Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada

Following Metropolitan Germanos' leadership, Archbishop John (Theodorovich) became the church's primate. Archbishop John had just arrived in the United States from the non-canonical Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and he began to serve the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA to become their Primate and Metropolitan. The young church had chosen the Ukrainian bishop as their bishop, hoping that the church would further grow under his leadership. During the summers from 1924 to 1946 Archbishop John would make an annual trip to Canada to visit the parishes throughout the country. When Archbishop John was in the USA during the winter months, a Fr. Semen Sawchuk would act as an administrator at the Consistory in Canada.

After a few years as acting Primate of the UOCC, certain controversies laid around Archbishop John, due to his uncanonical ordination to bishop. Archbishop John was "ordained" by the "bishops" of Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, who were not ordained according to the canon laws and traditions of the Orthodox Church, but were ordained by priests and lay people. The 1st Canon of the Holy Apostles states that new bishops should be ordained by at least 2 or 3 bishops. As a result of this, Archbishop John resigned his position as ruling bishop in 1946.

At a special Sobor in 1947, Bishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) was accepted as the new Archbishop of Winnipeg and all Canada. However, due to some misunderstandings, and arguments about how the church should be governed (mostly between himself and Semen Sawchuk), he resigned as Primate in 1950 at X Sobor in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In response the UOCC contacted Metropolitan Polycarp (Sikorski) (who was the head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Abroad, composed of refugee bishops formerly affiliated with the Polish Orthodox Church in German-occupied Ukraine) for assistance, and he agreed to send some bishops over to help the faithful in Canada.

At a special sobor in 1947 the UGOCC accepted Bishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) of Pereyaslav of the UAOC, consecrated during World War II with the blessing of Metropolitan Dionysius (Waledyński) of Warsaw, as its ruling bishop with the title "Archbishop of Winnipeg and All Canada".[1] Due to conflicts between Archbishop Mstyslav and members of the UGOCC Consistory, however, the former resigned as diocesan bishop at the tenth sobor of the Church in 1950, once again leaving the UGOCC without a bishop.

After the resignation of Archbishop Mstyslav the Consistory appealed to Metropolitan Polycarp of the UAOC for assistance in finding bishops for the UGOCC. By the time another special sobor was called in 1951 four potential bishops, all consecrated in German-occupied Ukraine during World War II, had been found. One, Metropolitan Hilarion (Ohienko) of Kholm, had been resident in Winnipeg since 1947. Two others, Archbishop Michael (Khoroshy) and Bishop Platon (Artemiuk), came to Canada at the invitation of the Consistory and with the blessing of Metropolitan Polycarp.

At the 1951 sobor it was decided that the UGOCC, which had grown to include some 300 parishes, would be organized as a metropolia. Metropolitan Ilarion was elected Metropolitan of Winnipeg and All Canada and primate of the UGOCC, while Archbishop Michael was elected Archbishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada. (Bishop Platon had died shortly after his arrival in Canada.) The size of the UGOCC necessitated the appointment of more bishops, and so in 1959 Archimandrite Andrew (Metiuk) was elected Bishop of Edmonton and Western Canada and in 1963 Archimandrite Boris (Yakovkevych) was elected Bishop of Saskatoon and auxiliary or assistant bishop of the Central Eparchy under Metropolitan Ilarion.

After 21 years as primate of the UGOCC, Metropolitan Ilarion died on March 29, 1972, and was succeeded by Archbishop Michael of Toronto as Metropolitan of Winnipeg and All Canada. After Metropolitan Michael’s retirement in 1975 Archbishop Andrew (Metiuk) was elected metropolitan, serving until his death on February 2, 1985. Under Metropolitan Andrew new bishops, Bishops Mikolaj (Debryn), Basil (Fedak), and John (Stinka), were elected to serve the UGOCC, and after Metropolitan Andrew’s death Bishop Wasyly was elected Metropolitan of Winnipeg and All Canada. Four years after his enthronement as primate of the UGOCC Metropolitan Wasyly consecrated Archimandrite Yurij (Kalistchuk) as Bishop of Saskatoon.

After dialoguing with the Church of Constantinople the UGOCC was received into its jurisdiction as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada in 1990, bringing it into the full communion of the canonical Orthodox Church.[1] (Several years later its sister church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Diaspora, also joined the Patriarchate of Constantinople.) The decree of Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrius (Papadopoulos) uniting the UOCC with the Church of Constantinople recognized the Church’s internal autonomy under its metropolitan, justifying the reception of the UOCC into the Patriarchate’s jurisdiction on the basis of the historic jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople in Ukraine.

