Holy Spirit Seminary is the Major Seminary of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada. It also welcomes candidates from elsewhere. Its primary purpose is the preparation of candidates for ordained priesthood in the Catholic Church. This preparation for eparchial ministerial leadership embraces and promotes spiritual formation, theological education, and field training. The Seminary pursues its calling to form candidates as responsible and apostolic persons for the service of the Church and world by fostering: faithful love for Jesus Christ, his Church and all people; commitment to hand on faithfully the tradition, teachings and history of the Church; commitment to the exploration of the mysteries of faith through sustained scriptural and theological enquiry; and communal life through faith, prayer and wisdom.
History
The need for a Seminary in Canada had long been discussed by the Ukrainian Catholic Hierarchy of Canada. Before the establishment of Holy Spirit Seminary, candidates attended various Roman Catholic seminaries in Canada including University of Saint Paul Seminary (Ottawa), Saint Basil’s College (Toronto), Saint Augustine’s Seminary (Toronto), Saint Peter’s Seminary (London), and Saint Joseph’s Seminary (Edmonton), while others attended Saint Josaphat’s Seminary and Saint Sofia College in Rome. Whereas the Basilian and Redemptorist Orders had their own scholasticates, there was no place of preparation for eparchial priests.
Holy Spirit Seminary was established in 1981. The former Basilian scholasticate at 520 Queen Elizabeth Driveway served as its first location. Very Rev. Joseph Andrijishyn was appointed Rector and in September 1981 the Seminary opened its doors and began receiving its first students. Seminarians studied philosophy at Ottawa University and theology at the University of Saint Paul. By 1983, the Seminary building became too small to accommodate all the students and an additional house at 72 Craig Street was purchased. When the Basilian Fathers made it known that they intended to sell the scholasticate building, the Seminary was relocated to 1030 Baseline Road, a former Augustinian Monastery.
Through many years, the Seminary collaborated with the Faculty of Theology at Saint Paul University so that the seminarians would have as some of their academic theological formation in their own Byzantine Christian tradition. In 1990, at the invitation of the Ukrainian Catholic hierarchy of Canada, the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies (MASI) moved from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago to become an academic institute within the Faculty of Theology at the University of Saint Paul in Ottawa. With the move of MASI to the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto in 2017, the Bishops discerned and determined that Holy Spirit Seminary would move to Edmonton in August 2018. The Seminary began a new relationship with Newman Theological College where seminarians would receive their academic philosophical and theological formation.
Since the erection of Holy Spirit Seminary in 1981, over 100 candidates have received all or part of their priestly formation in Ottawa; more than 60 have been ordained to the priesthood and now serve in various parishes across Canada and the USA.
Donations
The formation of candidates for the priesthood belongs to the whole Church, to you and to me. Please consider making a donation or leaving a bequest in your will to Holy Spirit Seminary. For more information, please contact Halyna Balukh at:
Holy Spirit Seminary, 12909 113 Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5M 2W8
Phone 587-460-6031 • admin[at]holyspiritseminary.org
Holy Spirit Seminary is the Major Seminary of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada. Its primary purpose is the preparation of candidates for ordination to the priesthood in the Catholic Church. This preparation for eparchial ministerial leadership embraces and promotes spiritual formation, theological education and practical field training.
