Essays on Orthodox Christianity and Church History
Christian Philosophy in the Patristic and Byzantine Tradition
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I.
Beginnings
Our Ukrainian settlers began immigrating to Canada at the end of
the 19th century. At that time, most of them came from the province of
Halychyna (Galicia) and, consequently, most of them were Greek-Catholics.
A significantly smaller group immigrated from the province of Bukovyna,
and these settlers were Orthodox.
The politics of the local Roman Catholic hierarchy during this
time were focused on the assimilation of the newly-arrived Greek-Catholic
population. The Orthodox Bukovynians, on the other hand, were being tended
by the so-called "Russian Mission" which had arrived on Canadian
soil via Alaska. (The Russian Church also was not very well disposed towards
things Ukrainian.).
To deal with this predicament, the more enlightened leadership
of the Ukrainian settlers—both Halychanian and Bukovynian—made
a decision to seek a positive solution; they concluded that it was time
to organize their own Church, one that would reflect both the character
and the spiritual needs and realities of the Ukrainian people.
And so it happened—during the summer of 1918, in the heart
of the Canadian prairies in the city of Saskatoon, a Narodny Z'izd (National
Convention) was convened, at which the decision was made to form the "Ukrainian
Greek-Orthodox Church of Canada." An interesting occurrence here
was the recognition by convention participants that there can be no Church
without a Bishop. They came to this realization despite the fact there
were no theologians present at this gathering. Therefore, as a first step,
the Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Brotherhood of Canada was organized, and
entrusted with the mandate to find an Orthodox Bishop for the newly-formed
Church.
In this case, it was Archbishop Alexander (Nemelovsky) who, at
the time, headed the Russian Orthodox Mission. Archbishop Alexander, a
Ukrainian by origin, agreed to canonically lead this newly-formed body—the
Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Church of Canada. However, a short time later
he changed his mind under the pressure of his superiors in St. Petersburg,
Russia—likely due to purely political motives.
Therefore, the Brotherhood, was left to search for another Bishop
to lead their Church. They found him in the person of Antiochian Metropolitan
Germanos (Shahedi). So it was that, at her inception, the Ukrainian Greek-
Orthodox Church of Canada found herself under the canonical omophorion
of the Antiochian Patriarchate.
The situation would change during the mid-1920's when Archbishop
Ioan (Teodorovych) arrived in America from Ukraine. Learning of the presence
in the U.S.A. of a bishop-compatriot, the Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Church
of Canada appealed to Archbishop Ioan to head their fledgling Church.
He agreed and, subsequently, Metropolitan Germanos agreed to relinquish
this position. Due to the fact that the Archbishop continued to reside
in the United States, the leadership of Archbishop Ioan was more "symbolic,"
than actual.
In practical terms, the new Church was administered by the Consistory,
composed of both clergy and laity, and headed by Fr. Semen Sawchuk, who
held the position of Administrator or Vicar General. In other words, he
was the one in charge in absence of a bishop. And so, in the absence of
Archbishop Ioan, a peculiar method of administration took shape in the
Canadian Church, in which the laity—considering their numerical majority,
became de facto the decision-makers in the Church. In other words, for
all intents and purposes, they actually ran the Church themselves. Eventually,
this led to a series of conflicts between the "Presiding Bishop"
and the "Presiding Consistory" (heavily influenced by laity).
Due to these sorts of conflicts, Vladyka Ioan subsequently decided to
leave the Canadian Church.
With the end of the Second World War came another—third—wave,
of immigration into Canada. The Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Church of Canada
began anew a process to secure her own Bishop. Bishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk)
agreed to move to Canada to take on this responsibility. He became the
first Bishop to carry the title "Archbishop of Winnipeg and all Canada."
Unfortunately, due to a same types of conflict between the Consistory
and the Bishop he did not remain in Canada long. After just three years,
Vladyka Mstyslav left the Canadian Church and moved to the United States.
However brief his stay, he nevertheless infused a renewed spiritual atmosphere
into the life of our Canadian Church and was a catalyst for the subsequent
hierarchical re-organization of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.
Archbishop Mstyslav's uncompromising stand on the proper interpretation
of conciliarity and the role of hierarchy in the Church set the foundation
for his successor: Metropolitan Ilarion (Ohienko).
II.
Formation of a Metropolia
A new era in the history of the Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Church
of Canada began with the arrival of Metropolitan Ilarion (1951). Our Church
became a Metropolia, composed of three dioceses: the Central Diocese,
with headquarters in Winnipeg and presided by the Metropolitan Ilarion
himself; the Eastern Diocese, headquartered in Toronto and headed by Archbishop
Michael (Khoroshy); and, eventually, the Western Diocese, headquartered
in Edmonton, and led by Bishop Andrew (Metiuk).
