UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Brantford, Ontario
UPCOMING EVENTS
2nd /FEB
Presentation of Our Lord in the
Temple 7:00 pm
8th/FEB
Meatfare Sunday; Awesome
Judgement
15th/FEB
Cheesefare Sunday; Foregiveness
Sunday
16th/FEB
Start of Great Fast
18th/FEB
Akathyst to the Passion of Christ
and memorial for deceased family members
22nd /FEB
First Sunday of Great Fast; Orthodoxy
24th/FEB
Bible Study – High Priest Aaron
25th/FEB
Akathyst to the Passion of Christ
and memorial for deceased family
members
Feast of the (Encounter) Presentation of Our Lord Into the Temple
February 2nd
On this Feast day, we see Jesus forty days old, carried into the temple in Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph, to be recognized as God’s Messiah by the aged Simeon and Anna.
In obedience to the Law of Moses, the Lord Jesus, the first-born, was presented in the Temple by his Blessed Mother and his foster father. Joseph and Mary brought the Child Jesus into the temple along with a humble sacrifice of young pigeons as a sign of thanksgiving.
In Jerusalem at that time there lived a man, Simeon, who was just and devout. According to tradition, Simeon had been visited by an angel of the Lord who foretold him that he would not see death before seeing the Messiah born of the Virgin. Led by the Holy Spirit into the temple on the day that the holy family brought the Child Jesus to fulfill the law, Simeon took the Child into his arms and blessed God by saying: “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32). This is another ‘epiphany’ celebration insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah through the canticle and words of Simeon and the testimony of Anna the prophetess who was also in the temple that day. Christ is the light of the nations, hence the blessing of candles on this day.
Simeon and Anna represent the true Israel of God. They have kept the law given through Moses. They have worshiped in the holy place, the Temple, and they are alive to the unexpectedness of God’s providence.
Simeon and Anna are inspired by the Holy Spirit to see in this child the Holy One of Israel, long awaited. They themselves are old and have grown old in the service of God. They have that widened perception which comes with continual praying.
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Thanks to Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon
Prayer of St. Ephram
Молитва Св. Єфрема Сирійського
Prayer of St. Ephrem
O Lord and Master of my life, keep from me
the spirit of indifference and
discouragement, lust of power, and idle
chatter.
(Prostration)
Instead, grant to me, your servant, the spirit
of wholeness of being, humble- mindedness,
patience, and love. (Prostration)
O Lord and King, grant me the grace to be
aware of my sins, and not to judge my
brothers and sisters; for You are blessed,
now and forever and ever. Amen.
(Prostration)
Молитва Св. Єфрема Сирійського
Господи і Владико життя мого! Духа
лінивства, недбайливости, властолюб’я і
пустомовства, віджени від мене.
Доземний Поклін
Духа чистоти, покори, терпеливости і
любови, даруй мені,
слузі твоєму.
Доземний Поклін
Так Господи Царю.
Дай мені бачити гріхи мої, і не осуджувати
брата мого
бо Ти благословенний на віки вічні. Амінь.
Доземний Поклін
+ Боже, милостивий будь мені грішному!
+ Боже, очисти гріхи мої і помилуй мене!
+ Без числа нагрішив я, Господи прости
мені!
The special Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim is very brief and concise, but in the words of
this prayer the meaning and purpose of Great Lent are revealed to us in great depth.
This is the prayer of repentance. We call upon the ‘Lord and Master’ of our lives –
Jesus Christ – to take away from us the soul- destroying passions of ‘indifference and
discouragement, lust of power, and idle chatter.’ We further beseech Him to fill our cleansed
hearts with those gifts of the Spirit that are transforming and ‘resurrectional’ –wholeness of being, humble- mindedness, patience, and love. Repentance and Resurrection – ‘the springtime of the soul’ – are given to us through this unique prayer as we keep the ‘soul-saving forty days’ of the Fast. This prayer is meant to be used in our homes just as much as we use it in the church; and if we
offer up this prayer with sincerity and regularity in our everyday lives, then we will create that atmosphere in our homes which makes this season so unique and beautiful for us as orthodox Christians. A prostration is made when we fall forward onto our hands and knees and touch the
ground with our forehead. A prostration is usually proceeded by making the Sign of the Cross.
The prostrations and bows which punctuate this Prayer are meant to outwardly symbolize the grace of God working inwardly in our hearts: a prostration is a sign of falling before God (as the Prodigal Son fell before his father) in a spirit of repentance, while standing up again is a sign of our spiritual resurrection in Christ. The whole person - body and soul – participates in prayer, because the whole person has been created and redeemed in Christ; and we await in hope the resurrection of the dead so as to be clothed in the incorruptible and spiritual bodies of the Kingdom.