Following the death of Metropolitan Wasyly in early 2005 the twenty-first sobor of the UOCC elected Archbishop John as Metropolitan of Winnipeg and Canada. In August 2008 an extraordinary sobor was held in Saskatoon to elect new bishops, amend the UOCC’s bylaws, and mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the UOCC in the city.[2] The sobor elected Bishops Ilarion (Rudnyk) of Telmessos as Bishop of Edmonton and Andriy (Peshko) of Krateia as auxiliary Bishop of Saskatoon.

In July 2010 another special sobor of the UOCC was held to nominate a successor to the newly retired Metropolitan John. The sobor nominated Archbishop Yurij (Kalistchuk) of Toronto for the metropolitanate, and consequently on August 30, 2010, the Holy Synod in Constantinople elected Archbishop Yurij as Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of Canada.

• Central Eparchy
  • Metropolitan Yurij (Kalistchuk) of Winnipeg and Canada (2010–2021 Retired)
• Eastern Eparchy
  • Bishop Andriy (Peshko) of Toronto, Bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada (2008–Present)
• Western Eparchy
  • Bishop Ilarion (Rudnyk) of Edmonton and Western Canada (2008–Present)

List of primates, and years of primatial rule:

No.	Primateship	Picture	Name	Personal name	Date and place of birth	Date and place of death
1	1919–1924 (5 years)		Metropolitan Germanos Германос	Germanos Shehadeh	18 January 1872 Beirut, Ottoman Empire	7 April 1934 Beirut, Greater Lebanon
2	1924–1946 (22 years)		Metropolitan John (Theodorovych) Іоанн (Теодорович)	Ivan Teodorovych	6 October 1887 Krupets, Russian Empire	3 May 1971 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3	1947–1950 (3 years)		Archbishop Mstyslav Мстислав	Stepan Ivanovych Skrypnyk	10 April 1898 Poltava, Russian Empire	11 June 1993 Grimsby, Canada
4	1951–1972 (21 years)		Metropolitan Ilarion Іларіон	Ivan Ivanovich Ohienko	2 January 1882 Brusilov, Russian Empire	29 March 1972 Winnipeg, Manitoba
5	1972–1975 (3 years)		Metropolitan Michael Михаїл	Theodot Nykyforovych Khoroshy	10 July 1885 Fyodorovka, Russian Empire	5 May 1977 Toronto, Ontario
6	1975–1985 (10 years)		Metropolitan Andrew Андрей	Hryhoriy Metiuk	3 January 1898 Terebiń, Russian Empire	2 February 1985 Winnipeg, Manitoba
7	1985–2005 (20 years)		Metropolitan Wasyly Василій	Wasyly Fedak	1 November 1909 Kadubivtsi, Austria-Hungary	10 January 2005 Winnipeg, Manitoba
8	2005–2010 (5 years)		Metropolitan John Stinka Іван (Стінка)	Ivan Stinka	14 January 1935 Buchanan, Saskatchewan	19 September 2022 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
9	2010–2021 (11 years)		Metropolitan Yurij Юрій	Yurij Petrovych Kalistchuk	26 May 1951 Lachine, Quebec	–
10	2022–present (1 year)		Metropolitan Ilarion Іларіон	Roman Mykolayovych Rudnyk	14 February 1972 Lviv, Ukrainian SSR	–

List of bishops who have served in the UOCC historically, and the years served:

• Metropolitan Germanos (Shehadi) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America - (1919-1924)
• Metropolitan John (Theodorovych) - (1924-1948)
• Archbishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) - (1949-1950)
• Metropolitan Ilarion (Ohienko) - (1951-1972)
• Metropolitan Michael (Khoroshy) - (1951-1977)
• Metropolitan Andrew (Metiuk) - (1959-1985)
• Archbishop Boris (Yakovkevych) - (1963-1984)
• Archbishop Mykolaj (Debryn) - (1975-1981)
• Metropolitan Wasyly (Fedak) - (1978-2005)
• Metropolitan John (Stinka) - (1983-2010)
• Metropolitan Yurij (Kalistchuk) - (1989–2021)
• Metropolitan Ilarion (Rudnyk) - (2008–Present)
• Bishop Andriy (Peshko) - (2008–Present)