Bishop Andriy Peshko is the Bishop of Toronto and of the Eastern Eparchy of the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC; french: Église orthodoxe ukrainienne du Canada) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Canada, primarily consisting of Orthodox Ukrainian Canadians. Its former name (before 1990) was the Ukrainian Greek ...

Youth and education

Bohdan Peshko uk, Богдан Пешко) was born on April 27, 1972, in Hriada,

Zhovkva Raion Zhovkva Raion ( uk, Жо́вківський райо́н) was a raion in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center was the city of Zhovkva. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, w ...

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...

, Ukraine. In 1979, he entered elementary school and received his Certificate of Secondary Education in 1989. In 1989, he enrolled in the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1993. From 1994 to 1995, he studied at Christ the Savior Theological Seminary of the American Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox Diocese of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...

, under the

omophorion In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical tradition, the ''omophorion'' ( grc-gre, ὠμοφόριον, meaning " omethingborne on the shoulders"; Slavonic: омофоръ, ''omofor'') is the distinguishing vestment of a bishop an ...

of Metropolitan

Nicholas (Smisko) Metropolitan Nicholas (secular name Richard Smiško; February 23, 1936 – March 13, 2011) was metropolitan bishop of Amissos and Primate of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the US. Early life Richard Smisko was born in Perth Amboy ...

of Amissos. From 1995-1999 he completed the full course of the

Kyiv Theological Academy National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. ...

. On December 25, 2000, the Academic Council of the Kyiv Theological Academy awarded him the

Candidate (degree) Candidate (Latin ''candidatus'' or ''candidata'') is the name of various academic degrees, chiefly in Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Scandinavia, it is a higher professional-level degree usually corresponding to 5–7 ...

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

– after the defence of his dissertation titled: "Historical–Liturgical Research of the Rites of Installation and Ordination in the Orthodox Church".

Ordination and episcopacy

On April 8, 2001, he was ordained

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

by Archbishop Vsevolod (Maidansky) of Scopelos at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral of the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (UOC of USA; uk, Українська православна церква у США) is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States. It consists of two eparchies (dioceses), ruled ...

, in Chicago. On September 29, 2003, he was elevated to a rank of

Protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usag ...

. On September 21, 2005, with the blessing of Archbishop Vsevolod, Protodeacon Bohdan Peshko was tonsured a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

and given the name of Andriy (in honour of

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

the First-Called) at St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Chicago. On September 25, 2005, he was ordained to the rank of

Hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...

and was promoted to a rank of

Hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

by Archbishop Vsevolod. On October 21, 2005, in the Holy Transfiguration of the Lord Cathedral in London (England) he was elevated to the rank of

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

. On November 22, 2005, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

, under the Chairmanship of Patriarch

Bartholomew I of Constantinople Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''pr ...

, unanimously elected him as

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Europe and the Diaspora with the title 'Bishop of Krateia'. On December 13, 2005, at St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Chicago, he was consecrated Bishop by Metropolitan

Constantine of Irinoupolis Metropolitan Constantine (secular name Theodore Stanislavovich Buggan; July 29, 1936 – May 21, 2012) was the Metropolitan of Irinoupolis, and Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (UOC of USA), which is a jurisdiction of the E ...

(

), Archbishop Vsevolod (Maidansky) of Skopelos, Metropolitan

of Amissos, Archbishop Nicholaj (

Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Canada Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

), Archbishop

Job (Osacky) Archbishop Job (Osacky) of Chicago (March 18, 1946 – December 18, 2009) was the archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America's Diocese of the Midwest until his unexpected death. His territory included Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michig ...

of Chicago (

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...

), Archbishop Antony (

), Archbishop

Yurij (Kalistchuk) Metropolitan Yurij (Kalistchuk) of Winnipeg and Canada, born George Kalistchuk in Lachine, Quebec, on May 26, 1951, is the current primate of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. Youth Although resident in Lachine, Quebec (just o ...

(

). From August 20–24, 2008, at the Extraordinary Sobor of the

(UOCC), held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he was elected as ''Bishop-elect of Saskatoon, Vicar of the Central Eparchy of the UOCC''. On February 1, 2011, he assumed the responsibilities of Bishop of the Eastern Eparchy of the UOCC. On May 19, 2021, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected Bishop Andriy as Bishop of Toronto. On August 31, 2021, Bishop Andriy served the rite of proclamation at the Phanar, thus officially accepting his election and new title.

Name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...

: November 30/December 13

References

Sources

Bishop Andriy (Peshko) of Saskatoon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peshko, Andriy 1972 births Living people People from Lviv Oblast 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Canadian clergy Eastern Orthodox bishops in Canada Canadian Eastern Orthodox bishops Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada bishops