Ascension of Our Lord was in 1989 celebrated in Montreal with special solemnity. Patron feast of the church in Montreal was that year marked also with special event - deaconal ordination of the first permanent deacon for the Eparchy. Bishop Michael came from Toronto already on Saturday afternoon, May 6th accompanied by Fr. Miroslav Cajka and during the liturgy conferred minor orders - Tonsuring and Subdeaconate on Mr. Ladislav Sedivy, local parishioner. During the hierarchical liturgy on Sunday was he finally ordained a deacon. Ordination prayers were ministered in English, and liturgy chanted in Church Slavonic. Liturgy was concelebrated by local pastor, Fr. Andrew Sinal, STD and also Fr. Jiří Novotný, SJ. Fr. Deacon Sedivy thus became the first real permanent deacon of the Eparchy, and helped Fr. Sinal not only on Sundays, but also during weekdays liturgies.
After the fall of iron curtain and all those changes in Europe, Fr. Deacon Sedivy went with family back to then Czechoslovakia and finished his seminary education in Presov, where he was ordained a priest. He ministered in both rites in several places of Slovakia and Czech Republic, where he died in 2004.
We pray for the abundance of the vocation int priesthood, deaconate and monastic life.
Photo of the church in Montreal thanks to Fr. Vavrak, photo from the ordination was received from Mrs. Suchy. Many thanks!
After the fall of Iron curtain, Bishop Michael was blessed to see the freedom for his beloved Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia. Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy, Fr. Jan Hirka was named as seventh residential bishop for the seat of Presov and Bishop Michael traveled to Slovakia to take active part in the ordination and enthronement ceremony. Main celebrant of the liturgy and principal ordaining Bishop was Jozef, Cardinal Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for Evangelization of People. This was the third time, that Bishop Rusnak was helping with ordaining a bishop after Bishops Dudick and Mihalik. The other ordaining bishop was Bishop Slavomir Miklovs, from Krizevci. Moving ceremony, with thousands of people, hundreds of priests and tens of bishops took place in the sports hall of Presov on February 17th 1990. Bishop Rusnak was back in his homeland after almost 40 years of absence.
