Our History

Blessed Bishop Nykyta (Budka) was the first Ukrainian Catholic bishop to open and bless churches and missions on present territory of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada. Bishop Nykyta was born on June 7, 1877 in Dobromirka, then part of the Austro-Hungary, now Ukraine. He was ordained as a priest on October 25, 1905 by Metropolitan Andrey (Sheptytsky). On July 15, 1912 Budka was appointed titular Bishop of Patara of Lycea and Apostolic Exarch of Canada. Metropolitan Andrey consecrated Father Nykyta as bishop on October 14, 1912 in Lviv, Ukraine.

There are several interesting facts about Blessed Bishop Nykyta (Budka) and the origins of what is now the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada:

1. Blessed Bishop Nykyta (Budka) celebrated his first Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on December 8, 1912 in Montreal while en route to be enthroned in Winnipeg on December 22, 1912? The Apostolic Exarchate of Canada was established on June 15, 1912.
2. Between 1914-1916 he managed to recruit twenty Ukrainian Catholic priests for pastoral work in Canada?
3. He blessed the erection of St George’s Ukrainian Catholic parish in Oshawa (1912?). The first Ukrainian Catholic church of St George was built in 1916-1917 in Oshawa.
4. He blessed Holy Transfiguration Ukrainian Catholic Church in then Fort William, now Thunder Bay, Ontario around 1917.
5. He became a British subject or Canadian citizen on November 23, 1920.
6. He blessed the newly built sanctuary of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Transfiguration in Kitchener, Ontario in 1926? He even left an antimension signed by him there!
7. He blessed the site and named the church after its patrons – Sts Volodymyr and Olha – in Windsor, Ontario on December 26, 1926.
8. Two years later, in 1928, he resigned as Apostolic Exarch of Canada and returned to Ukraine.
9. He was arrested on April 11, 1945 by the Soviet authorities and died in the Soviet gulag on September 28, 1949.
10. On June 27, 2001, Nykyta Budka was beatified by Pope John Paul II, along with other martyr-bishops, priests, religious and laypeople of the Church in Ukraine.

When Blessed Nykyta (Budka) departed for Ukraine after resigning in 1928, there were 47 priests, 89 nuns, 299 parishes and missions serving around 130 000 Ukrainian Catholic faithful in Canada. 

One of Blessed Bishop Nykyta’s missionaries at the time was Fr Vasyl or Basil (Ladyka), OSBM, who graduated from the Grand Seminaire in Montreal and was ordained a priest on August 4, 1912 by Bishop Soter (Ortynsky), OSBM (Apostolic Exarch in the United States). Fr. Basil worked as a missionary in Manitoba from 1912-13, then in Saskatchewan and Alberta from 1913-1922. He served as Rector of St Josaphat’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Edmonton from 1922-1929.

On May 20, 1929 Pope Pius XI named Fr. Vasyl titular Bishop of Abydos and Apostolic Exarch of Canada. Bishop Vasyl Ladyka was consecrated on July 14, 1929. He had the enormous task of catechizing new immigrants from Ukraine. According to 1931 Canadian go

vernment statistics, there were 186,587 Ukrainian Catholics served by around 100 priests in 350 parishes and missions across Canada. To help Bishop Basil in his episcopal duties, Pope Pius XII appointed Fr. Neil (Savaryn), OSBM, Superior of the Basilian monastery in Mundare, Alberta, as auxiliary bishop on March 29, 1943. The Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada was increasing in numbers and activity.

Bishop Vasyl continued his pastoral work throughout WWII and in the period immediately after the war which saw a sizeable influx of refugees from Ukraine to Canada. For his tireless apostolic work, the Holy See raised Bishop Basil to archbishop on June 21, 1948. With his huge workload which involved crisscrossing the vast country, Bishop Basil’s health was starting to decline.

Among the pre-WWII missionaries was Fr Isidore Borecky. Shortly after his ordination to the priesthood on November 26, 1938, Fr Isidore left Germany for Canada. At first, Fr Isidore Borecky served the Ukrainian Catholic faithful in Saskatchewan and Manitoba from 1938 to 1941. In 1941, Bishop Basil, OSBM, appointed Fr Borecky to be pastor of St John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Brantford, Ontario. Fr Borecky was also put in charge of the new southern Ontario missions of Delhi, Grimsby, Niagara Falls, St Catharines, Thorold, and Welland.

After Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, head of the Oriental Congregation in Rome, paid a visit to Canada in 1947 to assess the situation of our Church here, events were set in motion to divide the vast Apostolic Exarchate of Canada into more manageable parts.

