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© 2013
О. А. Drozdova
KEEPING THE FAITH: UKRAINIAN IMMIGRANTS AND THE FORMATION OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
OF CANADA
The article is an attempt to analyze the religious vacuum that appeared in Ukrainian community of Canada at the end of the 19th century. The author of the article concludes that religious vacuum activated the search for spiritual and cultural guidance in the milieu of Ukrainian immigrants and allowed the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada to emerge.
Key words: Ukraine, Canada, Russia, Catholic Church, Orthodox Church
In the late 19th century, Canada was faced with the challenge of developing its prairies, territories famous for their harsh climate. This goal was inextricably linked to a further challenge: immigration. Canada needed to attract new immigrants who, despite the climate, would be drawn to the rich farming lands of the West. The issue of developing Canada's western territories was thus tied to the larger problem of Canadian immigration policy. Up until the late 19th century, Canada welcomed immigrants mainly from the British Isles and the United States. Some of these immigrants settled in Canada's largest cities, Toronto and Montreal, and by so doing contributed to the larger process of urbanization. Canada also welcomed a certain number of immigrants from continental Europe, usually from Germany, though non-British ethnic groups, especially those from Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, were generally viewed as exceedingly foreign and, to a certain extent, as a threat to Canada. Among the first officials to reconsider this state of affairs was Sir Clifford Sifton, Minister of the Interior in Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's cabinet. Sifton sought to populate Western Canada with farmers in order to spur economic growth, solve the "railway problem," and help pay off the national debt. He believed that Eastern and Central European agriculturists and peasants made desirable settlers, and he actively sought to recruit them as immigrants. The majority of these immigrants came from Ukrainian Galicia and Bukovina. Driven by political, social and cultural oppression, difficult economic circumstances, as well as attracted by the "free land," economic opportunities, and political and social freedom in Canada, Ukrainian farmers and farm labourers began a mass immigration to the country. However, after arriving to Canada, the peasants found themselves in a spiritual vacuum, as no clergymen and priests had followed them. From this time on the process of Ukrainian assimilation in Canada was marked by a search for spiritual guidance and by attempts to establish religious institutions in their new homeland1.
This paper rests on a corpus of various newspaper articles, memoirs, diaries and notes from the funds of Olha Voycenko. These documents, which belonged to prominent Ukrainian Canadians and people affiliated with the Ukrainian community in Canada,
Дроздова Оксана Анатольевна — преподаватель истории в Центре дополнительного образования при Университете Оттавы. E-mail: [email protected]
1 The author would like to express her thanks to Mark Stolarik and Myron Mamrick for the information and advice provided.
where under restricted access until January 2009. In studying these previously unknown sources, this essay focuses on the process of emergence of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada and the role this institution played in the Ukrainian community in Canada. In so doing, this essay argues that prominent Ukrainian Canadians established a Ukrainian religious institution not only to provide spiritual guidance to their fellow countrymen, but also to preserve Ukrainian culture. The Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada helped to preserve national identity, traditions, culture and language, while helping the Ukrainians to become an integral segment of Canadian society.
In 1896, Sir Clifford Sifton launched a large-scale government-directed immigration campaign with the goal of settling the Prairie West2. The massive wave of Ukrainian immigration that followed continued until the outbreak of the First World War3. The first wave of immigrants came from ethnographically Ukrainian territories that were under the rule of Austria-Hungary or Russia4. The overwhelming majority were from Galicia and Bukovina. As a result of the Canadian policy of classifying immigrants according to the country or region of origin, many Ukrainian immigrants were designated as Galician or Bukovinians, while others were mistakenly identified as Austrians, Hungarians or Russians. Furthermore, some were even registered as Poles because Galicia had formerly been ruled by Poland5. However, as subjects of Austria-Hungary, they had been officially known as Ruthenians and this designation came into use in Canada in 19056.
