Our Parish History
The movement to establish a Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada began towards the end of World War I. Ukrainian pioneers who settled in Canada at the end of the 19th century needed a church which would fulfill their spiritual needs, provide progressive leadership and permit them to retain their traditional Ukrainian culture within the Canadian framework.
When the first group of Ukrainian immigrants arrived in Toronto, a movement began to establish a Ukrainian Orthodox congregation and on October 31, 1926, the foundation for the parish was laid. In 1935, the congregation bought the site at 400 Bathurst St. on which to build the church and also acquired the large building at 404 Bathurst to be used until the church was completed.
St. Volodymyr Cathedral
In November of 1948, the new church was officially opened as St. Vladimir’s Church. Within three years, it was chosen as the seat for the ruling Archbishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada, and elevated to the rank of a Cathedral. In 1988, as part of the celebration of the Millennium of Christianity in Ukraine, the cathedral was renamed St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral. Today, it is referred to as St. Volodymyr Cathedral of Toronto.
All Saints of Ukraine Chapel
Built in 2011 by the parishioners of the St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Toronto, the chapel now serves many parishioners in the Mississauga, Burlington, Oakville and Milton communities.
The Chapel (Каплиця Всіх Святих Землі Української) is located in the St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
The seed of the Orthodox Faith was sowed on the Canadian land, not by missionaries, but by simple peasants, who came from Ukraine 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 was established.
The movement to establish a Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada began towards the end of World War I. Ukrainian pioneers who settled in Canada at the end of the 19th century needed a church which would fulfill their spiritual needs, provide progressive leadership and permit them to retain their traditional Ukrainian culture within the Canadian framework.
Read the full history of the UOCC.