Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy explores possibility of a parish in Salt Lake

Photo courtesy of the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy

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His Grace Richard Stephen Seminack, bishop of the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy, will visit Utah on Dec. 13.

SALT LAKE CITY - A small group of Ukrainians in Utah are seeking to retain their religious traditions by establishing a parish of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the Salt Lake area.

Currently, the closest parish offering the Ukrainian Greek rite is in the Denver area, said Oleh Kernytskyy, who is organizing the effort to establish a parish in Utah. About 20 people already are interested in the idea, and they have arranged for His Grace Richard Stephen Seminack, bishop of the Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy, to meet with them on Dec. 13 at St. Jude Church in Murray.

The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy St. Nicholas of Chicago has jurisdiction over the entire Western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii; and all of the Midwest except Ohio.

During his visit in Utah, Bishop Seminack will celebrate the Sunday Divine Liturgy and offer the opportunity for confession, said Nazar Sloboda, the bishop's administrative assistant.

In addition, "we are investigating the possibility of starting a parish there," Sloboda said. "Whenever there's a group of Ukraine Catholics - a big enough group, an interested enough group, a committed enough group - who would like to start a parish, we encourage that and we support that with a canonical structure of the diocese." The bishop will discuss the issues surrounding the establishment of a parish, Sloboda added. "Utah was a place which never was a parish before but we have people...who have a desire to perhaps start a parish, so the bishop is going to come down and try to see what can be done." Kernytskyy said driving the eight hours to Denver to attend Mass is difficult for some people, so "we just decided it would be a good idea if we will try to create a parish here. It's not easy because there are many problems. The first problem is to find a priest. The second problem is to find a building. The third problem is financial support. There might be something else; I don't know all the details, but we will try. We don't know the way, but God will help us and guide us."

Many people of Ukrainian descent, like Kernytskyy, have come to Utah for employment opportunities, he said. "Now the community is growing and we decided it's a good idea if we can be together and preserve our tradition."

He added that he's looking forward to Bishop Seminack's visit. "First of all, we would like to take confession, because some people did not have confession for a long time because they are living here, they are working here and they don't have the option to go somewhere else. We also would like to hear Mass in our language and our tradition. We would like to just be together. It's a really great opportunity to bring our people together." While the Ukraine Greek Catholic Church is in communion with Rome, its rituals are quite different from the Latin rite, Sloboda said. For example, the priest faces the altar, not the people, communion is distributed from a chalice, and Mass is said in vernacular Ukrainian

Bishop Seminack will celebrate Mass at St. Jude Maronite Catholic Church, 4900 Wasatch St. in Murray at 1 p.m. Confession will start at noon. For more information, contact Oleh Kernytskyy by email at okernytskyy@hotmail.com or phone 801-918-0271.