How "Heaven" looked... before the fire

This magnificent depiction of "Heaven, from below" graced the interior of St. Elias Ukrainian Catholic Church, in Brampton, Ontario (in the Eparchy of Toronto), before the terrible fire of last Easter. The beautiful art and architecture embodied in the church building can never be reproduced exactly, but, thanks be to God, a new temple is expected to ready for consecration in 2016.

Thanks be to God, yes, and thanks also to all who have answered appeals for help with Rebuild Fund. Here is a true story of Heaven-sent support, as recorded by the church's Pastor, Archpriest Roman Galadza.

Those of us who were able to attend the Benefit Concert and Dinner arranged on our behalf by the Ukrainian Orthodox Community of Toronto had a wonderful experience of brotherly love. Some 300 friends of our parish were in attendance. The hall was nicely decorated, the concert by the Canadian Bandurist Capella was delightful and the food excellent. In the course of the evening a number of donors came forward to make the eventual total raised for our Rebuild Fund to approximately $28,000.

And then, the miracle! A Ukrainian philanthropist sent up a note to have the organizers announce his donation in memory of his father, +Illya. The amount -- $250,000! All were stunned. I had to have people assure me I had heard correctly. A quarter of a million dollars given our community by someone who was here just once! – for a wedding!- but that was enough to convince him and his wife that our community is special and deserved his support. Certainly he and his family will be in our grateful prayers for as long as we pray in the new temple!

I have been asked why we are accepting donations to rebuild the temple, since insurance is covering the costs. Actually, we were underinsured. The coverage was not indexed over the past 10 years and we were short at least 25%. Catholic Mutual will be making a lump-sum payout which will enable us to begin rebuilding. If we are very careful, using the resources in our parish, this, plus what was allotted for the contents, might almost be enough to put up the walls. But the contents, the iconography, the books and sacred vessels – without donations from the community, the interior of the church could be quite bare for years to come.

This donation, and the donations being received every day, mostly from outside our parish community, enable us to plan the interior at the same time that the structure is being erected. When our church is consecrated once again (summer of 2016, please God!) we look forward to entering through the doors into an interior that replicates what we once had. Yes, we were insured to replace the structure, but everything inside is still up to us, and our God-sent friends! God bless them!

As Father Galadza says, more help is still needed. Please click here to donate. The St. Elias Church community will thank you (and give you a tax receipt, if you're Canadian) and God will surely bless you!

St. Elias Ukrainian Catholic Church Christmas news

Archpriest Roman Galadza, Pastor of St. Elias Ukrainian Catholic Church, in Brampton, Ontario, has sent us this beautiful picture of the church building, as it was a year ago, before the great fire last Easter, which razed it to the ground.

 

Father Galadza writes:

A year ago, we were preparing to celebrate the Feast [of the Holy Theophany, the Nativity of Christ], as we had so many times before, in the beauty of God's temple, St. Elias, our spiritual home. There was so much to look forward to. Now, this temple is gone and we are forced to adjust, accepting God's will and the challenge of truly believing that "God is with us!"

As for the status of reconstruction of the temple, our architectural team is working on the drawings, intending to submit them to the city for approval shortly. Insurance coverage is sufficient to begin the work while donations toward the Building Fund will enable us to furnish the interior.

If all goes well, the foundation work will begin in May with completion by summer of 2016. We look forward and pray for the day when, God willing, what was will be -- once again!

If you would like to contribute to the Building Fund, please click here to make a donation online through CanadaHelps.  Or you can send a cheque in Canadian or US dollars, payable to St. Elias Building Fund, to St. Elias Church, 10193 Heritage Road, Brampton, Ontario, L7A 0A1, Canada.

Latest news on rebuilding St. Elias; your help is appreciated

Walt is pleased to note that "Rebuilding Saint Elias - UPDATE", posted nearly six weeks ago, is getting steady readership. The post consistently ranks in our top 5. Even better, it appears that some of you are being motivated to donate through CanadaHelps.org.

The St. Elias website reports that approximately $75,000 has been received from outside the parish for the rebuilding of this lovely Ukrainian Catholic church, which was completely destroyed by fire just before Easter. Father Roman Galadza, the pastor, writes: "This outpouring of support is most humbling – and it continues.... God bless our friends!"

The latest news is that the stone footings and foundations of the church building have been compromised to the extent that they will all have to be removed. Clearing of the site will take place shortly. This week, Ilya Galadza and a team of helpers will sift through the remains. Those salvaged items no longer able to be used for worship will be set aside and placed in a mohyla-mound on the property. Date and time of the burial service will be announced.

Concerts and other forms of fund-raisers are being planned. Details will be posted on the church website. If you're in the Greater Toronto Area and can attend any of these events, you'll receive a warm welcome. And remember, even if you can do nothing else, you should pray for the parish -- its pastor, its members and its church building -- and for peace, freedom and justice in Ukraine. The prayers of the faithful (at about 38:00) should be listened to carefully.

Today Walt has for you an excellent video of the visit to the church, earlier this month, of Patriarch Sviatoslav. It begins with aerial shots of the church property, the ruins of the building and the marquee in which services are now being held. Total running time is 54 minutes. If you have never heard the beauty of Ukrainian Easter music (much of it sung in English), you'll want to watch all of it! And there's a great aerial shot of the church ruins at the end.

Rebuilding Saint Elias - UPDATE

Further to Walt's previous post on the tragic fire at the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Elias the Prophet, here is a statement from the church's website.

It was with sadness and shock that we witnessed our church building burn to the ground on the morning of Saturday, April 5, 2014. We are greatly relieved that no-one was injured, and grateful for the support that started to pour in before the flames were even extinguished. Those of us who were blessed to experience the beauty and tranquility of our dear church know how much it will be missed. Those of you who were around to build it know how much work lies ahead. But for now, we thank God for those things that fire can not destroy, and remind ourselves that God’s people are the Church. We will build a new home for them.

In a radio interview after the Sunday morning liturgy, Father Roman Galadza said there will be grass on the site this summer, and, God willing, a new church building within two years.

If you would like to be part of the rebuilding effort, please follow the link at the bottom of the St. Elias homepage to get on the list for e-mail updates. If you want to donate immediately, go to CanadaHelps.org. Or you can send your cheque, payable to "St. Elias", to Father Roman Galadza at 10193 Heritage Rd., Brampton, ON, L7A 0A1, Canada. Canadian donors are entitled to income tax credit.