History of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Winnipeg and Sts Volodymyr and Olha Cathedral

The history of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg formally began in the fall of 1899 with the arrival of Fr. Damaskyn Polyvka. At that time, approximately 150 Ukrainian Greek Catholic families in the city attended the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Ghost on Selkirk Avenue. On November 21, 1899, Fr. Polyvka celebrated the first Divine Liturgy there. Recognizing the need for their own church, he encouraged the Ukrainian community to form a parish and erect their own place of worship. By early December, a parish committee was elected, and three plots of land were purchased at the site of the current Cathedral, on the corner of Stella and McGregor. According to Dr. Michael Marunchak, the church was erected before Easter in 1900 (or 1901, according to other sources). Father Ivan Zaklynskyi, who had recently arrived from the United States of America, blessed the church, named St. Nicholas, as the first Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg. The first permanent pastor, Fr. Matey Hura, OSBM, arrived in 1904.

As the population grew, a new St. Nicholas Church was built in 1905 across the street. The earlier St. Nicholas Church was no longer used for worship. However, in 1907, discord arose among worshippers of both churches, and the founders and members of the first church returned to the small original church. They began to consider its reorganization and the formation of a separate church community. At that time, Fr. Mykola Strutynskyj arrived in Winnipeg from the United States, and under his leadership, the original small church was enlarged to accommodate 400 worshippers and was renamed Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Parish. Shortly after, in 1907, Fr. Strutynskyj left Canada.

In 1908, Fr. Toma Vasylevych arrived from Ukraine. He founded the first “Prosvita” society in Canada at Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Parish. The arrival of Fr. Julian Humetskyj in 1909 brought further development, including the construction of a parish hall and a priest’s residence. Under Fr. Emilian Krasitsky’s leadership in 1910, the parish continued to grow despite frequent changes in clergy.

Although the parish was deemed independent from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, parishioners strived for religious legitimacy by seeking the appointment of a Ukrainian bishop for Ukrainian Catholics in Canada. On December 27, 1912, the newly consecrated thirty-five-year-old Bishop Nykyta Budka served the first Pontifical Divine Liturgy at the parish of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha. The parish registered its church property to the newly appointed Ukrainian bishop, and in 1913, it was elevated to the status of a Cathedral for all Ukrainian Catholics in Canada. As the population grew, various religious and cultural organizations were established within the Cathedral, including a Ukrainian language school, or “Ridna Shkola,” which still operates today. In 1920, the All Saints Cemetery was purchased by the parish and blessed by Bishop Budka.

In 1926, the church was enlarged and a large dome was added. In 1927, Bishop Budka returned to his beloved Ukraine, where he served as an assistant to Metropolitan Sheptytsky in Lviv. Life in the Cathedral continued until 1934, when Reverend Dr. Wasyl Kushnir (1893–1979) assumed administrative and religious responsibility of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Cathedral. Father Kushnir served as its longest-serving pastor from 1934 to 1979. The large influx of Ukrainian Catholics due to the poor political and economic situation in Europe made it necessary to continually enlarge and rebuild the church. In the 1940s, the parish grew rapidly, and under Dr. Kushnir’s leadership, a new church was built in 1941 (today’s present-day Parish Hall). However, continued post-war immigration again necessitated further building. In 1947, Father Kushnir proposed the construction of a large Cathedral. The thousand-seat building was designed by the accomplished architect Colonel John Nelson Semmens. In 1948, the cornerstone for the new church was blessed. Three years later, on April 15, 1951, the Cathedral was officially opened.

At the time of the official opening in 1951, only two of the thirty-four stained glass windows had been installed. However, between 1960 and 1961, Sviatoslav Horodynskyj, a Ukrainian immigrant and iconographer based in New York, was commissioned to paint the interior and ceiling of the Cathedral. Together with various artists, including parishioner Roman Kowal, the interior was completed. The iconostasis (a wall of icons and religious paintings separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church) was constructed by Ukrainian sculptor Serhij Lytvynenko in 1968.Leonid Molodozhanyn (Leo Mol), an internationally renowned sculptor and artist, and lifelong parishioner of the Cathedral, along with Peter Cholodnyj, an American Ukrainian, completed the installation of the stained glass windows in the Cathedral’s interior. On June 12, 1977, the consecration of the Cathedral and the main altar was performed,
during which Metropolitan Maksym Hermaniuk placed the relics of St. Josaphat. The Cathedral of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha has been the center of the Ukrainian Catholic community for 125 years. We hope this brief history will encourage our faithful to continue to be active in parish life. The current history of our parish is being written by each of us.

What is its historical significance in the Ukrainian Catholic Church? The answers depend on our faith in Jesus, on our prayers, sacrifice, and work.