The second half of the 1950's and the first half of the 1960's
were the apex of growth and development of the Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox
Church of Canada. During this time, the Church was enriched with the addition
of two more bishops: Andrew (Metiuk -1959), mentioned above, who later
became Metropolitan, and Boris (Yakovkevych-1963), who was first the Bishop
of Saskatoon, Vicar of the Central Diocese and, in the 1970's, Bishop
of Edmonton.
It is fitting to expand upon the times and work of Metropolitan
Ilarion because, in truth, he was an exceptional person within the context
of the history and development of our Ukrainian Canadian Church. God sent
him to our Church at exactly the right time—when it was crucial to
continue and build upon the work initiated by Archbishop Mstyslav.
After agreeing to become "Metropolitan of Winnipeg and All
Canada", Vladyka Ilarion painstakingly and methodically visited each
and every corner of this vast country. In every location lectures were
given, sermons were preached, lessons were taught. His (as he, himself,
referred to them) "Canonical Visitations" were always well thought-out
and carefully prepared. Each visit had its own purpose and goal. Thus,
in a relatively short time, he became acquainted with every priest, every
parish and their individual needs and potential.
Metropolitan Ilarion, as an archpastor, dedicated special attention
to canonical order and liturgical practices. He wrote, spoke, preached
and taught about these matters constantly. As an educator of "the
old cloth," his hallmark was his universal interest and encyclopedic
knowledge. Witness to this are his works covering linguistics, history,
religion, and culture. As the Dean of the Theological Academy (as he referred
to the Faculty of Theology of St. Andrew's College) and as one of its
professors, Vladyka Ilarion trained a whole generation of dedicated pastors—worthy
successors to the pioneer priests.
Metropolitan Ilarion,—an internationally recognized academic,
talented teacher, untiring publisher and caring archpastor—truly
was a pillar of Orthodoxy in Canada. For Canadians, he was a contemporary
Petro Mohyla. His authority, knowledge, archpastoral care, canonical discipline
and liturgical order raised our Church to a higher level of esteem and
recognition. This was, indeed, the "golden age" of the history
of the UGOCC.
After two decades of dedicated archpastoral work, Metropolitan
Ilarion, of Blessed Memory, fell asleep in the Lord on 26 March 1972.
His passing resulted in deep feelings of great loss. For a short period
of time, the primacy of our Church was passed on to Archbishop-Metropolitan
Michael (Koroshy) of Toronto. At the Sobor (All Canadian Church Council)
of 1975, Archbishop Andrew (Metiuk) was elected to the position of Primate.
A student and close co-worker of Metropolitan Ilarion, Metropolitan Andrew
was Primate of the Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Church of Canada for ten years
(1975-1985). He put the Church back on her foundations after the loss
of Vladyka Ilarion, whose death had left a large void and caused some
decline. On a personal level, Metropolitan Andrew was kind, agreeable
and pastorally inclined. During his service as Metropolitan, three new
bishops were consecrated. In 1975 Nicholas (Debryn), was consecrated and
in time replaced Metropolitan Michael of Toronto (after his repose in
1977). Unfortunately, Bishop Nicholas was with us for just a brief time
himself (he fell asleep in the Lord in 1981). In 1978 Wasyly (Fedak),
and in 1983 John (Stinka) were consecrated.
After the death of Metropolitan Andrew in 1985, Vladyka Wasyly
was elected Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. Following
the passing of Archbishop Boris in 1984, Bishop John was assigned to the
Western Diocese. To add to our Synod of Bishops, in 1989 Metropolitan
Wasyly consecrated, Yurij (Kalistchuk), who—after a short period
of serving as Auxiliary Bishop in Saskatoon—became Bishop of Toronto.
Thus, once again, the Church had a complete Synod or Council of Bishops.
III.
A New Era
The privilege of leading our Church's joyous celebrations of the
Millennium of the Baptism of Rus'-Ukraine (988-1988) into the Holy Orthodox
Faith fell to Metropolitan WASYLY. Related to these celebrations were
numerous projects commemorating this event in a variety of ways. The greatest
of these, however, undoubtedly was the normalization of relations of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada * with World Orthodoxy. [* The name
of our Church—without the word "Greek"— was officially
changed in 1985 and ratified by an amendment to our Charter in 1990].
Canonical recognition of our Church by the World's Orthodox Family
of Churches had been a dream of each of our Primates—beginning with
IOAN (Teodorovych) up until, and including, ANDREW (Metiuk). This issue
was an especially significant concern for Metropolitan ILARION (Ohienko).
