Blessing of New Church in Windsor

On Sunday, April 10, 2011, Windsor, Ontario’s Ukrainian Catholic community witnessed a wonderful and seldom seen event: the blessing of the new Sts. Vladimir and Olga Church located at 601 Lake Trail Drive in Southwood Lakes. A magnificent gathering of clergy, sub deacons, and altar servers assisted in the blessing, including: Bishop Stephen Chmilar of the Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada and guest, Bishop John Pazak of the Slovak Greek Catholic Eparchy of Sts. Cyril and Methodius; Rt. Rev. Eugene Halitsky (parish priest); Rt. Rev. John Tataryn (Toronto); Rev. Mario Dacechen (Warren, Michigan); Rev. Martin Vavrak (St. Michael’s Slovak Greek Catholic Parish); and Protodeacon Mychajlo Ljahovic.

First, Rev. Halitsky presented Bishop Stephen with a cross at the church door, and the Chair of the Parish Council, Leisha Nazarewich, then welcomed Bishop Stephen with the traditional Ukrainian Bread & Salt. Bishop Stephen next began the blessing at the outer doors before moving inside for the Pontifical Divine Liturgy. The Church Choir directed by Rev. Peter Hrytsyk sang beautifully on this occasion. After the Gospel reading, Rev. Halitsky welcomed all guests and parishioners, who filled the church and the downstairs hall (where they watched the proceedings on a large screen).

On this occasion, our guests included the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, most notably Sister Metrodora, who had served in the parish for so many years. Also present were Architect Mykola Wasylko and his wife Mary, and MP Brian Masse.

After the Divine Liturgy, a banquet followed at the Ciociaro Club, at which greetings were given by various churches and organizations, and by Councillor Drew Dilkens, who also presented a painting of the church on behalf of the City of Windsor.

Rev. Hrytsyk briefly provided an overview of how the parish began and how it came to have a new church. This community originated on September 4, 1925, when Rev. Roman Krupa, the first parish priest designated by Bishop Nykyta Budka, convened a meeting. The parish first built a hall at the corner of Shepherd and Langlois in the spring of 1926, which served as the place of worship and as the community centre. The first Liturgy - Mass was celebrated on Sunday, December 5, 1926. Three weeks later on December 26, Bishop Budka blessed the site and named the church after its patrons Sts. Vladimir and Olga. Ten years later, on November 28, 1937, Bishop Wasyly Ladyka blessed the upper level, now the church proper. Over the following years, the next generations expanded the work of the pioneers under the direction of its parish priests and Sisters Servants.

In 1964, one of the parish pioneers, Stepan Solyma, left $30,000 in his will, half to be used to buy the iconostas. The parish added money to the other half to buy 35 acres on Windsor’s outskirts.  Their future plan was to build a church, a Ukrainian centre, and a rectory. After 2000, the surrounding area started to be developed, and the parish decided to build the church and move the community there. On October 16, 2004, Bishop Stephen blessed the 4 acres set aside for the church development.  The Parish Council chose Mykola Wasylko, an architect from London, Ont., to create the plans. The development proceeded at a careful and measured pace until April 10, 2011, when the dream was finally realized, and the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated.

After this brief history, Bishop Stephen delivered the final word and urged the parishioners to continue their efforts for the Church and for the growth of their church parish community, and gave the final blessing.

It was a beautiful sunny day and a wonderful celebration, one that the participants will long remember and especially those who worship in this beautiful church.

Leisha Nazarewich

PHOTOS

New Sts. Vladimir and Olga Church in Windsor, Ontario