In Galicia, the only church for the Ukrainian people was the Greek Catholic Church. Although it did exist and provided spiritual services, the Ukrainian people did not enjoy comparable political freedoms. They were submerged and subjugated by the Austro-Hungarian and Polish administrations. The existence of the Ukrainians as a separate ethnic group was denied, the teaching of the Ukrainian language and the development of Ukrainian culture were also not permitted and political organizations were suppressed7. In Bukovina, conditions were similar except that the region was dominated by a very aggressive minority of Romanians. The Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church, which served most of the Ukrainians in Bukovina, was denied the use of the Ukrainian language and the operation of schools. Ukrainian political and cultural organizations were also suppressed. This experience forced many Ukrainians in Galicia and Bukovina to seek an escape by supporting the Russophile movement, despite the fact that the tsarist regimedenied Ukrainian identity8 . The
2 Dafoe 1931, 26-27.
3 See, in chronological order: Yuzyk 1953; Yuzyk 1967; Darcovich and Yuzyk 1980; Hryniuk and Luciuk 1991; Isajiw 1992; Hryniuk and Luciuk 1993; Luciuk 2000; Kukushkin 2007.
4 For geographical information see Simpson 1941.
5 Yuzyk 1981, 12.
6 For the note on translation, terminology, and dates see Kukushkin 2007.
7 Trosky 1968.
8 Paul Yuzuk in Yuzuk 1981 argues this as an aggressive politic of russophilia and russofication carried by the Russian Empire and its tsarist regime. The term russophilia with respect to Ukraine can be defined as a linguistic, literary and socio-political movement in the Western Ukrainian territories of Galicia, Transcarpathia, and Bukovyna in the 18th — 20th centuries. Proponents of this movement believed in linguistic, cultural, and social union with the Russian people and later in a state union with Russia. The term russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes (whether voluntarily or not) by non-Russian communities. In a historical sense, the term refers to both official and unofficial policies of Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union with respect to their national constituents and to national minorities in Russia, aimed at Russian domination.
Ukrainians were referred to as Russians, making "Rusin" or "Ruthenian" synonymous with "Russky" (Russian)9.
Among the large number of Ukrainians who arrived in Canada in the first years of immigration, there were no permanent clergymen10. Uncomfortable and confused in the spiritual vacuum of their adopted homeland, the pioneers wrote letters to their bishops in the Old Country pleading for priests and guidance11. The spiritual life of the burgeoning Ukrainian community in Canada soon entered a critical stage. In some districts settlers gathered in private homes to hold mass as best they could. Closely attached to their ancestral forms of worship, they resisted "foreign" churches and only resorted to Roman Catholic, Protestant and Russian Orthodox clergymen in times of dire need: funerals, marriages and christenings12. The absence of Ukrainian clergymen naturally provided an opportunity for various denominations to do missionary work among the pioneers, which served to further confuse many unschooled farmers and la-bourers13. The situation, however, did have a positive aspect. Approached increasingly by missionaries of other faiths, the simple peasant was able for the first time to choose a religion, thereby developing and reinforcing a sense of self-worth and independence. In the "perceived" democratic atmosphere of Canada, as compared to the situation on the "Old Country", self-assertiveness was encouraged and first manifested itself among Ukrainian immigrants in the area of religious expression.
It was natural that the Ukrainian settlers attempted to translate their community life to the Canadian Prairie and it was equally inevitable that the church would be one of the most prominent social institutions. In Galicia and Bukovina the church was situated in the middle of the village and was the embodiment of the deeply conservative nature of the Ukrainian peasantry. It cemented all the important bonds of human relations and marked each stage of life. Despite lacking a connection to a formal ecclesiastical structure, Ukrainian immigrants brought religion to their everyday habits and speech. Even traditional greetings among the settlers had religious overtones. To greet a person one could say, "Слава кусу Христу!" ("Praise be to Jesus Christ!"), and receive, "Слава на вши!" (Glory forever!), as a response. During Christmas the common greetings were, "Христос народився!" ("Christ is born!"), and "Славiмо Його" ("Let us glorify Him!"). Easter was one of the main holidays for the believers, and people greeted each other with special greetings, such as, "Христос воскрес!" (Christ is Risen!"), and "Воютину воскрес" ("Indeed, He has Risen!")14.
For much of the twentieth century Ukrainians in Canada belonged to churches that
9 This is another reason why it was difficult to keep the record of national groups arriving to Canada. Some Ukrainians called themselves Ruthenians or Rusin; others were assigned to this category by mistake.