Through his lectures about the History of the Ukrainian Church, Pastoral
Theology and Canon Law, Vladyka ILARION prepared us for this moment. His
constant challenge to us, as future pastors, was: "My sons! Develop
within yourselves a priestly conscience and a canonical mindset."
"In the Church,"—he emphasized— "issues
must be resolved in a churchly fashion—without partisan interference
or political meddling—and on the basis of Holy Canons and long-standing
Sacred Tradition."
Thus, we were all educated in this spirit, but the task of resolving
the issue fell—by God's Providence—on the shoulders of Metropolitan
WASYLY.
Though the process of canonical maturing of the UOCC was, as mentioned
above, lengthy and gradual, the celebrations of the Millennium of Christianity
in Ukraine formed a much anticipated catalyst to complete the work of
our fathers. After almost three years of intense consideration and work,
and, concurrently, an extensive discussion of this question at two Sobors
(the Extraordinary Sobor of 1989 and the XVIII Sobor in 1990) the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church of Canada entered into the fold of her historical Mother
Church—the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople—and through
it joined the ranks of canonical World Orthodoxy.
Thus, as in 1929 when, through an Act of Parliament and the Federal
Charter our Church became a recognized Canadian institution, so in 1990,
through the Patriarchal Decree, our Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
became a recognized, canonical Church. Truly, the dreams of generations
of our Faithful were fulfilled.
The Patriarchal Decree confirmed that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
of Canada—having been accepted under the spiritual care of the "Holy
Apostolic and Ecumenical Patriarchal Throne…" continues to retain
its internal and organizational structure without any change." In
other words, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada remains a self-governing
Metropolia, composed of three eparchies (or dioceses), with our own, specific
administration (Statute and By-Laws) and internal independence, "as
a distinct Church body in a distinct and sovereign nation" (Decision
of the XVIII Sobor, 1990), as accorded in its Charter, which is an Act
of the Canadian Parliament.
Each of our bishops shall continue to carry "the title of
the city and the diocese [eparchy] in which he lives and administers,"
i.e., "Archbishop of Winnipeg and the Central Eparchy…the Bishop
of Toronto and the Eastern Eparchy… the Bishop of Edmonton and the
Western Eparchy…" In the Decree there is also a provision for
three additional, auxiliary bishops: in Saskatoon—Vicar of the Central
Diocese; in Montreal—Vicar of the Eastern Diocese; in Vancouver—
Vicar of the Western Diocese.
The "Archbishop of Winnipeg and the Central Eparchy [Diocese]"
is, at the same time, the "Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
of Canada", i.e., the Metropolitan of All Canada. All bishops, priests
and deacons commemorate the Metropolitan; the Metropolitan, as Primate
of the Church, commemorates the Patriarch.
The Metropolitan communicates directly with the Ecumenical Patriarch,
in other words, he is not required to do it through the local Exarch.
He consults the Patriarch on important matters of canonical or dogmatical
nature only. All other issues are dealt with locally, according to our
own Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Statute and By-Laws.
The Decree also refers to the procedure for electing a new Bishop
or Metropolitan. First, this is discussed at a meeting of our Synod of
Bishops. Then —via the Consistory—it is presented to an All-Canadian
Sobor (as had been done in the past). Following the deliberations of the
Sobor, the name (or names) of the candidate (or candidates) is sent to
Constantinople for a blessing from the Patriarchal See. The Patriarch
has the privilege, as well, of blessing the calling of a Sobor of our
Church and confirming its decisions.
The current canonical status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of
Canada reminds us of ancient times—the first 700 years of the existence
of the Church in Rus'-Ukraine—when the Kyivan Metropolia was under
the protection or "omophorion" of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
of Constantinople, i.e., before the time of its annexation by Moscow.
IV.
Entering the 21st Century
What about the future? Unfortunately, no one knows the future.
Our future is in God's hands—"Thy will be done." Nevertheless,
much is dependent on us as well—on our synergy, our cooperation with
the will of God. As we stand on the threshold of the New Millennium, we
realize that: "The harvest, is truly plentiful, but the labourers
are few…" [Matt. 9:37]. There lie many tasks before us which
we—with God's help—must undertake; many challenges and issues
for which we must find solutions. In the creative and enlightened solutions
to our present-day challenges lies our future as a viable Church in Canada.
