His Beatitude Sviatoslav in Canada visited the parish of St .Eliahs the Prophet which During Holy Week lost its church due to a fire

Saturday, 10 May 2014, 15:00

May 5, 2014, the Father and Head of UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, visited the parish of St. Elias in Brampton, Ontario (Canada). Here the Head of the Church led a Moleben (prayer service). The service was held in a tent next to the totally burned down parish church.

See also:

Ukrainian Eparch of Edmonton: Pope's Canada visit 'chance to build brighter future'
Appeal of His Beatitude Sviatoslav to the Sons and Daughters of the Ukrainian People in Ukraine and Abroad, and to all People of Good Will
His Beatitude Sviatoslav congratulated Sisters of the Incarnate Word Order with on holding Cathedral Chapter

Concelebrants were Bishop Stefan (Khmiliar), Bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada, and numerous clergy.

We remind our readers that recently a fire destroyed the Church of St. Elliah, built in 1995. The church was built from wood according to the native Boyko style. According to the words of Rev. Roman Galadza, the pastor, the church in its style and architecture reminded them all of Ukraine. The parishioners present felt that the visit of the Patriarch was a big support for the community which is mourning the loss of their church – their home of prayer. “And although there is both pain and sadness because of the loss of the church and everything that was inside, the attendees of the parish happily prayed with the Head of their Church. “We prayed with a great hope that after the Passion comes the Resurrection, so also in the life of this community a great sorrow will be transformed into great joy,” noted the parishioners. In his greeting to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Rev. Roman Galadza said “The building burned down, but the Church has remained.” He stressed that today the congregation is even stronger, more family-like, and more spiritually mature, full of hope in God, “who according to the words of St. Paul, shows His strength in human weakness.”

In conclusion, His Beatitude Sviatoslav in talking to those present , underlined that a similar thing occurred in Ukraine where recently the church of the monastery of the Studite monks in Yaremche completely burned down. The Church Prelate presented the parish with an Antimins containing the relics of Blessed Martyr Mykola (Charnetskyi). An Antimins is a blessed cloth which has a piece of a relic of a saint sewn into it. It is placed on the main altar of the Church. It is on this cloth that during the Divine Liturgy, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist Sacrament.

UGCC Department of Information