St. Elias Church (Ukrainian Catholic--Eparchy of Toronto),
Brampton, ON Canada.
http://www.saintelias.com/
In 1990, Kyr Isidore Borecky of blessed memory made an historic trip to Ukraine which coincided with his 45th anniversary of ordination to the Holy Priesthood. This rare video appeared on a local television program. Below is a tribute to Kyr Isidore from the Ukrainian Youth Ensemble that accompanied him on that trip:
Bishop Isidore Borecky, the first Ukrainian Bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada, dedicated sixty-five years of his life to d the priesthood; fifty-five of these to the Eparchy of Toronto. His lifetime achievements were manifold: increasing and nurturing religious vocation, establishing churches and Eastern-rite schools, building lay organizations, missions, and cultural centres.
With his singular oratory skills, infectious sense of humour, generous spirit, and clear vision for the Ukrainian people within the cultural mosaic of our country, Canada, His Excellency Bishop Isidore Borecky touched innumerable lives. He was a source of moral and financial support for youth, immigrants, and for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. He was also a distinguished patron of the arts.
May His Memory be Eternal!
Source: Ukrainian Youth Ensemble, http://www.ukrainianyouthensembles.com/isidoreborecky%20.php
From the September 1989 issue of the Corpus Canada Journal, we take the following:
Eparch Isidore Borecky pleads with the Pope for married priests
(excerpt from a letter to Pope John Paul II, April 15, 1989 protesting Vatican attempts to prohibit married Ukrainian Catholic clergy from exercising ministry in Canada)
"Over the last century, the attempt to impose celibacy has not succeeded, but it has provoked at least three schisms in North America, as follows:
1. The schism led by Archpriest Alexis Toth commencing in Minneapolis in 1891. The vast majority of members of the Russian Orthodox Churches in the U.S. and Canada are descended from former Catholics who left the Church through this movement;
2. The schism which formed the Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Church of Canada during and after the First World War. Except for new immigrants, virtually all the members of this denomination are former Catholics and their descendants;
3. The celibacy schism of the 1930's in the U.S. led by Father (later Metropolitan) Orestes Chornock, which resulted in the formation of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese and its reception into the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople.
These schisms were attended by acrimonious court battles, disgraceful public spectacles which resulted in many enduring wounds to the body of Christ, the Church, and serious scandals to the detriment of the Catholic cause. They are still a major obstacle to ecumenical relations....
Hierarchs of Ukraine have been ordaining married priests and sending them to us for a century, from Metropolitan Sylvester Cardinal Sembratovynch, through Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky, Joseph Cardinal Slipyj (who in Rome itself ordained at least 46 such priests for the diaspora without any objection from the Holy See) and now the present Eastern Catholic hierarchs in Ukraine.
At the very least, Your Holiness, surely it is not improper to ask for an explanation of this complete innovation. Since Pope Pius Xll established the Eparch of Toronto we have received married priests who were ordained in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe on the instruction of Cardinal Tisserant, and until today there has been no objection.
How, When, and Why has this policy changed?
Any attempt to prevent the priests ordained in Ukraine from exercising the sacred ministry would provoke an immediate and vehement protest from the faithful, and even from the reverend clergy. These priests have been received with very great joy, and they are carrying out much needed pastoral work. Suddenly interrupting that work now would do irreparable harm to the peace of the Church here."
Vladyka Isidore's position seems quite clear.
Vichnaja Pamjat, Vladyka!
Also see http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bborecky.html
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Divine Liturgy January 23, 2011 (English/Arabic)by beirutmood248 views
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