Videos of the Consecration of St Elias Church

This past Saturday, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, consecrated the church of St Elias the Prophet in Brampton, Ontario, just over 2½ years after the earlier structure was destroyed by fire. Videos of this marvelous event are now available; the first contains 35 minutes of highlights, the second is the complete 4- hour long ceremony, which includes both the consecration and the Divine Liturgy that followed. I have also included below a video of the candelit night vigil celebrated the evening before the consecration. As is always the case with St Elias, the music is particularly good!

At 2:19:00 in the longer video, Archbishop Shevchuk preaches a very beautiful sermon on the rite of the consecration of a church: “You saw that at the beginning of the consecration service, the bishop is supposed to pray a special long prayer, invoking the Holy Spirit, facing the people. Not facing the altar, which was not consecrated yet. Not the sanctuary, but the people. Why? Because our church was not yet consecrated. Only you were living temples of the Holy Spirit. Facing to you, with the one Holy Trinity who lives in your hearts and in your souls.”

The clergy and faithful of St Elias labor mightily to promote knowledge and love of the great Byzantine liturgical tradition. Our heartiest congratulations to the community for the success (and rapidity) of their rebuilding project, and our prayers that their mission continue На многая і благая літа!! (for many blessed years)

The night vigil

Consecration of St Elias Church This Weekend

Two years ago, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church of St Elias the Prophet in Brampton, Ontario, was completely destroyed by fire. Ever since then, the community has been diligently working to rebuild its church, and after just over 2½ years, it is ready to be consecrated. (Back in June we posted a rather astonishing video of the main dome being lifted into place by a crane, which really has to be seen to be believed; wait for the end, when the bells of the church are rung to celebrate.)

This weekend, the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, will consecrate the finished church. The complete schedule of services, which begin tomorrow evening at 6 pm, may be consulted at the website http://www.sainteliasconsecration.com/. The main ceremony takes place on Saturday, October 1st, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; this is also the day of an especially lovely Byzantine feast called The Protection of the All-Holy Mother of God. If you are anywhere near the area, you should certainly attend the ceremony if at all possible. St Elias has and deserves a reputation as a place where the Byzantine liturgy is cultivated in the fullness of its richness and beauty, and this will be a truly unique opportunity to witness a ceremony of even-greater-than-usual magnificence.

If you cannot attend the ceremony, you can still watch it on a Youtube live-stream at the following address:
https://www.youtube.com/user/oleniatko/live.

The finished church can be seen on the outside in this video.

The Rebuilding of St Elias Church in Brampton, Ontario

Two years ago, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church of St Elias the Prophet in Brampton, Ontario, was completely destroyed by fire. Ever since then, the community has been working to rebuild its church, and an important phase has just been completed, with the mounting of the main dome. Here is a video from their Facebook page, which really has to be seen to be believed. (Wait for the end, when the bells of the church are rung to celebrate this important phase of the rebuilding.)

The head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, will consecrate the finished church at the end of September and beginning of October; details will be announced on their Facebook page. If you are anywhere near the area, you should certainly attend the ceremony if at all possible. St Elias has and deserves a reputation as a place where the Byzantine liturgy is cultivated in the fullness of its richness and beauty, and this will be a unique opportunity to witness a ceremony of even-greater-than-usual magnificence.