Metropolitan John (born Ivan Stinka; January 14, 1935 – September 19, 2022) was the head of the

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 ...

with title ''John, Archbishop of Winnipeg, and of the Central Diocese, Metropolitan of Canada''. He was enthroned as

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 ...

of Canada on July 23, 2006.

Early life

Ivan Stinka was born in Buchanan, Saskatchewan to Nikolaj and Annie (Spizawka) Stinka; he was the youngest of twelve children. Orthodox Research Institute website, ''Metropolitan John (Stinka) of Winnipeg and Canada''
/ref> He worked as an elementary school teacher and butcher for several years while being actively involved in the Ukrainian Orthodox community.The Star Phoenix website, ''Obituary''
/ref>

Priesthood

In the fall of 1969, John Stinka enrolled in theological studies at St. Andrew's College in Winnipeg, which he successfully completed in 1972 with a Licentiate in Theology. He continued his studies at the University of Manitoba following his Licentiate in Theology. On August 18, 1973, he was ordained into the Holy Diaconate at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Saskatoon by Archbishop Boris (Yakovkevych), and on August 25, 1974, in Holy Tranfiguration Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Yorkton, Deacon John was ordained to the priesthood, again ordained by Archbishop Boris. Fr. John's first assignment was to

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

, Sk., and during that time convocated from the University of Saskatchewan with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Degree. In August 1978, Fr. John was transferred to

Kamsack Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada, is a town in the Assiniboine River Valley, where the Whitesand River, Saskatchewan, Whitesand River joins the Assiniboine River. It is northeast of Yorkton. Saskatchewan Highway 8, Highway 8 and Saskatchewan Highw ...

, Sk. Throughout his pastorship, Fr. John was active in the Ukrainian Community, and the Orthodox Community. He was awarded his

nabedrennik A nabedrennik (Church Slavonic: набе́дренникъ - nabédrennik, "on the thigh") is a vestment worn by some Russian Orthodox priests. It is a square or rectangular cloth. Like the epigonation, it is worn at the right hip, suspended fr ...

in 1977, and his

skufia A (also , or ; or ) is an item of clerical clothing, a cap, worn by Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Lutheran and Eastern Catholic monastics (in which case it is black) or awarded to clergy as a mark of honor (in which case it is usually red or purp ...

in 1980.

Episcopacy

At the Extraordinary Sobor of the UOCC in 1983, Fr. John was elected Bishop, and was ordained to the Episcopacy on November 27, 1983, at Holy Trinity Metropolitan Cathedral, and installed as bishop of Saskatoon by Metropolitan Andrew (Metiuk), Archbishop Boris, and Bishop Wasyly (Fedak). At the 17th Sobor, in 1985 in Winnipeg, Bishop John was appointed Bishop of Edmonton and the Western Diocese, following the reposes of Archbishop Boris, and Metropolitan Andrew. In 1990 he was elevated to Archbishop. Following the repose of Metropolitan Wasyly in 2005, Archbishop John became the acting

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

, and at the 21st Sobor in Winnipeg in 2006 was elected Primate, and Metropolitan (and was approved by Constantinople on November 22, 2005). He was enthroned on Sunday, July 23, 2006, at the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral. Co-presiding at the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

were Archbishop Yurij (Kalistchuk) of Toronto, Archbishop Antony (Sherba) of New York & Washington (UOC-USA), and Bishop Georgie of the Serbian Diocese of Canada. Metropolitan Sotirios of the Greek Metropolis of Toronto presided over the enthronement, and later presented Metropolitan John with a

Panagia Panagia (, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panayia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, Mother of God, used especially in Orthodox Christianity and E ...

from the

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

, a blue Mantiya, an episcopal staff, and a Metropolitan's white

Klobuk Klobuk of Patriarch Philaret of Moscow (1619-33), Kremlin museum A klobuk is an item of monastic clothing worn by monks and, in the Russian tradition, also by nuns, in the Byzantine Rite, composed of a kalimavka (stiffened round black hea ...

. He died in 2022.The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada website, ''Press Release for the Schedule of Funeral Services for the Blessed Memory of Metropolitan John (Stinka)'', press release dated September 20, 2022
/ref>

References

External links

Metropolitan John of Winnipeg

Sources

*"Tribute and Farewell to His Eminence Metropolitan John" (Western Diocese; UOCC) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stinka), John 1935 births 2022 deaths Primates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Canadian Eastern Orthodox bishops Eastern Orthodox bishops in Canada Canadian people of Ukrainian descent