Ark of the New Covenant Receives Pledges at
St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral

Choirs representing three parishes of the Eparchy of Edmonton broke into song on the evening of Friday 15 June at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral as faithful from the Edmonton area and beyond gathered at the church to welcome the Ark of the New Covenant. The three choirs, directed by Dr. Melanie Turgeon (St. Josaphat Parish), Irena Tarnawska (St. George Parish), and Elizabeth Anderson (St. Basil the Great Parish), had combined to sing a selection of Hymns before the celebration of an Akathist for Holy Communion.

Fr. Mihajlo Planchak, the pastor of St. Josaphat Parish, greeted the faithful at 7:30 p.m. A procession, composed of Bishop David Motiuk, members of the clergy, their assistants, sisters, and representatives of the different eparchial organizations—UCWLC, UCBC, K of C—followed parishioner Mike Sorochuk, carrying a cross, outside the doors of the church. The Ark was then ushered in and carefully set on a Tetrapod.

Bishop David led the celebration of an Akathist assisted by more than one dozen clergy. The Heruvymy female quartet led the congregation in singing the Akathist for Holy Communion accompanied by the three choirs. In the explaining the significance of the event, Bishop David declared it was a great joy and privilege for the Eparchy to receive the Ark.

The Ark of the New Covenant, constructed by artisans in Quebec, was conceived as a way of highlighting the 49th International Eucharistic Congress that will take place in Quebec City on 15–22 June 2008. Reminiscent of the design of the Ark of the Covenant in which Moses placed the Ten Commandments, a chest inside the ark contains eight icons of the New Testament and has sufficient space to receive pledges from the individual dioceses and eparchies across Canada to which it has been taken.

Bishop David pointed out that the event at St. Josaphat Cathedral was particularly special because it fell on a date that was exactly a year before the International Eucharistic Congress is due to start. On that day, next year, he said, between 12,000 and 15,000 delegates from around the world are expected to join Pope Benedict XVI on the Plains of Abraham to reflect on the great mystery of the Eucharist. The last time that the congress, held every four years in different locations, convened in Canada, Bishop David reminded the faithful, was in 1910. On that occasion, it was attended by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky (his first visit to Canada—and Edmonton). The theme of next year’s Congress in Quebec City, explained Bishop David, will be “the Eucharist, gift of God for the life of the world.”

The congress will also be a special call to the youth, noted Bishop David, as it will provide an opportunity for the youth to meet other Catholics, be witnesses of Christ, and breathe new life into the Church. It was at a Youth Summit held in May 2005, he said, that the idea of the Ark of the New Covenant originated. A committee of youth in Quebec was then established to develop it and thus prepare the way for the congress by having the ark travel across the country and serve as a focus for prayer and catechesis about the Eucharist.

Individual pledges were read by the clergy in English and Ukrainian, after which all present read together the prayer “The Eucharist: The Gift of God for the Life of the World” in both languages. Fr. Plachak then invited all in attendance to write and submit their pledges on pieces of paper with the symbolic shape of fish sketched on one side. Not all of us will be in Quebec City next year for the congress, the pastor of St. Josaphat Cathedral said, but at least part of us will be there in the form of the pledges. After the pledges are written down and placed in the ark, they are gathered and sent to Quebec where they are offered together in prayer.

The evening concluded with refreshments in the church auditorium.

[Serge Cipko, 21 June 2007]