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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2010
Inaugurated in 1908 at the initiative of Rev. Paul Wattson, an Episcopalian priest of the United States who would later join the Catholic Church, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated all around the world. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in collaboration with the World Council of Churches, has offered a…
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Christmas and Theophany 2010
On Christmas Eve, after we as a community celebrated the Vespers-Liturgy of St Basil the Great, just over 60 guests joined us for the Christmas Eve Sviat Vechir (Holy Meal) in our seminary hall. We have usually been blessed with the presence of the recent Papal Nuncio, Most Rev. Luigi Ventura. However, he had been…
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Diaconal Ordination of Roman Planchak
Axios! Axios! Axios! Rev. Deacon Roman Planchak of the Eparchy of Edmonton (pictured above assisting Bishop David with the distribution of the Holy Mysteries to Deacon Roman’s wife, Stephanie) was ordained to the Diaconate on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Edmonton by Bishop David (Motiuk). Deacon Roman was a…
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St. Nicholas Visits St. John the Baptist Shrine in Ottawa
We participated in the visit of St. Nicholas to St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine yesterday. Our own Stefan Pankiw was the emcee for the afternoon of over 85 guests. As you can see, the children were more than happy on this festive occasion. St. Nicholas, played by our own Alexander Laschuk, shared the…
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NHL Hockey – Senators vs Leafs
It was a fantastic night out for everyone in the seminary – we went to see one of the infamous rivalry games between the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. We enjoyed the game immensely! The Senators swept the Leafs away 3-2; so there was only one seminarian travelling home saddened by the…
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Diaconal Ordination of Jim Nakonechny
Axios! Axios! Axios! Rev. Deacon Jim Nakonechny of the Eparchy of Edmonton (pictured above assisting Bishop David with thd distribution of the Holy Mysteries) was ordained to the Diaconate on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Edmonton by Bishop David (Motiuk). Deacon Jim, originally from Vegreville, Alberta, was a seminarian…
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Day of Spiritual Renewal
On Saturday, October 17 Father Roman Rytsar (pictured above), a doctoral student at the Metropolitan Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, offered the seminarians a spiritual day of renewal reflecting on the fact that God loves us, that He believes in us. It was an opportunity in the midst of the business of academics and…
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The Earth Overflows With Your Riches!
Part of the formation program involves the seminary community taking time to form bonds of friendship with each other. This past Saturday we travelled to Gatineau Park in Quebec to view the “Fall Rhapsody” – the beautiful fall colours – and to take a short hike on one of the trails near Champlain Lookout. Pictured…
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Wonderworking Icon of Pochaiv
Tonight, after we celebrated the Vigil for the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, we travelled to the OCA Annunciation Cathedral for the veneration of the wonderworking icon of Pochaiv. We arrived about the seventh ode of the canon and Metropolitan Jonah was still anointing people as they came to venerate the icon.…