CHAPTER Two

DOCUMENTS OF THE UKRAINIAN CHURCH

INTRODUCTION The primary sources of the particular law of the Ukrainian in Canada originating with the Ukrainian Catholic Church itself are: 1) the individual decrees of the Ukrainian hierarchy in Canada which have the force of law for the entire Ukrainian Church in Canada, namely, those of , Bishop , and the Ukrainian Catholic Conference of Canada; 2) Norms of the Ruthenian-Catholic Church in Canada, promulgated by Bishop Budka on January 23, 1915, following an assembly of Ukrainian in Canada, November 27-29, 1914, Yorkton; 3) Norms of the Provincial Synod of the Winnipeg Metropolia, approved by the Ukrainian hierarchy in Canada following a provincial synod heldJune 26-28, 1962, in Winnipeg. Although these Norms did not receive the approval of the Apostolic See, they still provide a window as to how the Ukrainian Church in Canada saw itself in the early 1960s; and 4) laws enacted by the Synod of of the Ukrainian Church. For the most part, these sources are the result of the application of the particular law of the Ukrainian Church in to the Ukrainian Church in Canada. In the process, the legislation has been modified to fit the Canadian context while still preserving the patrimony of the Ukrainian Church. This delicate balance between the old ways and the new is intriguing. Therefore, each of the canonical sources is studied here in greater detail.

INDIVIDUAL DECREES Since the erection of the Exarchate of Canada for Ukrainians in 1912, the Ukrainian hierarchy has promulgated legislation on a wide 58 Eastern Christians in the New World range of matters affecting the ecclesial life of its faithful in Canada. As discussed below, the decrees, directives, and pastoral letters of Bishops Nykyta Budka and Basil Ladyka, as well as those issued jointly by the Ukrainian hierarchy of Canada, form an integral part of the particular law of the Ukrainian Church in Canada.

Bishop Nykyta (Nicetas) Budka (1912-1928) Nykyta Budka was appointed bishop on July 12, 1912 and served as for the Ukrainian faithful in Canada for fifteen years before taking seriously ill and returning to in 1927. He was born of poverty-stricken parents and devoted his early priestly life to helping Ukrainian peasants improve their lot. Metropolitan Sheptytsky took advantage of Budka's enthusiasm in working with the poor and, among other pastoral assignments, appointed him co-ordinator of immigration affairs on behalf of the Archeparchy of Lviv. In this capacity, Budka was responsible for those who in their desire to escape poverty and oppression emigrated from western Ukraine to various European countries.1 His own humble beginnings, together with his love for the poor, made him an ideal candidate for missionary work among the Ukrainian peasants in Canada. It is not surprising that during his episcopate, he issued numerous decrees, directives, and pastoral letters aimed at aiding newcomers and providing structure and unity for the Ukrainian Church in Canada.

1Following Budka's ordination to the priesthood in 1905 at the age of twenty• eight, Metropolitan Sheptytsky appointed him dean of the Theological Seminary in Lviv. He was temporarily relieved of these duties in order to pursue a Doctor of Divinity degree in Vienna, but was forced to abandon his studies due to ill health when he developed a digestive disorder as a result of poverty and malnutrition during adolescence. Having resumed his responsibilities at the Seminary, he often travelled to Bosnia and Prussia during the summers to visit Ukrainian emigrants and hold religious services and celebrate the sacraments for them. Under Sheptytsky's direction, he studied the objectives of the German Immigration Society of Saint Raphael and adapted these programs to the needs of Ukrainians. These efforts resulted in the establishment of the Saint Raphael Society for the Protection of Ukrainian Immigrants from and Bukovina. In 1911, the Society began publishing Emigrant, a monthly newspaper, with Budka serving as editor. Even after his appointment to Canada, out of his devotion to the poor with whom he had worked, Budka maintained his association with the Society, often submitting articles for publication. See M. SHYKULA and B. KORCHINSKI, Pioneer Bishop, pp. 36-38. On June 27, 2001 Bishop Budka was beatified by Pope John Paul II. Documents of the Ukrainian Church 59

On June 6, 1913, through an Act of the Parliament of the Dominion of Canada, Budka secured the incorporation of the "Ruthenian Greek Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Canada.:" The Act granted the Ukrainian Church in Canada the right to acquire, possess, administer, and alienate ecclesiastical goods necessary to pursue its proper objectives.3 In the same year, Acts were passed in the Legislative Assemblies of the Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario to provide for the incorporation of Ukrainian parishes and missions in these provinces.4 Budka also issued by-laws to be enacted by each parish or mission in the day-to-day operation of the congregation.5 These steps ensured that the churches and temporal goods of the Ukrainian Church in Canada were protected under civil law. On November 27-29, 1914, Budka convoked an assembly of the Ukrainian clergy in Canada and subsequently promulgated the Norms of the Ruthenian-Catholic Church in Canada, which regulated the manner in which sacraments and sacramentals were administered; the rights and obligations of clergy, religious, and laity; and the administration of ecclesiastical goods. These Norms were sup• plemented by Budka in following years.6

2King George V, Chapter 191, An Act to incorporate the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Canada. 3Art icle 1 of the Act states: "The Right Reverend Nicetas Budka, Titular Bishop of Patara, deputed by the Holy Roman See as Bishop of the Ruthenian Greek Catholics of Canada in communion with Rome, and his successors in office, the Bishops appointed by the aforesaid See to hold jurisdiction over the Ruthenian Greek Catholics of Canada, of the same faith and rite and persevering in communion with the Roman Pontiff, are hereby constituted a corporation under the name of 'The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Canada,' hereinafter called 'the Corporation', for the purposes of administering the property, business and other temporal affairs connected with the said spiritual jurisdiction." 4King George V, Chapter 83, 1913, Alberta; Chapter 73, 1913, Saskatchewan; Chapter 127, 1913, Manitoba; and Bill 13, 1913, Ontario. Parishes and missions in the provinces of British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Quebec were incorporated under "The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Canada." 5Statut Rus'leoyi Hreko-Katolyc'koyi Tserkvy v Kanadi/Constitution and By-Laws of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in Canada, 1913. The by-laws are based extensively upon those promulgated by Bishop for the United States. 6Budka's decrees, directives, and pastoral letters are found in the Archives of the Archeparchy of Winnipeg, Ruthenian Canadian; his Eparkhiyal'nyj Vistnyk (Eparchial Newsletter; Year I, no. 1 (October, 1924) to Year N, no. 7 (lune, 1927)); and Ukrayins'ki Visti/Ukrainian News.