10 This can be explained by the fact that only farmers and peasants were attracted to Canada by the official immigration campaign of Clifford Sifton. Clergymen and priests did not benefit from immigration because only peasants were given financing and free homesteads in Canada.
11 Hawryluk 1978. The text consists of articles written by Fred T. Hawryluk, a former school inspector in Saskatchewan, and is published in the bimonthly newspaper The Herald which was, and remains, the official newspaper of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada. These articles appeared in the 1958 and 1959. In his works, Hawryluk offers a condensed and comprehensive outline of the emergence of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church among the Ukrainian people in Canada. On page five of this text, Hawryluk notes how settlers were more accustomed to refer to Ukraine as an "Old Country".
12 Library and Archives Canada. MG30 D212. Vol. 1. File 1. Wasil Kudryk's Manuscripts, 1907.
13 On the level of literacy among Ukrainian immigrants in Canada, see Kukushkin 2003, 12.
14 LAC. MG30 D212. Vol. 4. File 19. Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko's Notes, 1922.
were banned in their homeland. This fact, coupled with the historical and politicized role of Greek Catholicism and Ukrainian Greek Orthodoxy, shaped Ukrainian religious life in Canada. Ukrainian Canadians were very conscious of their past history of oppression and resented their subjection and inferior status. This paper argues that Ukrainian settlers felt that they were defending imperilled religious traditions, and their faiths became central components of their identity. Yet in Canada settlers at first found themselves without any familiar religious institutions. Neither Greek Catholic nor Orthodox priests wished to exchange their relative comfort and privilege at home for hardship and uncertainty overseas. Conditions in Canada helped create a religious vacuum and encouraged proselytizing by alien faiths. The largely French-speaking Roman Catholic Church tried to attract Ukrainians settlers and defeat the Anglo-Protestant churches by attracting the most believers. On the other hand, the Russian Orthodox mission was very strong in the United States and tried to extend its influence onto the Canadians territories.
Since almost no one from the clergy and the rising Ukrainian intelligentsia had accompanied the settlers to Canada, they arrived virtually without any leadership15. However, an intellectual class started to emerge shortly after the arrival of the pioneers. The majority of the Ukrainian intellectual elite received a high school education in the homeland, and a university or college education in Canada. These people kept memories of the "Old Country" while maintaining a strong attachment to their adopted homeland. This emergent intelligentsia that consisted almost exclusively of teachers played a prominent role in the formation and upbringing of the Ukrainian community in the three Prairie Provinces. Young Ukrainian Canadian intellectuals became a core element in the formation of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church that not only became a religious stronghold, but also a guardian of Ukrainian language and culture.
The first attempt to obtain religious guidance was made by settlers at the beginning of the twentieth century, when they wrote a letter to Metropolitan Andrew Sheptynsky in which they requested a priest. In his pastoral letter, the Metropolitan promised to supply the Greek Catholics with priests. The Greek Orthodox Church in Bukovina did not respond to believers because North America was under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church in the United States and to have supplied priests would have been contrary to Orthodox policy16. However, even though the Ukrainian Greek Catholic believers were promised priests, they found themselves in a very unfavourable position. Back in the "Old Country" the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was subordinated to the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Under the conditions of the Union, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests were allowed to marry. Parishioners were thus very accustomed to being served by noncelibate priests, and they perceived this as indispensable feature of their church. Ukrainian settlers brought this understanding of the nature of their church with them to Canada.
While the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the Austro-Hungarian Empire tolerated this major difference between rites, the situation in Canada was different. With no state-supported religion, it was the responsibility of each congregation to build its own church and for members to contribute towards the upkeep of a priest17. The
15 Yuzyk 1981, 56.
16 Trosky 1968, 3.
17 LAC. MG30 D212. Vol. 1. File 17. Wasil Kudryk's personal papers.
fact that parishioners had a say in the administration of church property made them eligible to decide matters of policy and even to approve or disapprove the actions of their priests. Married priests in the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics were a direct threat to the interests of the Roman Catholic bishops in Canada and the United States, who enforced a policy of strict clerical celibacy. Minding this fact, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith of the Oriental Rites in Rome issued a decree forbidding married priests to serve in America. As only 3 percent of the Ukrainian priests in Galicia at the time were celibate, the restriction made it extremely difficult for the Greek Catholic Church to provide priests for the growing Ukrainian population in North America18.
The inability of the Greek Catholic Church in Galicia to provide Ukrainian settlers with the familiar figure of the married priest, helped strengthen the autonomous current among the rapidly growing Ukrainian population of the West. All the attempts of Rome to send celibate priests to serve in the Ukrainian population of the Prairies were viewed as attempts to "Latinize" the Greek Catholic Church, which Galicians equated with historical attempts at Polish domination. What were viewed as insulting actions by the Roman Catholic bishops finally resulted in the increased flow of Greek Catholics into the Russian Orthodox fold. Orthodox Bukovinians, while they had been neglected by the Orthodox Church in Bukovina, also began to follow the same pattern. There were several reasons why Greek Catholic Galicians and Orthodox Bukovenians began to shift their allegiance to the Russian church. First of all, the Russian Orthodox Church had a jurisdictional monopoly over orthodoxy in North America, which meant that Slavs would always dominate the hierarchy. Secondly, the Russian church used the Old Church Slavonic language and the same type of mass that the settlers had known in Galicia and Bukovina, which made the transition for them relatively easy. Equally important for the Ukrainian pioneers was the fact that the Russian Church did not require its parishes to incorporate under a common charter, and this freedom appealed to the increasing sense of self-reliance among the settlers. Furthermore, since the Holy Synod of St. Petersburg subsidized the Church in North America, parishioners were very glad to receive a financial help in building churches and supporting their religious needs19.
However, this successful attempt in attracting pioneers into the Russian Orthodox Church were undermined by the activity of a particular Orthodox sect that was trying to take advantage of the religious vacuum among the Ukrainians. This sect was known as the "All-Russian Patriarchal Orthodox Church", or more popularly as "Seraphimian Church," after the name of its founder and leader, bishop Seraphim. Shortly after arriving in Winnipeg in 1903, bishop Seraphim realized that his authority was not questioned by illiterate pioneers, and he quickly ordained fifty priests and a number of deacons. Because these "priests" had no competition from other denominations, the new church spread out quickly and within two year served about 55,000 to 60,000 communicants. However, the bogus nature of the church and its leader quickly revealed itself. Built
18 Yuzyk 1981, 41.
19 Yuzyk 1981, 47. By explaining this, Paul Yuzyk also argues that propaganda of that time encouraged Greek Catholics to leave the "forced Union" and revert to the "original Orthodoxy". This also matches with the information recorded in Fred Hawryluk's memoirs, in which he states that some literate people argued that all Ukrainians had been Orthodox at one time; the Orthodox Church was the church of their ancestors, and that the union was forced upon them by the Poles. Hawryluk 1978, 16.
of boards, boxes and cardboard, and decorated with primitive icons and crosses, the churches were a ridiculous and embarrassing sight instead of a symbol of pride. Seeing this, some priests advised Seraphim to take a trip to St. Petersburg and seek the support of the Holy Synod.
Shortly after the departure of their leader, three clergymen, Cyril Genik, John Bod-rug and John Negrych, took advantage of the situation and founded the Independent Greek Church. In order to finance the new institution, they made a secret arrangement with the Presbyterian Church of Canada to adopt certain Protestant teachings. The new Church received the name of Independent Greek Church in English, and Ruthenian Orthodox Independent Church in the Ukrainian language. It is worth mentioning that under Protestant influence, the Church was to be Orthodox in form and Presbyterian in spirit20. It did not take too long for this hidden Protestant nature to reveal itself, as the clergymen were instructed to adopt Presbyterian practices. The mass abandonment of the church by the parishioners was a symbol of the protest against the "Anglicization" of their religion.
The case of the Independent Greek Church shows the vital importance of religion to the Ukrainian pioneers. It was obvious that the settlers were in desperate need of a church that they could call their own; a church that would be governed by Ukrainians and corresponded not only with the interests of the Ukrainian community, but also with the realities of their everyday life in Canada.
These realities opened the way for the formation of a new Ukrainian Canadian intelligentsia. These people still kept memories of the "Old Country" and were carriers of the Ukrainian language, culture and traditions. On the other hand, they moved to Canada early enough to realize strong social and political ties with their adopted homeland. This intelligentsia consisted almost exclusively of teachers in the public schools helped to provide bilingual education, since a measure of bilingual education was tolerated in Manitoba between 1897 and 191621. Once this measure was abolished, Ukranian teachers became more heavily involved in community organizing. They became the mainstay of the Ukrainian literature, culture, language and traditions. Their work went far beyond the classroom, establishing libraries and building community halls. For unschooled farmers and labourers these teachers became guides in the unfamiliar world of Canadian laws, and mediators between the community and the government.
In order to carry out their work more effectively, Ukrainian teachers soon organized themselves and began to meet regularly. Their first convention was called in July 1907 in Winnipeg and brought into existence "The Ukrainian Teachers' Association of Canada"22 . It is important to mention some of them, who later would become leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. Among the initiators and the most active members were Jaroslaw W. Arsenych, Taras D. Ferley, O. M. Hyhavy, Wasil Kudryk, Orest Zerebko, Fedor T. Hawryluk, Wasil Chumer, D. Yakimischak and Theodore Safa-nik23. Three years after the establishment of the association, the teachers' union began
20 Hawryluk 1978, 16.
21 Bilingual education system here means an education in English as a first language and Ukrainian as a second language.
22 Yuzyk 1981, 58. The author states that by the time the Association was created, there were approximately 250 teachers.
23 LAC. MG30 D212. Vol. 1. File 7. Wasil Kudryk's booklet with notes.
to publish a newspaper entitled Ukrainskyi Holos (Ukranian Voice). On 16 March 1910 the first issue of the newspaper appeared with a masthead proclaiming "In education and union lies our strength". Pages of this newspaper became a battleground for the young Ukrainian intelligentsia in the formation of their national church. In one of the issues editor Wasyl Kudryk condemned the activity of French Canadian bishops among Ukrainian settlers as an attempt to bring Greek Catholics under the complete control of Rome24. He also discussed the Orthodox origins of the Uniate Church, and the necessity of returning to its Orthodox roots:
.. .the Union was forced on us by Poles. It is the Orthodox faith that we got from our forefathers. It is the very centre of our Ukrainian culture, language and traditions. It is vitally important to recognize and realize this25.
This situation got even worse in September of 1912 with the nomination of Nicetas Budka as the first Greek Catholic bishop for Canada. Bishop Budka did not really understand the need of the Ukrainian community for an independent national church. By contrast, he implemented a policy of "Latinization" of the Greek Catholic church, which caused hostility and suspicion towards him and Catholicism. Fred Hawryluk states in his memoirs:
The demand for Episcopal incorporation alarmed our people and our community was strongly opposed to any transfer but there did not seem to be any alternative at that time. Bishop Budka's demands included not only that church property should be registered in his name but also that all national institutions be placed under his control. He threatened with anathema or excommunication all who would resist these requirements. This unyielding attitude of the bishop forced our people to search for some solution for their problems which would be beyond his control. The one possible answer was the Ukrainian Orthodox Church but the road to its establishment was also beset by thorns26.
The alienation of church lands by the bishop was one of the main concerns of the Ukrainian community in Canada. Fred Hawryluk continues:
.the appointment of Bishop Mykyta Budka with the title of Patrae. This was in keeping with the ancient tradition in the bestowal of church titles but, in this case, it was especially significant. Though the bishop was to be active in Canada, his appointment was for ancient Patrae. Even his title indicated that he was not given a free hand for he was not a Canadian bishop but a bishop of Patrae. Before his appointment, Roman Catholic bishops had decreed in advance the subjection of the Greek Catholic community with the so-called Episcopal incorporation. He was directed under its provisions to force Greek Catholics to assign church property to the bishop's corporation which, in plain terms, all comes to assignment to Rome27.