On January 19, 1948 the Holy See created a number of new Ukrainian Catholic exarchates: the Apostolic Exarchate of Central Canada in Winnipeg headed by Archbishop Basil (Ladyka), OSBM; the Apostolic Exarchate of Western Canada in Edmonton, headed by Bishop Neil (Savaryn), OSBM; and the Apostolic Exarchate of Eastern Canada, led by the newly ordained Bishop Isidore (Borecky). He was named exarch on March 3, 1948, ordained bishop on May 27, 1948 at St Michael’s Cathedral and installed as exarch on May 30, 1948.

On March 3, 1951 Pope Pius XII approved the division of the Apostolic Exarchate of Central Canada into two smaller exarchates – the Apostolic Exarchate of Winnipeg under the leadership of Archbishop Basil (Ladyka), OSBM, and the Apostolic Exarchate of Saskatoon. As Archbishop Basil’s health was declining, the Pope also appointed Fr Maxim (Hermaniuk), CSsR, to be auxiliary bishop in Winnipeg. He was ordained Bishop on June 29, 1951 in Winnipeg. On March 10, 1951 the Holy See created the new Apostolic Exarchate of Saskatoon and appointed auxiliary Bishop Andrew (Roborecki) of the Apostolic Exarchate of Central Canada as new Ukrainian Catholic Exarch of Saskatoon. It should be noted that Bishop Andrew (Roberecki) served as a priest at St Josaphat’s Church in Toronto until his episcopal consecration on May 27, 1948 at St Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto. 

Then on November 3, 1956 the Holy See announced the raising of the Apostolic Exarchate of Winnipeg to an Archeparchy led by Archbishop Maxim (Hermaniuk), CSsR, and the elevation of the Ukrainian Catholic province in Canada to Metropolia. Metropolitan-Archbishop Maxim’s enthronement tool place on  on February 12, 1957 in Winnipeg. That same day the three Apostolic Exarchates of Edmonton, Toronto, and Saskatoon were elevated to Eparchies, under the leadership of three energetic young Ukrainian Catholic bishops, ready top meet the pastoral challenges of the post-war period.

In the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada, in addition to establishing new parishes and missions in Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, Bishop Isidore (Borecky) promoted the development of lay organizations, such as, the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada, the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada, and the Ukrainian Catholic Youth of Canada, later renamed the Ukrainian Catholic Youth for Christ. Bishop Isidore was an official Council Father at each of the four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome. The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada also established its own official newspaper – Nasha Meta/Our Aim. The Basilian Fathers had their Basilian Press located in Toronto where they published Svitlo and Beacon magazines and their annual Almanac. The Basilian Fathers served their parishes in Ottawa, Grimsby, and Thornhill, as well as running St Basil the Great College in Toronto for many years. For several years, the Basilian Sisters had a small monastery attached to Holy Dormition Ukrainian Catholic Church in Mississauga, Ontario. The Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate were catechizing children in various cities across the Eparchy as well as in their Academy for Girls in Ancaster, Ontario. The Sisters Servants also organized the annual Marian Vidpusts (pilgrimages) in Ancaster as well. The Redemptorist Fathers had their Redemptorist novitiate and seminary in Meadowvale, Ontario and served Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Toronto. The Studite Fathers had a monastery in Woodstock and Orangeville, both in Ontario. The Studite Sisters had their monastery in Dundalk, Ontario. The Missionary Sisters of Christian Charity started with their monastery in Queenston, Ontario, then later transferred it to Toronto. The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy during the leadership of Bishop Isidore established and provided spiritual care to five Byzantine Rite schools: St Josaphat (Toronto), St Demetrius, Josyf Cardinal Slipyj (Toronto), St Sofia (Mississauga),  and Holy Spirit (Hamilton).  Bishop Isidore (Borecky) officially retired on June 16, 1998, but remained active in church life as long as his health allowed. He died on July 23, 2003).

The Holy See appointed Fr Roman Danylak, the Epachial Chancellor, as titular Bishop of Nyssa and Apostolic Administrator of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada on December 16, 1992. His episcopal consecration took place on March 25, 1993 at St Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto. He officially resigned from these duties on June 16, 1998, the date of Bishop Isidore’s resignation as well, and was reassigned to special responsibilities in Rome. He died on October 7, 2012.

On July 1, 1998 the Holy See appointed the then-Ukrainian Catholic Bishop of Saskatoon, Bishop Cornelius Pasichny, OSBM, as second Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada. His installation took place at the Slovak Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Transfiguration in Markham, Ontario on September 24, 1998. He retired on May 3, 2003 and died on January 30, 2014.

On May 3, 2003 the Holy See appointed Fr Stephen Chmilar, pastor of Holy Dormition Ukrainian Catholic Church in Mississauga, Ontario, to be the third Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada. His consecration to the episcopacy occurred on July 23, 2003. He retired on November 9, 2019 and remain bishop-emeritus of the Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada.