The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God is the

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

of the

Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto The Exarchate of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto ( la, Exarchatus Sanctorum Cyrilli et Methodii Torontini ritus Byzantini, Slovak: ''Exarchát svätých Cyrila a Metoda byzantského obradu v Toronte'') is a ecclesiastical territory or exa ...

, located on Shaw Street in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Ministering to members of the Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church exarchate, it falls under the jurisdiction of the

Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ( rue, Русиньска ґрекокатолицька церьков; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Ruthenica), also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Cath ...

History

The Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Toronto for Slovaks of the Eastern Rite was established in October 1951. L. Minya was appointed the first pastor of the newly formed church. In 1952,

Michael Rusnak Michael Rusnak, C.Ss.R., (21 August 1921 – 16 January 2003) was an American-born member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly known as the Redemptorist Fathers, who was appointed Eparch of the Slovak Catholic Eparchy of Saint ...

was appointed as a pastor of the church. It was during this time that the congregation acquired the B'Nai Israel Synagogue on Shaw Street in Toronto and converted it to a church. In 2006, Bishop John Pazak moved the tabernacle and the

antimension The antimins (from the Greek , ''Antimension'': "instead of the table"), is one of the most important furnishings of the altar in many Eastern Christian liturgical traditions. It is a rectangular piece of cloth of either linen or silk, typically ...

from the Cathedral of the Transfiguration in Markham to the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, elevating the church to a Cathedral. In 2022,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

lowered the Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Toronto to an exarchate and transferred it from the

Slovak Greek Catholic Church The Slovak Greek Catholic Church ( Slovak: ''Gréckokatolícka cirkev na Slovensku'', "Greek-Catholic Church in Slovakia"; la, Ecclesia Graeco Catholica Slovacica), or Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church, is a metropolitan ''sui iuris'' Eastern Ca ...

to the

Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh The Byzantine Catholic Metropolis of Pittsburgh ( la, Pittsburgensis ritus byzantini) is a metropolitan province for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in the United States of America, with specific jurisdiction over several communities th ...

, a Ruthenian Greek Catholic

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

. The cathedral, as part of the eparchy, was transferred the jurisdiction of Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church.

References

{{coord, 43.64895, -79.41750, format=dms, type:landmark_region:CA-ON, display=title Cathedrals in Canada Religious buildings and structures in Toronto Eastern Catholic cathedrals in Canada