As we contemplate our future, let us remember that life does not
stand still: events continue to unfold, circumstances change beyond our
control. To avoid the fate of dinosaurs, it is imperative that we remain
open to change and renewal. It is also important to remember that each
generation approaches and solves its problems in its own fashion. Our
task, therefore, as leaders and spiritual parents, is not so much to make
decisions for them regarding their future, as it is to prepare our future
generation to make those decisions competently, knowledgeably and responsibly.
Our task is to prepare the way so that they themselves—our youth,
our future—will be equipped to find solutions to the problems that
will arise before them intelligently and with good judgment.
For the present time, there is still a great deal to be done, much
of which requires our immediate attention. Our future depends on how well
we deal with the many challenges that are before us. One of these is the
urgent need for better religious education and for the spiritual formation
of our membership. Too many of our Faithful lack the basic knowledge about
Orthodoxy, about our Church and her doctrine, i.e., her teachings. This
is especially evident in the misunderstandings which occur from time to
time within our congregations, and in the ensuing polemics and criticisms
that result from this. Polemics and criticism are of value only if the
person who indulges in them knows what he (or she) is talking about. In
order to criticize or polemicize, one must have proper, factual knowledge
of our Church—its History, Theology, Canon Law, and so on.
As we begin this new century, we should start with the proper and
necessary foundation of a spiritually formed membership. We must give
high priority to Christian Education and spiritual formation—for
adults, as well as for our children and youth. An appropriate Orthodox
Christian catechisation of our membership—on all levels—is "sine
qua non"— priority number one. Without it there can be no growth
of our Church.
Second, we must focus our attention on our local Community or Congregation.
We must all work together to develop a closer relationship with it. This
is an especially important task because any further development of our
Church depends upon a strong base of spiritually vital, active and viable
parishes. This aspect of our religious community—which also includes
the systematic establishment and development of new congregations—has
not been dealt with seriously. As we enter the 21st Century, we must focus
our efforts and energies on the parish—the local "hromada"—its
needs, its everyday life and its dynamics. It is, after all, the most
important basic component of the Body of Christ we call the Church. If
we do not take care of this basic component, how can we expect the rest
of the body to function? Our Church can be only as strong as her parishes.
We need to renew and update older congregations and establish new
communities of Faithful. We should not fear new methods of ministering,
organizing, teaching and evangelizing to aid in fostering and developing
the membership of our "hromadas". Informed and participating
parish life is the key to our future. In order to accomplish this, however,
we need a broader vision, a more serious and focused approach to the issues
of our times, and planning for our future.
We cannot simply repeat the past. Yes—we should always respect,
give credit to, and learn from life's lessons of the past. However, now
we must expand our mission beyond our present and immediate membership
and look to the community at large. Our Church's future survival requires
that we focus on meeting the spiritual needs of the larger community,
not just on ministering to our current, declining Church membership. We
must bring back into our Church family those who have left it, as well
as opening our doors to those who are seeking the Truth, who want to join
our Church. In other words, we must recapture, as our primary focus, the
spiritual mission of the Church. It is with this approach that we can
count on the renewal and strengthening of our existing congregations and
the formation of new ones—the next, crucial step in the development
and growth of our Church.
Third, we must facilitate the proper preparation and training of
our Church leadership. Our present leadership is aging and for obvious
reasons there is a crucial need to find and cultivate their successors.
In all of life's activities there is always a need for fresh ideas and
re-charged energies. As we enter the New Millennium, our Church must seriously
dedicate herself to replenishing her leadership ranks.
We need vibrant, well-educated, thoroughly theologically prepared
bishops, priests and laity (Orthodox in practice and in spirit, and aware
of our underlying Ukrainian tradition—which is such an important
component of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church).
As time passes, this aspect will become increasingly more acute.
Already, each of our parishes is requesting a Canadian-educated, bilingual,
young, pastor. Where do we find him? In order to prepare qualified cadres
of priests, we need qualified candidates. Whose job is it to find, encourage
and support these individuals? Is it not the responsibility of each and
every one of us, of each and every congregation and of each individual
member? Why, then, do we view this as the sole responsibility of the Consistory
or of St. Andrew's College? This needs to be a joint effort—it relates
to us all!
Until each one of us realizes that this is the personal and communal
responsibility of every member, every one of us, our Church will not be
free of this crisis. We must stop "passing the buck", and accept
our responsibility.
To have candidates, of course, we must have appropriate conditions
for their service. Bishops, priests and laity must understand their proper
roles and function. We must find a workable balance between "hierarchy"
and "conciliarity", because the Orthodox Church is both hierarchical
and conciliar. This demands openness and participation. Do these conditions
exist in your community and in our Church as a whole?
