“May these new vocations become the seed that will sprout in the land of Australia,” Bishop Mykola in Melbourne

February 25, 2024

On February 25, the Second Sunday of Great Lent, in the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Melbourne, Bishop Mykola Bychok ordained subdeacons Vasyl Motrichenko and Vitalii Leheta to the diaconate.

The Melbourne Eparchy’s clergy and faithful attended the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in large numbers. Bishop Mykola was co-served by the clergy of the Cathedral: Fr. Peter Struk, Fr. Myroslav Vons, Protodeacon Edward Kostraby, and Deacon Michael Zylan; and priests from different parts of our Eparchy, including Fr. Ruslan Babii from Ardeer, Fr. Iurii Tychenok from Geelong, Fr. Simon Ckuj from Sydney, Fr. Stefan Sapun from Brisbane, and Fr. Ihor Holovko from Perth. A guest from Ukraine, Fr. Ivan Hovhera, also joined the service.

Addressing the faithful during the homily, Bishop Mykola emphasised, “Today we will witness a special event.” He told the audience about who a deacon is and what his role is in the Church, particularly during the Divine Liturgy. Reflecting on the Gospel of Mark in the context of the deacon’s ministry, the bishop said, “To be a deacon means to serve. To be a deacon means, like these four friends, to help a person find the way to God. And sometimes, when a person has difficulties because of various weaknesses, sins, or problems, bring them in a spiritual way before the face of God so that the Lord can perform a miracle.”

Bishop Mykola made a very apt point in his homily: “The Lord led both Vasyl and Vitalii along different paths…”. Deacon Vasyl Motrichenko was born on February 18, 1985, to Oleksii and Orysia in the village of Spas in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. After graduating from high school, he studied at the Cantor College in Kolomyia, then entered the Ivano-Frankivsk Theological Academy, and then continued his education at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, where he defended his licentiate in Eastern Theology in 2013. Deacon Vitalii Leheta was born on October 19, 1994, to Hryhorii and Nadiia in the village of Pavliv, Ternopil region. After completing his secondary education, he entered Ternopil Higher Theological Seminary named after Patriarch Josyf Slipyj, and after graduating from the Seminary, he studied at the Catholic Academy in Warsaw, where he graduated with honours in 2022, receiving a second master’s degree in Theology. Deacon Vasyl will continue his ministry in an unmarried state, while Deacon Vitalii will be supported in his ministry by his wife Andriana.

No matter how different the life paths of our newly ordained deacons were, the Lord God brought them both to Australia to serve the faithful of the Melbourne Eparchy. Therefore, the entire Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul of Melbourne for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania congratulates Deacon Vasyl and Deacon Vitalii and joins the wishes of our Bishop: “May these new vocations become the seed that will sprout in the land of Australia, and we too, in due time, will have vocations to the priesthood, to the monastic order, and to lay vocations to be good Christians.”