SO WHAT ARE THEY UP TO?
July 18, 2019
WINNIPEG'S SEMINARIANS STAY BUSY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
The Archeparchy presently has several candidates for priestly ministry in Manitoba. Some are individuals that may have completed their theological studies and seminary training some time ago and are now stepping forward to realize their vocation to serve the Church in ordained ministry. Others have expressed their interest in moving forward to discern if they truly have a vocation to serve the Lord and His Church as a priest. Such candidates are starting a phase of the journey that will involve going for studies and to spend time in the seminary. We will learn more about them as the months and - God willing - years pass. There are also those that we may know a bit more about, since they have been in 
seminary for more than a year and we have seen them at various events. They are in seminary or in a preparation phase that still involves some discernment and additional training experiences.
This last group, presently includes: Jay Korban, who is associated with Holy Eucharist and now St. Anne's Parishes; Andrij Andriyshyn, who hails from the Cathedral Parish of Sts. Volodymyr & Ol'ha and then Alex Pankiw who comes from Holy Ghost Parish.
So during the academic year (roughly from the end of August through the middle of April), the seminarians are, well, at the seminary. They live at the seminary which was until recently was located in Ottawa, but moved a year ago to Edmonton. Canada's Ukrainian Catholic Seminary has been dedicated to the Holy Spirit... "the Lord and giver of life". They reside at the seminary in community. Throughout the year, they pray together - which is both an education and a grace. They learn how to pray and how to conduct prayer services. They learn why we practice prayer the way we do... liturgies, the
Divine Office, the administration of the Mysteries (Sacraments), personal prayer, informal prayer, etc. And in doing so, they truly pray and by that prayer they grow in faith and draw nearer to the Lord and the holiness that they will need to serve God's Church. At the seminary they have special classes and training programs that will help them be better prepared to serve parish communities after ordination.
During the summer, the seminarians may attend various 
courses and seminars - for example language courses that they may need for their studies or future ministry (e.g. Ukrainian, Greek). They also find employment experiences that also have them serving the Ukrainian Church and community. They all become involved in their local parishes and participate in major Archeparchial events (e.g. the Cooks Creek Pilgrimage), but they also seek out employment by which they might make a bit of money to help pay for their education, travel, daily needs, etc. while at seminary.
