“Pray for me to be a true and holy bishop”: Bishop Mykhailo Kvyatkovsky’s Episcopal Consecration in Winnipeg
On November 8, 2023, the Divine Liturgy with the Rite of Episcopal Consecration of Bishop Mykhailo Kvyatkovsky was held at the Cathedral of Saints Volodymyr and Olha in Winnipeg, Canada. It was led by Metropolitan Lawrence Hutsulyak of Winnipeg, the main consecrator. Bishop Borys Gudziak, Metropolitan of Philadelphia, and Bishop David Motiuk, ruling bishop of the Edmonton Eparchy, were the co-consecrators.
During the liturgy, Bishop Lawrence greeted all the faithful and the bishops who came to participate in Bishop Mykhailo’s episcopal ordination.
“His Beatitude Sviatoslav, who, in accordance with canonical law, holds the authority to ordain all bishops for the Ukrainian Catholic Church, delegated me, as a metropolitan, to perform this consecration, as his hectic schedule, primarily due to the war in Ukraine, does not allow him to perform it personally. I am accompanied by two bishops-co-consecrators: Metropolitan Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia, who for many years worked with Bishop Mykhailo in Ukraine, and Bishop David Motiuk, who was the apostolic administrator of the New Westminster Eparchy after Bishop Novakivsky’s appointment to London,” the bishop said.
Metropolitan of Winnipeg addressed the newly ordained Bishop with the words of the Head of the UGCC in the Decree naming him ruling Bishop of the New Westminster Eparchy: “Dear brother! Today you join the flock of the bishops of the New Westminster Eparchy who in their ministry have fulfilled God’s will ‘that all men may be saved and come to the understanding of the truth.’ Preserve and multiply their work, dear Bishop! You will perform this ministry in accordance with the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches and the particular laws of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. We encourage you, in compliance with the admonition of the Apostle to the nations, to be ‘blameless, hospitable, benevolent, wise, just, pious, self-controlled, holding true doctrine according to the teaching… capable of instructing in sound doctrine and of exhorting those who oppose it.’ We remind you of the important duty to be a faithful member of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC and, in accordance with the provisions of the law, to participate in it at every call of the Father and Head of the Church. We urge you to preserve and affirm the faith and to work faithfully for the salvation of the souls of our faithful. Listen to the clergy and laity of the diocese entrusted to you.”
continued: “We ask the clergy and God-loving lay people of the diocese to welcome His Eminence Bishop Mykhailo with an open an sincere heart, with respect and love. We urge the clergy to show you due obedience in serving Christ, His Holy Church, and the people of God so that the word of Christ’s truth may spread throughout the eparchy to the glory of the Holy, Consubstantial, Life-giving, and Undivided Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
In his speech of gratitude delivered in English, the newly ordained Bishop Mykhailo thanked all those who accompanied him on his journey of vocation and ministry: his parents, brothers and sisters, and his entire family; the Redemptorist Fathers and his seminary colleagues from his time in Manitoba, including Bishop Brian Baida, with whom he studied at St. Volodymyr’s College, and the then rector, Bishop Petro Stasiuk; the Basilian Fathers and the brethren of the Pontifical Ukrainian College of St. Josaphat in Rome; the Dominican Fathers of Angelicum and the Jesuit Fathers of the Pontifical Oriental Institute; the brothers in the priesthood of the Winnipeg Archeparchy; and the sisters of various congregations; and fellow bishops Metropolitan Maksym Hermaniuk, Archbishop Myroslav Marusyn, major consecrator Metropolitan Lavrentiy Hutsulyak, co-consecrators Metropolitan Borys Gudziak and Bishop David Motiuk, Metropolitan Stefan Soroka, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox bishops present at the ordination, and all the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Episcopal Conference of Canada.
Bishop Mykhailo also remembered His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar, who called him to serve in the Patriarchal Curia in Lviv, and all the people who worked with him during this time, particularly at the Ukrainian Catholic University.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to two other bishops who not only had a significant role in the beginning of my new ministry today, but I know are praying for me at this time: the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, who appointed me Bishop of New Westminster, and the Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, who, together with the Synod of Bishops, elected me and nominated me to Rome,” said Bishop Mykhailo.
He then called on those present to keep His Beatitude Sviatoslav, our Church in Ukraine, and the suffering Ukrainian people in their prayers.
Eparchy is scheduled for November 18, 2023. It will be held at the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vancouver. The event will begin with the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at 6:00 PM.
The UGCC Department for Information,photo: Severyn Shved
