St. Volodymyr's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral (Toronto, Ontario)
The majority of the first Ukrainian immigrants to Canada were Eastern Rite believers, with only a small fraction belonging to the Eastern Orthodox faith. This changed with later waves of immigration that saw more people coming from the Orthodox east. The first Ukrainian Orthodox Divine Liturgy in Toronto was celebrated in 1926.1 For several years the church members met in rented halls and in churches of other denominations. The land on Bathurst was purchased in 1935, work on the church building began in 1946, and it was completed two years later. St. Volodymyr's became a cathedral in 1951 with the coming of its first bishop.
St. Volodymyr's architecture is in the standard Byzantine style used throughout Ukraine.
Bishops
The bishops who have had their cathedral seat in Toronto include:
- His Beatitude, Metropolitan Michael, served 1951-1977;
- His Eminence, Archbishop Mykola (Nicholas), 1977-1981;
- His Beatitude, Metropolitan Wasyly, 1981-1985 (actually resided in Winnipeg due to the ailing health of His Beatitude Metropolitan Andrew);
- His Eminence, Archbishop Yurij, current bishop (1995-present). (Abp. Yurij lives and serves Toronto and the East but remains bishop of Saskatoon in name due to the Greek Metropolis (also united with Constantinople) having their headquarters in Toronto. The issue has yet to be fixed.).
Source
External links
- 1 "The Ukrainian Community in Toronto from World War One to 1971" by Andrew Gregorovich. From: Polyphony, Summer 1984, pp. 123-126. © 1984 Multicultural History Society of Ontario
- Listing at the site of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
- "The Eastern Eparchy of the UOCC: (A Brief Historical Outline)" by Fr. Tymofiy Minenko
- A History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada, with the dates of the above bishops
