The Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada is a

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

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 ...

in the eastern part of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, primarily

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 ...

. The eparchy is 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 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 ...

Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg The Archeparchy of Winnipeg is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or archeparchy of the Catholic Church in Manitoba, a province of Canada. Currently, its archeparch is Lawrence Huculak. Its cathedral is the Cathedral of S ...

. Its

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'' ...

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 ...

. The eparchy also administers a national shrine, the St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine, in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. On 28 April 2022

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

named Eparch

Bryan Bayda Bryan may refer to: Places in the United States * Bryan, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Ohio, a city * Bryan, Texas, a city * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town * Bryan County, Georgia * ...

of the Eparchy of Saskatoon as eparchial bishop.

History

Established on 19 January 1948 as

Apostolic Exarchate An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

of Eastern Canada, from territory split off from the then Apostolic Exarchate of Canada. On 10 March 1951 it was renamed as Apostolic Exarchate of Toronto. On 3 November 1956 it was elevated to the Eparchy of Toronto, losing its missionary pre-diocesan and exempt status.

Extent

Parishes under the authority of the eparchy are located in

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, ...

, and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. In 2007, the diocese contained 75 parishes, 96 active diocesan and religious priests, and 36,910 Catholics. It also had 36 women religious, 15 religious brothers, and 19 permanent deacons. In 2010, Bishop Stephen Chmilar gave the blessing for the creation of the Eparchial Office of Youth Ministry, with the mission of promoting the involvement of young adults within the church. This office is currently under the direction of Andrew Figol.

Bishops

Episcopal ordinaries

; ''Apostolic Exarch of Eastern Canada'' *

Isidore Borecky Bishop Isidore Borecky (; 1 October 1911 in Ostrivets, Austro-Hungarian Empire (present day in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine) – 23 July 2003 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) was a Ukrainian-born Canadian Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch. ...

(1948.03.03 – 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 ...

Amathus in Cypro Amathus or Amathous () was an ancient city and one of the ancient royal cities of Cyprus until about 300 BC. Some of its remains can be seen today on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas, about east of Limassol and west of Larnaca. It ...

(1948.03.03 – 1956.11.03) ; ''Apostolic Exarch of Toronto'' *

(''see above'' 1951.03.10-1956.11.03 ''see below'') ; ''Suffragan Eparchs of Toronto'' *

(''see above'' 1956.11.03-1998.06.16) * ''

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

sede plena'' 1992.12.16 – 1998.06.16)

Roman Danylak Roman Danylak (December 29, 1930 – October 7, 2012) was a Canadian Ukrainian Catholic bishop. Life Roman Danylak was born in Toronto, Canada on December 29, 1930. He was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1957 at St. Josaphat's Seminar ...

, Titular Bishop of Nyssa (1992.12.16 – 2012.10.07) *

Cornelius Pasichny Cornelius may refer to: People * Cornelius (name), Roman family name and a masculine given name * Cornelius the Centurion, Roman centurion considered by Christians to be the first Gentile to convert to the Christian faith * Pope Cornelius, pope fr ...

O.S.B.M. The Order of Saint Basil the Great (; , abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is a Greek Catholic monastic order of pontifical right that works actively among Ukrainian Catholics and other Greek-Catholic churc ...

(1998.07.01 – 2003.05.03) * Stephen Chmilar (2003.05.03 – 2019.11.09) * ''

'' (9 November 2019 – 28 April 2022)

, CSsR, Bishop of Saskatun *

, CSsR (since 28 April 2022)

Auxiliary bishop

* Michael Rusnak, C.SS.R. (1964-1980), appointed Bishop of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto (Slovak)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Basil Filevich Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variet ...

(priest here, 1948-1951), appointed Eparch of Saskatoon in 1983

References

Eparchy of Toronto
(catholichierarchy.org)
Eparchial Office of Youth Ministry
(eoym.ca)

Sources and external links

*

Holy Spirit Seminary, Edmonton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto Ukrainian Greek Catholic eparchies Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Canada Eastern Catholic dioceses in Canada Christianity in Toronto Toronto, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Ukrainian-Canadian culture in Ontario