Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Yurij (Kalistchuk) of Winnipeg and Canada, born George Kalistchuk in Lachine,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, on May 26, 1951, was the primate of the autonomous

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC; ; ; ) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Canada, primarily consisting of Orthodox Ukrainian Canadians. Its former name (before 1990) was the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada (UGOCC). The C ...

from 2010 to 2021, is a Metropolitan-Emeritus of the

Youth

Although resident in Lachine, Quebec (just outside

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

), when the future metropolitan was born, in 1963 the

Ukrainian-Canadian Ukrainian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born people who immigrated to Canada. In the late 19th century, the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in the east coast of Canada. They were primarily farmers and l ...

Kalistchuk family moved to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, where the family became members of St. Vladimir's Ukrainian

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. The young George attended Ukrainian School, was involved in

Ukrainian dance ''Ukrainian dance'' (, translit. ''Ukrainskyi tanets'') mostly refers to the traditional folk dances of the Ukrainians as an ethnic group, but may also refer to dances originating from the multiple other ethnic groups within Ukraine. A ''house ...

, the cathedral choir (where he became choir conductor in 1981–1982), and the Ukrainian Youth Organization (CYMK).

Family

Kalistchuk had two brothers, Albin (who died at a young age) and William. William Kalistchuk currently lives in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, Ontario, with his wife Janice and children David, Michael, Peter, and Emilie Kalistchuk. George Kalistchuk's father, Peter Kalistchuk, died in 2002, and his mother, Anastazia Kalistchuk, died on May 3, 2020, in Toronto, Ontario.

University

In 1970 he entered St. Andrew's College (the UOCC's

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

), and during his three-year stay at the college he obtained many awards for his academic, musical and athletic activities at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

. From 1971 to 1973 he was assistant conductor under Archbishop Boris (Yakovkevych) and later Pavlo Macenko for the Theology Student Choir. In 1973 George received his Licentiate in Theology (L.Th.), which was replaced by a Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) in 1985. Beginning in 1975 George studied music at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Music in History and Theory. In 1984 he completed a Bachelor of Education degree at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and received an Ontario's Teacher's Certificate. During 1983-1984 he was Dean of Men at St. Vladimir Institute in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Priesthood and episcopacy

In Hamilton, Ontario, on July 17, 1988, he was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, and was assigned as rector of

Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral is in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and is the primatial throne of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. History The history of the Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral can be traced b ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. At a special ''sobor'' (council) in 1989, George was elected

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, and later consecrated to the episcopacy on October 22, 1989, in Winnipeg by

Metropolitan Wasyly Metropolitan Wasyly or Basil, (secular name William Fedak; November 1, 1909 – January 10, 2005) was the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC) from 1985 until his death in 2005. Metropolitan Wasyly (Vasylii) was born Vasyl' ...

and Bishop John (Stinka). In

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, on December 17, 1989, he was installed as Bishop of Saskatoon and auxiliary of the Central Eparchy of the UOCC. In 1995 he was elected Bishop of Toronto and the Eastern Eparchy, and in 2001 he was elevated to the rank of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. On July 18, 2010, at the 20th ''Sobor'' of the UOCC, Archbishop Yurij was nominated to succeed John (Stinka) as the sixth Metropolitan of Winnipeg and Canada and primate of the church. Archbishop Yurij was formally elected Metropolitan of Winnipeg on August 30, 2010, by the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

, to which the UOCC belongs, and enthroned at Holy Trinity Metropolitan Cathedral on November 21, 2010.

The arrival in Canada of Patriarch Filaret

On April 19, 2012, Metropolitan Yurij (Kalistchuk) wrote a letter to the clergy and parish councils banning the uncanonical, defrocked, and excommunicated

Filaret (Denysenko) Patriarch Filaret ( secular name ''Mykhailo Antonovych Denysenko'' Михайло Антонович Денисенко, born 23 January 1929) is a Ukrainian religious leader, currently serving as the primate and Patriarch of the Ukrainian Ort ...

from visiting any church or property owned by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church during his trip to Canad

The ban included prohibiting any clergyman or member of the Consistory Board to be in the vicinity of Filaret during his visit. Yurij's letter upset some members of

St Volodymyr's Cathedral St Volodymyr's Cathedral ( ) is a cathedral in the centre of Kyiv, and one of the city's major landmarks. Since the unification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine in December 2018, it has been under the ecclesiastical jurisdictio ...

in Toronto. The ban was publicly criticized and ignored as a banquet honouring Patriarch Filaret was held at St. Volydymyr Cultural Centre in Oakville on April 21, 2012, where Filaret toured the cemetery, chapel, and met with leaders of the Ukrainian Canadian community including Paul Grod, President of the

Ukrainian Canadian Congress The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC; ; French: ) is a nonprofit umbrella organization of Ukrainian-Canadian political, cultural, and religious organizations founded in 1940. History Pre-UCC Ukrainians immigrated to Canada at the turn of ...

. In a show of support by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Canada, Filaret was invited to attend the Divine Liturgy at St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church the following day in Toronto. At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Filaret awarded Rev. John Tataryn the Order of St. Volodymyr, 3rd Degree. The letter sparked coverage in the Ukrainian Canadian media (Svitohliad, Kontakt, Ukrainian News

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, UkeTube, and social media), and led to the creation of the Brotherhood for the Revitalization of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy in Canada (BRUOC),

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

groups, and many

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

videos forcing Metropolitan Yurij to respond. This Brotherhood is not recognized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. In an information seminar a few members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada expressed concern that the church was being sold out to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

and that legal action must be taken.

References

Sources

*Consecration and Installation Book of Bishop Yurij (Kalistchuk)
@ UOCC.CA
{{authority control 1951 births Living people 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 21st-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian Eastern Orthodox bishops Eastern Orthodox bishops in Canada Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada bishops Ukrainian diaspora in Canada People from Lachine, Quebec