Our Parish Priest

Father Taras Kinash
Fr. Taras was born in Nyzhankovychi, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine on 23 September 1985. Before graduating secondary school he had been an altar server for five years.
In 2002 he entered Ivano-Frankivsk Orthodox Seminary and graduated in 2006. That same year he became a student in the Master’s program for Religion Studies and Philosophy at The National University of Ostroh Academy. During this time he became a participant of the Canada World Youth Exchange Program and visited North Battleford, SK, where he volunteered with the Pe-Ta-Pan Preschool Centre for Aboriginal children and attended many cultural events as well as church services in Canadian Ukrainian Orthodox churches. He earned his Master's Degree in 2011.
In 2009 he married Olya Kovalchuk and they moved to her hometown of Tetiiv, Kyiv Oblast. Their son, Matthew, was born in 2012. In 2014 he started to volunteer with the Ukrainian army and established a non-government organization whose objective was overall local development. He also managed several social projects particularly the English speaking club, a local newspaper, a business hub and other activities.
In 2014, the construction of the first Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchy was started in the town of Tetiiv. Fr. Taras first became a cantor at the church. In July 2015 he was ordained as a deacon by His Grace Archbishop Agapit and then, in September 2015, was ordained as a priest by His Grace Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv.
Fr. Taras became the Parish Priest in Tetiiv with a congregation of approximately 200 permanent parishioners. With the assistance of a cantor, Fr. Taras led a children's choir for two years. Additionally, he co-managed a summer Orthodox camp for three years in a row. The parish also volunteered for the Army and Senior's houses. When the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was created in Ukraine, His Grace Metropolitan Yuriy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada visited Kyiv for an enthronization service. Fr. Taras was introduced to Metropolitan Yuriy and they found they had much in common.
In September and October 2019, Fr. Taras was invited by the UOCC to visit Canada. During this trip he attended classes at St. Andrew's College, participated in social events and services at Holy Trinity Cathedral and St. Mary the Protectress Cathedral in Winnipeg as well as in churches in Saskatoon, SK and Dauphin, MB.
In 2020, Fr. Taras and Dobrodika Olya welcomed their daughter Anna into their family. Through the years, Fr. Taras was in close contact with the UOCC. In October 2021 he was interviewed by our Cathedral’s Parish Council for the position of Parish Priest after Fr. Ihor Okhrimtchouk unexpectedly passed away in June 2021. In December 2021, the Cathedral’s Parish Council approved the selection of Fr. Taras and started the process of transfer.
In February 2022, due to Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Cathedral’s Parish Council worked tirelessly to secure special permission for Fr. Taras to leave Ukraine. With the support of the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada, permission for Fr. Taras to leave Ukraine was granted. On April 22, 2022, Fr. Taras and his family arrived in Ottawa and he served his first church service on Saturday, April 23 as Parish Priest of our Cathedral.