UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Brantford, Ontario

HISTORY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH
The first immigrants settled in Brantford at the beginning of the 20" Century in 1902,
almost 100 years ago. Most of these settlers were Lemkos from the village of Odrechowa
in Western Halychyna, at that time under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many
came looking for work. Pratt and Letchworth began hiring and approximately 50 families
moved from Buffalo, NY to Brantford. Others came from Detroit, MI.
Ukrainians followed the Greek Catholic Rite. Once settled, they began thinking about
arranging for Ukrainian Masses and in the long term purchasing a church of their own.
Visiting priests came from as far away as Buffalo and Detroit to celebrate weddings,
christenings and mass. For the longest time the settlers were fortunate enough to be able
to use the Chapel at St. Basils Roman Catholic Church. A committee was established and
a fund set up for the sole purpose of raising money to purchase a church. The people went
caroling at Christmas, held dances and put on theatrical performances.
In June of 1911, the Brotherhood of St. John The Baptist was established, marking the
beginning of this parish. The name St. John The Baptist was chosen in memory of the one
they had left behind in Odrechowa. By 1913 there were 178 paid members of the church.
It wasn’t until August 22, 1917 that a large two-storey building at 100 Terrace Hill St.
was purchased from J.D. Watkins for $6,000. The first assigned priest to this parish was
Rev. Fr. M. Ircha.
The top floor was used as a church and the lower floor as a residence and office for the
priest. This small community of Ukrainians began a new life in its very own church -
known as St. John’s Ruthenian Church at that time. (This was the name given to all
Ukrainian Churches at the time as Ukraine was once called Rus. It wasn’t until after
WWI that the name was changed.) They prayed and thanked the Almighty Father for this
new beginning.
The parish was very active. It organized the youth, a school, a theatrical group and a
choir. At the same time the Sisterhood was established. The Brotherhood became
members of the Central Committee for Ukrainians in Canada, known today as the
Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
There was need of a hall and the parishioners decided to loan their own money, interest
free, to this project so there would be no need for a mortgage. On November 27, 1928,
the permit was granted for this project with an estimated cost of $2,400. The contractor
was J.J. Bowden.
On February 26, 1929, a catastrophe occurred. A fire burned down the second floor
where the church was, as well as the intcrior of the lower floor. The fire also caused
significant smoke damage to the remainder of the building.
“When the firemen responded to the telephone call that came in at 1.35am, they found the
streets a sheet of ice and they had to be very careful or they would not have reached the
fire at all.” “On arrival the place seemed to be a roaring inferno.” “The conditions were
terrible. As soon as water fell, it froze on all the equipment. The ladders, hose and footing
were all glazed with ice making the going very difficult. Chief Lewis ascended the stairs
outside the building and made a descent that could only be pictured in a movie comedy.
He declares that he only felt contact twice, halfway down and at the bottom.”
“While the men raised a 40-foot extension into the air so that the roof could be got at a
heavy stone coping fell from the cornice. It narrowly missed the firemen at the foot,
grazing Fireman Johnson’s back. It fell on the ladder, snapping it off like a toothpick. The
lucky escape served to make the department think more of human life than material
things and the water was sprayed until it was possible to leave the building for daylight to
tell its story.”
(Excerpts from the Expositor - Wed. Feb.27, 1929)
Rev. Father J. A. Halowka thanked the fire department for succeeding in “bringing it
under control, saving the new hall addition with little damage, and saving also a portion
of the main structure.”
(Excerpts from the Expositor - Thurs. Feb.28, 1929)
The parishioners received $9,000 insurance and began rebuilding the church that very
same year. On August 31, 1929, a permit was granted to begin the alterations and
addition to the present building. The contractor was J. Brock. The cost was $7,350. The
church stands to this very day. Rev. Fr. I. Kolsun became the assigned priest at this time
and the church was blessed on Dec 22, 1929. Parish life began again.

From 1929 to 1939 the parish had 7 different priests, afier which Rev. Fr. Isidore
Borecky was assigned. He stayed in the parish of St. John The Baptist until he became
the Bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada on March 3, 1948. It was also during these
years that the men in the parish dug out the basement for the new kitchen to be installed.
So great was the love for the church that the men worked all day, then came to work in
the evenings to complete the work.
In the early 1940’s the Ukrainian Catholic Youth Organization was formed. The parish
saw a growth in membership following WWII. Many young men from the parish had
served in the Canadian armed forces. All of these boys were in their late teens or early
twenties. Two young men never returned; John Bialas and Andrew Sywyk
During the next 20 years the parish grew. Fr. Joseph Telizhyn became the residing priest
in June of 1949 and remained for over 18 years. This is the longest term any priest has
stayed in this parish.
New organizations began; the Ukrainian Youth Association, Ukrainian Catholic
Women’s League, Dance Group and the Altar Servers Group.
In 1952 the residence was built. 1953 saw the beginning of the League for the Liberation
of Ukraine, which is today known as the League of Ukrainian Canadians as Ukraine
became independent on the 24" August 1991. The hall was redone and an addition was
added in 1959 for approximately $8,000. A garage was added to the residence in 1961 for
$500 and was built by our own parishioners. In 1962 a new Iconostasis was completed.
The iconographer was the priests’ son, Omelian Telizhyn. Mr. Dubecki built both the
main altar and small altar that stands in front of the iconostasis.
In 1968 the parishioners donated their time and money to put in new floors, new pews
and re-plaster the walls. Later, in 1971, the sacristy was enlarged. The residing priest at
this time was Rev. Fr. Charney. In 1972, the new hall, which is still used today, was built.
To help finance this project the parish organized dances, fashion shows, popularity
contests, turkey rolls and caterings.
1974 marked the year of the very first International Villages Festival of which the
Ukrainian community has been a participant since the beginning. Three years later, in
1977 the Seniors Club “Sunflowers” was established. New stained glass windows were
erected in 1980.
The 70" Anniversary of the parish was celebrated in 1981 with a newly assigned priest,
Rev. Fr. I. Leschyszyn. It was this day that the U.C.W.L. flag was blessed and new priest
welcomed. Two years later, in 1983, a second row of icons was added to the iconostasis.
Much work has been completed since then. Much of it has been strictly upkeep, that is,
redecorating and maintenance. There is one huge undertaking that is still continuing to
this day. This parish, under the guidance of Rev. Fr. B. Choly began a plan of painting
new icons on the walls of the church. This started in 1996 and is still continuing. This
same year Mike Dubecki built a new cross for the front of the church, which was
sponsored by the Seniors Club. The domes of the church were re-clad in 1998. These
projects alone have cost more than $80,000 — no easy feat! The U.C.W.L. and the
Villages have been major contributors with regards to financial aid to the church. The
church is beautiful as a result of all the hard work that has been put into this parish, from
the first settlers in 1902 to the members of the parish today.
There is a long history to the Ukrainian parish of St. John The Baptist. We thank God
above for keeping this parish together for so many years, through the good times and the
bad. We ask his blessing that we continue to grow as a parish in the 21th century, under
the spiritual guidance of Rev. Fr. Z. Didukh.
Taken from the 90th Anniversary Booklet
CLERGY


Fr. Stepan Didur
2003 - 2005
2007 - 2013


2005- 2007
V. REV. BOGDAN MIRONOVICH
2013 - 2019

Fr. Lyubomyr Levytskyy,
2019- 2024

Fr. Donald Dudar
2024 - Present