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1000 Byron Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario, K2A 0J3
(613) 728-0856
Our History
Historical Milestones
- February 1949
- Initial meeting of 13 founders of the church who made the decision to organize a Ukrainian Orthodox Parish in Canada’s capital.
- August 1949
- Meeting of earliest members in the presence of Very Rev. Volodymyr Sluzar of Montreal. Decision made to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. Dmytro Kostenuk elected as first Parish President.
- October 1949
- First Liturgy of the congregation held in the Greek Orthodox Church, located at 360 Albert St., attended by Archbishop Mstyslav, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.
- March 1950
- Congregation purchases first church building, the Anglican Church of the Ascension, dating from 1877, at 115 Echo Drive, on the corner of Main Street, overlooking historic Rideau Canal . Cost of the church - $12,000. The cost of modifications was an additional $7,000 and included a central roof dome, a bell tower and a bell imported from Europe.
- August 1950
- Dedication of the first Ukrainian Orthodox c hurch in Ottawa, named in honour of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.
Parish Priests
Fr. John Danyliuk
1950 – 1952
Fr. Orest Iwaniuk
1952 – 1954
Fr. Gregory Kryshtanowych
1954 – 1955
Fr. Myroslav Podolsky
1955 – 1961
Founders and Pioneers
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral honours its founders and pioneers who through their tireless efforts and sacrifice established the Parish in 1949 and continued to support it over many years. The current and future members of this Parish remain forever indebted to the vision and initiative of these founders and pioneers and to other parishioners who provided support in spirit and through their individual efforts.
Sunday School
Sunday school has been a part of parish life from the very earliest years. In the beginning, the women of the local branch of Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada played a leading role together with the Ukrainian school teachers, Dobrodiyky, and mothers in the parish. By the mid-60s classes were taught by Mary Mack, Mrs. H. Trischuk, Doreen Keir, Gloria Prokopovich, Olga Sametz, Ms. C. Dorofi, Mr. M. Zabolotny, and Dobr. L. Gorgitsa.
Through the 1980s, Dobr. Genia Bozyk took an active role in Sunday school in addition to her work in the Ukrainian School. After 1992, Halyna Michaelchuk and Liza Malarek assisted in the Sunday school program, along with many others from the parish. During the past 20 years, the program was run by Dobr. Jennifer Okhrimtchouk and Suzanne Soroka.
The Sunday School still operates today under Dobr. Olha Kinash and continues to focus on religious studies, singing, concerts, and participation in church and special services such as communion, holding candles, readings, and prayers. Throughout the years, children have been encouraged to take an active part in the parish by learning about the Ukrainian Orthodox faith and participating in Liturgical services and continue to be encouraged to actively live their faith and culture.
A Brief History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, 1918 - 2018
The seed of the Orthodox faith was sown on Canadian land, not my missionaries, but by simple peasants who came from Ukraine searching for a better life and established themselves on the Canadian prairies. It is indeed on this simple but, at the same time, deep faith of the Ukrainian peasants-pioneers that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC) was established.