The Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada is a

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...

ecclesiastical territory or

eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on th ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the eastern part of

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 ...

, primarily

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The eparchy is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

in the

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 ...

of the metropolitan Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

is St. Josaphat’s Cathedral, in the

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

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 ...

. The eparchy also administers a national shrine, the St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine, in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. On 28 April 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. ...

named Eparch

Bryan Bayda Bryan Joseph Bayda (born August 21, 1961 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is the bishop of the Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Bayda was born in Saskatoon on August 21, 1961. Upon completing high scho ...

of the Eparchy of Saskatoon as eparchial bishop.

History

Established on 19 January 1948 as

Apostolic Exarchate An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and e ...

of Eastern Canada, from territory split off from the then Apostolic Exarchate of Canada. On 10 March 1951 it was renamed as Apostolic Exarchate of Toronto. On 3 November 1956 it was elevated to the Eparchy of Toronto, losing its missionary pre-diocesan and exempt status.

Extent

Parishes under the authority of the eparchy are located in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. In 2007, the diocese contained 75 parishes, 96 active diocesan and religious priests, and 36,910 Catholics. It also had 36 women religious, 15 religious brothers, and 19 permanent deacons. In 2010, Bishop Stephen Chmilar gave the blessing for the creation of the Eparchial Office of Youth Ministry, with the mission of promoting the involvement of young adults within the church. This office is currently under the direction of Andrew Figol.

Bishops

Episcopal ordinaries

; ''Apostolic Exarch of Eastern Canada'' * Isidore Borecky (1948.03.03 – 1951.03.10 ''see below''),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Amathus in Cypro (1948.03.03 – 1956.11.03) ; ''Apostolic Exarch of Toronto'' * Isidore Borecky (''see above'' 1951.03.10-1956.11.03 ''see below'') ; ''Suffragan Eparchs of Toronto'' * Isidore Borecky (''see above'' 1956.11.03-1998.06.16) * ''

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

sede plena'' 1992.12.16 – 1998.06.16)

Roman Danylak Roman Danylak (December 29, 1930 – October 7, 2012) was a Canadian Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Ukrainian Catholic bishop. Life Roman Danylak was born in Toronto, Canada on December 29, 1930. He was ordained to the Catholic priesthood i ...

, Titular Bishop of Nyssa (1992.12.16 – 2012.10.07) *

Cornelius Pasichny Cornelius John Pasichny (27 March 1927 in Winnipeg – 30 January 2014 in Toronto) was the Eparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon (1995–1998) and of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada (1998–2003) in C ...

O.S.B.M. The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...

(1998.07.01 – 2003.05.03) * Stephen Chmilar (2003.05.03 – 2019.11.09) * ''

'' (9 November 2019 – 28 April 2022)

, CSsR, Bishop of Saskatun *

, CSsR (since 28 April 2022)

Auxiliary bishop

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 ...

, C.SS.R. (1964-1980), appointed Bishop of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto (Slovakian)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Basil Filevich Bishop Basil Filevich ( uk, Василь Філевич; January 13, 1918 – April 20, 2006) was a Canadian Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch. He served as the second Eparchial Bishop of Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon from December 5, ...

(priest here, 1948-1951), appointed Eparch of Saskatoon in 1983

References

Eparchy of Toronto
(catholichierarchy.org)
Eparchial Office of Youth Ministry
(eoym.ca)

Sources and external links

*

Holy Spirit Seminary, Edmonton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto Ukrainian Greek Catholic eparchies Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada Eastern Catholic dioceses in Canada Christianity in Toronto Toronto, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Ukrainian-Canadian culture in Ontario