Спеціальна великопісна молитва святого Єфрема дуже коротка і лаконічна, але в словах цієї молитви нам відкривається глибоке значення і мета Великого посту. Це молитва покаяння. Ми звертаємося до «Господа і Владики» нашого життя – Ісуса Христа – з проханням позбавити нас руйнівних для душі пристрастей «байдужості і зневіри, жаги до влади і пустослів'я». Ми також благаємо Його наповнити наші очищені серця тими дарами Духа, які перетворюють і «воскрешають» – цілісністю буття, смиренністю, терпінням і любов'ю. Покаяння і Воскресіння – «весна душі» – даються нам через цю унікальну молитву, коли ми дотримуємося «сорока днів, що рятують душу», – Великого посту. Ця молитва призначена для використання в наших домівках так само, як ми використовуємо її в церкві; і якщо ми будемо молитися цією молитвою щиро і регулярно в нашому повсякденному житті, то ми створимо в наших домівках ту атмосферу, яка робить цей період таким унікальним і прекрасним для нас, православних християн. Поклон робиться, коли ми падаємо вперед на руки і коліна і торкаємося землі чолом. Поклон зазвичай передує знак хреста. Поклони та уклони, які супроводжують цю молитву, мають на меті зовні символізувати Божу благодать, що діє в наших серцях: поклон є знаком падіння перед Богом (як блудний син впав перед своїм батьком) у дусі покаяння, а підняття з поклону є знаком нашого духовного воскресіння у Христі. Вся людина – тіло і душа – бере участь у молитві, тому що вся людина була створена і викуплена у Христі; і ми з надією чекаємо воскресіння мертвих, щоб одягнутися в нетлінні і
духовні тіла Царства.
ST JOHN'S UKRAINIAN KITCHEN
Thank you for your generous support!
Please watch our Facebook page for our next sales date.
Preserve Our Heritage
Assure Our Future Fundraiser
Please consider donating to help us restore our church
Our small Ukrainian Church in Brantford is seeking $85,000 to help us maintain our church and the broader Ukrainian identity in Brantford.
Even though we are a small parish, our plans are ambitious and our needs great.
Sadly, we have had to make substantial repairs to our buildings due to aging infrastructure and vandalism. We funded these through a combination of our own resources, insurance claims and government grants.
We have always tried to be prudent in our expenditures and proactive in seeking out available funding. These repairs inspired new pride in our church and inspired our goal to restore degrading infrastructure and make needed upgrades.
Preparation for Divine Liturgy
In an effort to foster a more prayerful environment for those
arriving at church for Divine Liturgy, we plan to introduce a variety of prayers to be chanted.
We seek volunteers to read or chant these various services, which will include the Third
Hour, the Rosary and the Jesus Prayer. We plan to alternate these in Ukrainian and English,
subject to availability of volunteer readers.
We will ensure you have the materials you need. Please note, no experience is necessary will be happy to coach you through what you need to do.
A signup form is available, please click the link below
We invite you to register with our Parish
For more information regarding
registration, its benefits as well as the protocols we have in place to secure your information please, contact Fr.Don
Telephone: 519-751-3990
Bishop Bryan’s 2025 Christmas Pastoral Letter
Різдвяний пастирський лист єпископа Браяна 2025 року
Greetings on the Occasion of The Nativity of Our Lord 2025
Привітання з нагоди Різдва Христового 2025 року
Christmas Pastoral Letter of His Beatitude Sviatoslav
Різдвяний пастирський лист Блаженнішого Святослава
ANNOUNCEMENTS
October 25, 2025
“Rosary Unites”: In five years of prayer, Zhyve TV broadcast over 1,500 programs from 40 countries worldwide
October 31, 2025, 07:13 20
For five years, Ukrainians have gathered every evening to pray the rosary as part of the “Rosary Unites” initiative, launched on October 14, 2020, with the blessing of His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. During this time, the daily joint prayer at 8:00 p.m. Kyiv time has united the faithful of the UGCC from all regions of Ukraine and 40 countries around the world.
June 12, 2025
Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada
Our Eparchy is proud to be launching “Road to Emmaus”
Our Eparchy is proud to be launching “Road to Emmaus” together with The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies which provides a propaedeutic year of preparation for those discerning a vocation to ordained ministry within the Church, as well as a discernment year for those interested in lay-leadership in Church ministries. For more information, speak to your pastor.
