Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
“Today we have all gathered to witness a special event — the ordination of a new priest”
May 28, 2023
On Sunday, May 28th, at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul, during the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Mykola Bychok performed the ordination of Myroslav Vons to the priesthood. The last time priestly ordinations took place in the Eparchy of Melbourne was 7 years ago.
“Between the Ascension of the Lord and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, we are experiencing a special time — the Missionary Days. Throughout these ten days of grace, we have an opportunity to reflect on our spiritual life in the Church of Christ on various levels: personal, family, parish, and ecclesiastical. Each of us is called to bear witness to Jesus crucified and risen on the roads of our lives. Today, we are already on the third day of the Missionary Days, with the theme ‘God is with us, we are God’s!’ The Lord has always been faithful to His Word since the creation of the world. When the Son of God became a child, in the first months of His life, He became a displaced person and a refugee in the foreign land of Egypt. This shows us Jesus’ solidarity with all people who, for various reasons, seek refuge in other countries, even to save their lives. God understands the human being like no one else, enriching us with His love. He has a plan for each one of us,” Eparch of Melbourne mentioned this during the sermon on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.
And added: “Today, we have all gathered to witness a special event — the ordination of a new priest. At this moment, incredible feelings overwhelm the heart of Deacon Myroslav, his wife Orysia, and their two daughters: Dominika and Doroteia. Although the ordination is an intimate celebration for the person being consecrated, it is a great and joyful celebration for the entire Eparchy of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Melbourne, as diaconal or priestly ordinations are not so frequent in our eparchy. That is why many guests have come to share this joy in the Holy Spirit with the future worker in Christ’s Vineyard.”
“The priesthood is not just another profession among dozens of other professions in our lives”, continued the Bishop. “It is a special vocation through which the priest participates in the ministry of Jesus Christ Himself. Our Lord Jesus, the Eternal High Priest, chose Myroslav and called him to participate in His own priesthood, to be His visible presence among us and to offer Himself for us. Jesus taught His disciples: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit’ (Jn. 15, 16). These words remain relevant to this day. It is not a person who chooses the priesthood, but God who gives the calling and chooses the candidate for the priesthood. And when he responds to this divine call with humility and trust, we see the power of God’s grace working through him in his life.”
Reflecting on the uniqueness of the priestly ministry, the bishop addressed the newly ordained Father Myroslav with the following words: “Father Myroslav! God has a special plan and mission for you: to become His voice for God’s people, to become His hands in supporting the needy, and ultimately, to become a loving father for the flock entrusted to you.”
The Bishop also noted that today’s Gospel intertwines closely with the priestly ministry that Father Myroslav will now carry out. He said, “Today’s Gospel tells us about the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus Christ, in which He prays for Himself, His disciples, and those who will believe in the Gospel through the preaching of the apostles and the testimony of their lives. On the Sunday before the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Church sets before us the example of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, which took place in Nicaea in 325. At that time, there was a priest named Arius who spread false teachings about the divinity of Jesus Christ and thus undermined the faith of Christians. The Holy Fathers gathered together to counteract this danger, rejecting Arius’ false teaching and providing a correct explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by formulating it in the Nicene Creed. Before the actual ordination to the priesthood, I encourage you to be very attentive, as Deacon Myroslav will circle the altar three times, kiss the four corners of the altar, and approach the hierarch, thereby showing obedience and faithfulness to the Church of Christ. He will then make a profession of faith.”
“Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! I ask you to pray for your priests every day and help them fulfill their vocation. Let us together build a living and holy Church where the light of Christ shines brightly through the ministry of our priests. Let us lift our hearts in gratitude to God for the gift of the priesthood of Myroslav. Let us pray that as he begins his priestly ministry, he may be filled with wisdom, courage, and love. May his life be a living testimony to the Gospel and a source of grace for all those entrusted to his care. Amen,” concluded Bishop Mykola, urging everyone to pray for new vocations to the priesthood and monastic life among the faithful of the Melbourne Eparchy.
Translation: “Dear ones in Christ! I urge you to pray for your priests daily and assist them in fulfilling their calling. Let us together build a living and holy Church where the light of Christ shines brightly through the service of our priests. Let us lift our hearts in gratitude to God for the gift of the priesthood to Myroslav. Let us pray that as he begins his priestly ministry, he may be filled with wisdom, courage, and love. May his life be a vibrant testimony of the Gospel and a source of grace for all who are entrusted to his care. Amen,” concluded Bishop Mykola, calling upon all to pray for new vocations to the priesthood and monastic life among the faithful of the Eparchy of Melbourne.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the bishop greeted the newly ordained Father Myroslav on his acceptance of priesthood and wished him: “May the Lord bless you with the Holy Spirit, strength, holiness, and freedom from all sin. May the Lord grant you a priesthood filled with love and purity.”
After the words of gratitude, Father Myroslav expressed: “Today, first and foremost, I thank the Lord for His wise creation. As I stood near the altar and prayed, I was truly amazed at how even the smallest details of my life have been helping me today. Every great journey starts with our parents. My parents are in Ukraine, unfortunately, they couldn’t come, but I believe they are watching the online broadcast with my brothers and relatives. I want to thank my parents: my father for his example of faith, especially during difficult times, and my mother, who has been praying a little white thread to the Mother of God for us — her children — for as long as I can remember. Mother, your prayers have been heard today — you have two priests in the family: me and my dear brother Father Sviatoslav, who is a priest in Ukraine. I thank my three brothers Markiian, Sviatoslav, and Sevastian for our joyful times and for constantly playing, as all four of us, at performing the Holy Liturgy during our childhood. Besides my parents and brothers, I want to thank many other people, embrace them, and say that I love them. Among them is my uncle, Father Volodymyr Vons, who is a Redemptorist priest. Father Volodymyr gave me this embroidered phelonion you see on me, saying that I would need it. Thank you, Father Volodymyr, for your prayers and example. I want to thank the parents of my wife, Orysia, and her brother Ihor, for their blessings, prayers, support, and for allowing their only daughter to be with me. I also want to share a story from my life: when I was considering entering the seminary and becoming a priest, I often talked to a certain father. I had many fears, as I had more questions than answers. And I really liked and remembered the phrase that this father once said to me: ‘Myroslav, at one beautiful moment, when you wake up in the morning, you will realize that all your answers to these questions are ready, all your fears are dispelled at that moment, and you will understand that God doesn’t just call you, but He speaks to you through loudspeakers, saying, ‘Follow me!”’ And who could have thought that today this (then) father would be conferring upon me the Sacrament of Priesthood. Thank you, Bishop Mykola, for these words! And finally: many of you asked me before my ordination if I was scared, and I answered that I wasn’t. And it’s not because I’m brave, but because I always have my family by my side. So, first and foremost, I want to thank my wife Orysia for all the times we’ve been through and those we will experience in the future, for loving me and walking this path with me. Thank you to my daughters Dominika and Dorota, who are very kind, full of joy, and wise girls, for always praying for me. Thank you to the Bishop, all the fathers, sisters, choir, and all those present for filling this church with prayer, their joy, and hope!’