Gradually Ukrainian Holos developed a more pro-Orthodox orientation as an increasing number of viewpoints on the religious question were expressed by various segments of the community. However, it is important to mention that by shifting its preferences towards Orthodoxy, the Ukrainian intelligentsia did not intend to accept Russian Orthodoxy. Wasil Kudryk states in his memoirs:
24 LAC. MG30 D212. Vol. 1. File 7. Wasil Kudryk's booklet with notes.
25 LAC. MG30 D212. Vol. 1. File 7. Wasil Kudryk's booklet with notes. Wasil Kudryk used the example of the Union of Brest to prove Orthodox origin of the Uniate Church.
26 Hawryluk 1978, 17-18.
27 Hawryluk 1978, 17-18.
Catholicism is as alien to us as is Muscovite Orthodoxy...when we have in mind "Orthodoxy" then it is such an Orthodoxy which should be our own national one, and not Muscovite or any other kind.. .In Catholicism, as in Russian Orthodoxy, Ukrainian patriotism is not compatible. The one and the other desire to make of a Ukrainian a servile slave, not a patriot; not even a man, but only a blind tool of their own interests28.
Clearly, the movement towards the creation of an autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox church was gaining momentum. The abolition of the bilingual school system accelerated the process, as the Ukrainian teachers and intellectuals devoted their efforts to establishing bursa (residential schools) like the ones they had known in the "Old Country". The St. Petro Mohyla Bursa was one of the most prominent. Named after the seventeenth century Orthodox leader and educator, this bursa was officially opened in the fall of 1916 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The student body was quite diverse and included, under the rectorship of Wasyl Swystun, twenty-three Greek Catholics, six Protestants, four Orthodox and two Roman Catholics. This situation disturbed Bishop Budka, as he disapproved of the interdenominational character of the Mohyla Bursa and argued that it would only lead to religious indifference followed by the wholesale rejection of religion29. This only aggravated relations between the bishop and the intelligentsia and spurred an even more violent struggle between them on the pages of the newspapers30.
This struggle continued for several years and by the end of 1917 members of the intelligentsia recognized the necessity of establishing a Ukrainian National Church. This church did not come into existence as an institute per se, but was an important step that marked the beginning of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada. It is important to mention the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Brotherhood as an intermediate institution on the way to the creation of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada. The brotherhood came into existence after a secret meeting on 18-19 July 1918 in Saskatoon and its main goal was to conduct all the church activities until the legal election of a bishop, in conformity with the Eastern Orthodox Church. The presidium of the brotherhood consisted of Wasyl Hawrysh, Michael Stechishin and Peter Shwydky for Saskatchewan; Tymko Goshko, Peter Svarich and Andrew Shandro for Alberta; and Alexander Sylych, J. W.Arsenych and W. Minaychuk for Manitoba31.
Now that the decision to establish the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had been made, the immediate problem was to obtain a bishop and priests. This issue took several years to be solved. At first, the Church's Brotherhood tried to have Archbishop Alexander of the Russian Orthodox Mission take the Church under his temporary care as Bishop, but he declined this offer. The brotherhood continued the search and eventually found Metropolitan Germanos (Shehadi), who was the Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. He led the Church for the next 5 years (1919-1924). Following Metropolitan Germanos' leadership, Archbishop John (Ioan) (Theodorovych) became the Church's Primate.
The nomination of bishops and the formation of the church's hierarchy were only some of the questions that remained to be resolved. But the main problem was solved;
28 LAC. MG30 D212. Vol. 1. File 7. Wasil Kudryk's Manuscripts and Notes.
29 Yuzyk 1981, 68.
30 Bishop Budka was advocating through Kanadyiskyi Rusyn. The intelligentsia spoke through Ukrainian Voice.
31 LAC. MG30 D212. Vol. 1. File 7. Wasil Kudryk's Manuscripts and Notes.
the Ukrainian community in Canada was granted its own nation-based church that represented the interests of the Ukrainian people in Canada and was the stronghold of Ukrainian language, culture and traditions. This can be illustrated by the speech that Wasil Kudryk gave to the students of the Institute of St. Peter Mohyla, Saskatoon, on March 18 19149. The speech was entitled Basis of Ukrainian Ideology and consisted of several parts; one of them was devoted to the Ukrainian and Canadians identity:
Укратство и Канадийство — се дш цшком окре!Ш спраы: Укратство, cе свгг культури, а Канадийство свгт полгшчний. Украiнец, се член Украшского Народу, як великоi культурноi родини, а Канадиец, се член политичного загалу. Украiство, се культурна яшсть самаго человiка, а Канадийство, се лише полипчна, чи державна приналежнють.