The fourth challenge facing us is the need for an honest assessment
of our membership and the social realities of the Canadian scene. This
means a reassessment of our basic assumptions about our identity, and
about our role and place within Canadian society. As a people, we have
a 100-year history in this God-protected country, our new homeland. We
are now in our fifth generation of Canadian citizens. In other words,
we are not temporary residents; we are not someone's "diaspora",
but we are Canadians first and foremost.
It is not surprising, that our current emotional ties with the
"old country" are not as deep as in previous generations. There
is nothing strange or abnormal about this. However, this does not mean,
that we do not love that which is "ours", nor that we no longer
respect our elderly, nor that the fate of our ancestral homeland no longer
concerns us, or even that we do not want to assist Ukraine in some way.
These concerns for the homeland of our forefathers and our desire to maintain
and treasure our heritage should be cultivated. However, for the fourth
or fifth generation of Ukrainian Canadians, Ukraine is no longer their
"homeland" as it was for their grandparents.
Furthermore, Ukraine is no longer that "fairy tale land"
about which we heard from our grandparents and dreamed about… Today's
Ukraine is not a fairy tale dream, but often a bitter reality. It is a
modern nation with modern economic, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, social,
religious, moral and other problems. These problems, however, cannot be
solved by anyone other than the citizens of Ukraine themselves, just as
our Canadian problems cannot be resolved by anyone else but by us, Canadians,
in our Canadian manner, according to our own needs and our own means.
Our heritage in Canada—and that also means our identity—is closely
related to our Church, our Ukrainian-Canadian customs and traditions.
It can be preserved only within the framework of a larger commitment to
Orthodoxy, i.e., to the Orthodox Christian Faith and Church.
And finally, the last challenge—but certainly not the least—is
our relationship with Ukraine. Though we are Canadians, we are, nevertheless,
Canadians of Ukrainian heritage. We must find a helpful and constructive
way to interact with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, with whom we
are united by blood, culture and Faith. We must do so without interfering
in their internal politics and, at the same time, we must always be mindful
of proper ecclesiastical protocol. Our present canonical status is a great
asset and it could be of great service, providing that, of course, we
remain true to our objectives as a Church and do not start watering down
the principles for which we stand.
In other words, we must not allow our "canonicity" to
deteriorate into "Phariseism." Our Church is an autonomous and
distinct entity within the Ecumenical Patriarchate. We are directly under
the "omophorion"—the protection or umbrella—of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople, yet we remain self-governing internally,
according to the precepts of Orthodox Canon Law. We chose to associate
ourselves with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for therein
lie our spiritual roots, our past, our tradition.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada began as a "Greek-Orthodox
Church". Why? Because every Ukrainian who knows his past gravitates
naturally towards his Church's historical center—Constantinople.
And it is on this basis that we cannot agree with the current dependence
of the Kyivan Church upon Moscow, for this is both a historical anachronism
(Kyiv was well-established before Moscow ever existed) and a very painful
reminder of the misfortunate history of our people. Furthermore, it is
an unpleasant "leftover" of the previous colonial regime. This
is unacceptable to us, as it is to any Ukrainian who values his/her people
and their history.
We, of course, do not wish to belittle anyone or judge anyone,
for even in the so-called Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate
there is a certain diversity—while there is still a lot from the
past colonial times, there is also much that is Ukrainian.
The essence for us is the crucial, underlying principle that an
independent Kyiv—free from the shackles of Moscow, must have its
own, independent, canonical Kyivan Church—free from the same control
and intrusions of Moscow. On this principle, we cannot be neutral.
Thus, we must, by every means possible, help our Brothers and Sisters
cast off the last remaining vestiges of past colonialism, once and for
all! We should use our status, as a canonical Church recognized on the
world forum of Orthodoxy, to inform the Orthodox World of the historical
facts and to promote the canonical independence of the Kyivan Church from
Moscow's control.
This, then, is a brief overview of our past, present, and the possibilities
for the future of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. In following
the directives of the XIX Sobor, during these past four years our attention
has been focused on putting our financial affairs on a positive track
and putting our own "house in order." Much time and energy has
been devoted to solving financial and administrative challenges problems.
Now it is time to re-focus and turn our attention to those other
matters which are essential for our further growth and development in
the 21st Century. First and foremost we must focus on our Church's missionary
work. Remember, we are here to serve—not to be served.
And while doing so, let us remember that life does not stand still…
We cannot assume a static attitude but must be dynamic and flexible. We
cannot bury our heads in the sand like ostriches, while life passes by.
Let us act, not just react, let us create—not destroy. Do not simply
criticize—let us energize, for a positive, spiritually uplifting
and renewed commitment to the future of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
of Canada.
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