Obituary of VERY REVEREND FEDIR OSYCZENKO

VERY REVEREND FEDIR OSYCZENKO 1927-2014 It is with a profound depth of sadness that the Office of Communications of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada prayerfully announces that the servant of God, Very Reverend Fedir Osyczenko of Blessed Memory fell asleep in the Lord on September 7, 2014 in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the age of 87 years. The Funeral Office for a Priest will commence on Monday, September 15, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the St. Mary the Protectress Sobor, 820 Burrows Ave., in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Divine Liturgy and the conclusion of the Funeral Rite will be concelebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Yurij together with clergy from the Winnipeg Deanery and District on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary the Protectress Sobor in Winnipeg. Interment will follow at the Glen Eden Memorial Gardens, 4477 Main Street in Winnipeg. Fr. Fedir was born on August 10, 1927 in the village of Arseniwka, Kirivohrad oblast in Ukraine. He successfully completed the primary school, built by his grandfather in his village. In 1943 during the WW2 period, as a youth he was captured as a prisoner of war and forced to work. Fr. Fedir moved to Canada in 1948. In 1959 he married Sonia Melnychuk at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Winnipeg, and for the next 40 years until her repose, she assisted him in his pastoral work. Fr. Fedir began his theological studies at St. Andrew’s College in Winnipeg шт 1964, and successfully completed his Licentiate in Theology in 1968. He was ordained into the Diaconate in 1970 at the St. Mary the Protectress Sobor and in this same year into the Holy Priesthood at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Winnipeg. Fr. Fedir actively served in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada for the next 12 years. His pastoral work included serving parishes in Fort Frances, Ontario, Winnipeg Rural District and in the Winnipeg Deanery. Fr. Fedir was attached to the St. Mary the Protectress Sobor in Winnipeg. Fr. Fedir was the recipient of several priestly awards in the UOCC, including the Gold Cross awarded by Metropolitan Mikhail and the Jewelled Cross by Metropolitan Mstyslav. Fr. Fedir was predeceased by his parents Anton and Domakha and Dobrodiyka Sonia. Left to pray for Fr. Fedir’s eternal memory are: sister Mariya Kurinna, nieces Oleksandra and Halyna, nephew Anatoliy, grand-nephews Valeriy, Volodymyr, and grand-niece Yana, as well as numerous extended family members in Ukraine. The Office of the Consistory and the faithful of the entire Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada express their deepest sympathies to family and friends of Fr. Fedir. We pray that the Lord will bring them comfort in this time of sadness. With the Blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Yurij, our clergy and faithful are asked to remember the newly-reposed servant in Christ, †Very Reverend Fedir in your prayers and liturgical commemorations, and to pray for the well-being of his beloved family. O Lord, give rest to the soul of your departed servant † Very Reverend Fedir, in a place of light, a place of refreshment and a place of repose, where there is no sickness, sighing nor sorrow. Memory Eternal! Вічная Пам'ять! A special thank you is extended to Dr. Terry Babick, Dr. Andrea Babick, Sister Charlene and to Wilma P. and her caring staff on 3A at the Holy Family Home.