Ukrainian identity and Canadian identity coexist but in separate terms. Ukrainian identity is a matter of culture. And Canadian identity is a political matter. The Ukrainian is a member of the Ukrainian nation, as a great cultural motherland, and Canadian is a member of a political community. Ukrainian identity is an essence of the cultural identity of the person, whereas Canadian identity is a matter of political and state belonging32.
The speech noted that, even though Ukrainian settlers had left their homeland, they managed to keep their national identity, traditions, culture and language. On the other hand, it showed how a community of Ukrainian peasants and labourers grew into a socially conscious segment of Canadian society. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to imagine Canada without this major ethnic group, as they shaped the outlook of the Canadian West.
The Ukrainian community in Canada faced a lot of difficulty on its way towards the formation of a nation-based church. It was courted by Catholics and Protestants; its strength was challenged by Russian missionaries in North America. However, in the light of the growing national consciousness combined with the democratic ideals of their adopted homeland, it was almost inevitable that an independent national Orthodox Church would arise among Ukrainians in Canada. The creation of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada was vitally important as it moulded the community of settlers, previously identified as Galicians, Ruthenians, Bukovenians, Austrians, Russians and, occasionally, as Poles into self-respecting and progressively minded Ukrainians.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dafoe J. W. 1931: Cliford Sifton in Relations to His Times. Toronto. Darcovich W. and Yuzyk P. 1980: A statistical compendium on the Ukrainians in Canada, 1891-1976. Ottawa.
Hawryluk F. T. 1978: Early History of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada: from 1898 to 1918.
Hryniuk S. M. and Luciuk L. 1991: Canada's Ukrainians: negotiating and identity. Toronto. Hryniuk S. M. and Luciuk L. 1993: Multiculturalism and Ukrainian Canadians: Identity, Homeland Ties, and the Community's Future. Toronto.
Isajiw W. W. 1992: The Refugee Experience: Ukrainian Displaced Persons after World War II. Edmonton.
Luciuk L. Y. 2000: Searching for Place: Ukrainian Displaced Persons, Canada, and the Migration of Memory. Toronto.
32 LAC. MG30 D212. Vol. 1. File 7. Wasil Kudryk's Manuscripts and Notes.
Kukushkin V. 2003: Ukrainian Immigration from the Russian Empire to Canada: A Reappraisal // JUS. 28, 1-32.
Kukushkin V. 2007: From peasants to Labourers: Ukrainian and Belarusian Immigration from the Russian Empire to Canada. Montreal.
Simpson G. W. 1941: Ukraine: An Atlas of Its History and Geography. Toronto. Trosky O. S. 1968: The Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church in Canada. Winnipeg. Yuzyk P. 1953: The Ukrainians in Manitoba: A Social History. Toronto. Yuzyk P. 1967: Ukrainian Canadians: Their Place and Role in Canadian Life. Toronto. Yuzyk P. 1981: The Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, 1918-1951.
СОХРАНЯЯ ВЕРУ: УКРАИНСКИЕ ИММИГРАНТЫ И ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ УКРАИНСКОЙ ГРЕКО-ПРАВОСЛАВНОЙ ЦЕРКВИ КАНАДЫ
О. А. Дроздова
В статье предпринимается попытка проанализировать религиозный вакуум в украинской диаспоре Канады конца XIX в. Автор приходит к выводу, что отсутствие религиозного института активизировало духовную и культурную жизнь в среде украинских иммигрантов, что в свою очередь привело к формированию Украинской греко-православной церкви Канады.
Ключевые слова: Украина, Канада, Россия, католическая церковь, православная церковь
