The Eparchy of Edmonton is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

that governs parishes in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. It uses the Byzantine Rite liturgy in the

Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...

and

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

. The eparchy's

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 ...

is St. Josaphat's Cathedral in the

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

of Edmonton, Alberta.

History

On 19 January 1948, it was established as Ukrainian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Western Canada (an Eastern Catholic missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction, akin to a Latin apostolic prefecture), on territory split off from the then Ukrainian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Canada. On 10 March 1951, it was renamed as Ukrainian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Edmonton, after its see. On 3 November 1956, promoted as Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy (Eastern Catholic diocese) of Edmonton. It thus lost its exempt status, becoming a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of the Metropolitan Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg. On 27 June 1974, it lost territory to establish the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of New Westminster. On January 26, 2007

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

appointed former Auxiliary Bishop David Motiuk of the Archeparchy of Winnipeg as head of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton.

Extent

As of 2020, the diocese contains 81 parishes, 35 active diocesan and religious priests and 25,000 Catholics. It also has 11 women religious, 4 religious brothers and 8 permanent deacon

Bishops

Ordinaries

; ''Apostolic Exarch of Western Canada'' * Neil Savaryn, Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat (O.S.B.M.) (1948.01.19 – 1951.03.10 ''see below''),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Ios (1943.04.03 – 1956.11.03); previously Auxiliary Exarch of Canada of the Ukrainians (Canada) (1943.04.03 – 1948.01.19) ; ''Apostolic Exarchs of Edmonton'' * Neil Savaryn, O.S.B.M. (''see above'' 1951.03.10 – 1956.11.03 ''see below'') ; ''Suffragan Eparchs (Diocesan bishops) of Edmonton * Neil Savaryn, O.S.B.M. (''see above'' 1956.11.03 – death 1986.01.08) * Demetrius Greschuk (1986 – death 1990), previously Titular Bishop of Nazianzus (1974.06.27 – 1986.04.28) & Auxiliary Eparch of Edmonton of the Ukrainians (Canada) (1974.06.27 – 1986.04.28) * Myron Daciuk, O.S.B.M. (1991 - death 1996), previously Titular Bishop of Thyatira (1982.06.24 – 1991.10.28) & Auxiliary Bishop of Winnipeg of the Ukrainians (Canada) (1982.06.24 – 1991.10.28) * Lawrence Huculak, O.S.B.M. (1996.12.16 – 2006.01.09), later Metropolitan Archeparch of Winnipeg of the Ukrainians (Canada) (2006.01.09 – ...) * David Motiuk (2007- ... ), Titular Bishop of Mathara in Numidia (2002.04.05 – 2007.01.25) & Auxiliary Bishop of Winnipeg of the Ukrainians (Canada) (2002.04.05 – 2007.01.25)

Auxiliary bishop

* Demetrius Martin Greschuk (1974-1986), appointed Bishop here

Other priest of this eparchy who became bishop

* Basil (Wasyl) Filevich (Felivich), appointed Bishop of Saskatoon (Ukrainian) in 1983

Eparchial Logo

The golden church dome under a blue sky was a symbol of faith and hope for the Ukrainian Greek Catholics who emigrated to the New World. Today, it remains a recognizable image that is familiar and welcoming to all Albertans, no matter their background. In this representation, logo designer Julian Hayda modelled his dome after St. Mary Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Waugh, Alberta. He explains, “What you see here are two paths, beginning at both East and West, and converging at a pinnacle as two hands holding one cross together.” He is referring to Eastern Catholics in full communion with

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, joined in the one Catholic Church. The arms reaching upward also reflect our ardent desire to enter into communion with the awesomeness of God through the sacrificial love of Christ represented by the cross. As in classical iconography, the colour blue also represents divinity. The darker the blue, the more deeply we enter into the life of the Holy Trinity. The circle stands for the eternal nature of God – without beginning or end. As such, God’s love for us is eternal – a mystery beyond our understanding. In contrast, the golden dome reflects the glory of God, the Divine Light visible to us. Its shape reminds us of the vault of heaven where we experience the embrace of the living God, especially through the Holy Mysteries, the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

in particular. Finally, an invitation, “Come follow me.” Christ who called the first disciples, also calls each and every one of us to follow him. A relatable and inspiring image, the logo of th
Eparchy of Edmonton
reflects the mission of the Church, to evangelize and share the Good News of the Gospel of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

with everyone, no matter where they are on their faith journey.

Assigned Clergy

Listed is the current Clergy assigned to each Church in the Eparchy

References

Eparchy of Edmonton page at catholichierarchy.org
retrieved July 14, 2006

Sources and external links

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 ...

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Canada

Religious sees in Edmonton Edmonton, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of {{UkrainianGreekCatholic-diocese-stub