In the past few years the Anglican Gloucester Cathedral has initiated an annual tradition of inviting an ethnic community to celebrate its Liturgy in the Cathedral. This year, the Ukrainian Gloucester community has been invited. Since 90% of this community can be characterized as patriarchal, naturally, the Dean of the Cathedral invited Father Mykola Matichak, pastor of the patriarchal parish of Halifax, to celebrate the Liturgy. For this reason, Bishop Horniak, his chancellor Father Wiwcharuk and a few of their supporters instigated a needless and unnecessary campaign to torpedo the planned celebration of the Holy Mass by Father Matichak. They made numerous phone-calls, and wrote letters to the Anglican Bishop and the Dean of the Cathedral, Gilbert Thurlow. A delegation of three women tried to convince Dean Thurlow to withdraw the invitation for the patriarchal Liturgy, and finally threatened a demonstration.
Incidentally, such actions on the part of Bishop Horniak unfortunately have been done in the past. In the Ukrainian section of the October issue of our magazine there is an article about the pilgrimage of the Ukrainian faithful from England, headed by Father Matichak, to Lourdes. In Lourdes, the local priest in charge did not want to grant permission to Father Matichak to celebrate the Holy Mass because he received a phone call from a bishop in England informing him about Father Matichak’s «illegality». Fortunately, a brief explanation sufficed for the priest to change his mind, and Father Matichak was able to celebrate the Liturgy. It does not take much ingenuity to guess which «Bishop from England» volunteered such important information. This is how Bishop Horniak, «a bishop from vocation» applies in practice his Christian charity toward his neighbor.
Below, we are printing a letter authored by Father Wiwcharuk, who is Bishop Horniak’s chancellor. This is a shameful and disgraceful document. It is beyond our comprehension how Father Wiwcharuk can call himself a Ukrainian pastor, how he can talk about Christian charity, when he himself is its direct anthisesis. What can we expect from such priests and bishops «from vocation»? But let us not regard them with hatred, only with understanding, for they don’t know what they are doing. Let us rather pray to the Lord to enlighten them and direct them on the right path.
The telephone calls, the letters, the delegation to Dean Thurlow produced absolutely no results. The celebration of the Ukrainian Liturgy in the Gloucester Cathedral took place as planned on September 10, 1978. The Cathedral was filled with English and Ukrainian faithful. A local young priest delivered a touching welcome to Father Matichak and then explained the characteristic elements of the Ukrainian Rite. At the end of the Liturgy . Dean Thurlow thanked the Ukrainian community and Father Matichak, who in turn offered his thanks to the host and as a token of appreciation presented him with a recording of the Ukrainian Liturgy.
The threatened demonstration by the Bishop’s supporters did not materialize, for the few women who showed up were asked to leave by the police, for they had no demonstration permit.
Editor
