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Diaspora
† IOAN, Archbishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Diaspora
† JEREMIAH, Archbishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Brazil and South America
† ILARION, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† ANDRIY, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
† DANIEL, Bishop
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA