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ePoshta | 13May2012 | Will Zuzak
http://www.eposhta.com/newsmagazine/ePOSHTA_120513_CanadaUS.html#mb1
Death of the Ukrainian
Greek Orthodox Church of Canada
As a child growing up on a farm in central Saskatchewan in the 1940s,
my religious perceptions developed via monthly church attendance at the
villages of Yellow Creek and Tarnopol. Later, this was reinforced by my
older cousin Stefan Zuzak -- a survivor of German prisons,
concentration camps and death marches -- who fulfilled his promise to
God that, if he were to survive, he would serve Him as a priest. His
brother spent many years in the Siberian Gulags following WWII. Still
later, as a resident of the Petro Mohyla Institute, I was inspired by
the stories of the creation of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of
Canada (UGOCC) by the triple S -- Sawchuk, Stechyshyn, Swystun -- later
cemented by the inspiring intellect of Metropolitan Ohienko.
The
overriding concerns of both the creators and members of the UGOCC were
the preservation and nourishment of the Ukrainian soul -- the language
and the culture. The perception was that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church -- with its non-Ukrainian clergy and hierarchy -- was not
particularly interested in the Ukrainian soul. The name "Greek
Orthodox" in lieu of "Greek Catholic" emphasized that although they
were offspring of Greek Catholic parents they were returning to their
ancestral pre-1596 "Ukrainian" Orthodox faith. It was clearly
understood that the church buildings and property belonged to members
of the parish and not to the church hierarchy. No one would have
tolerated
interference in church affairs by people from outside Canada. And no
one even thought about canonicity.
If the Ukrainian Greek
Orthodox Church of Canada and its clergy were/are not canonical, does
this imply that I am not a Christian? I am now officially a heathen? I
fully agree with Bishop
Paul Peter Jesep when he states: “Canonical
status is about politics. It’s about power. It has
nothing to do with God, faith, or loving more and judging less to make
a better world."
That
is why the latest kerfuffle with Patriarch Filaret and the order of
Patriarch Bartholomew via Metropolitan Yurij Kalistchuk [19Apr2012] for
my
religious representatives to boycott all functions in the
vicinity of Patriarch Filaret is so painful to me and to so
many
other Ukrainians. An outsider is dictating what we must do in Canada.
An outsider and/or Metropolitan Yurij are laying claim to my parish
property. The canonicity canard is threatening my
Christianity. My clergy refuses to pray for the soul of my
relatives and the UPA. They refuse to represent me in
Parliament when Andrei Sheptytsky is honoured.
The
souls of the founders of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada,
including the souls of my parents, are not resting easy today.
Respectfully submitted,
Will Zuzak; 2012.04.30