Rev. olexa Harbuziuk Legacy
Пастор олекса Романович Гарбузюк
Standing are students who came from Germany in 1949 to study at the Ukrainian Bible Institute in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The instructors included (from left) Rev. John Polischuk, Dr. Moses Gitlin, Dr. Constantine Kostiw and choir conductor Paul Ulaniuk. (Photo copied from The Messenger of Truth magazine)
A book titled "Ukrainian Baptist Movement in Canada" was written by the Rev. Peter Kindrat (Петро Кіндрат) in the Ukrainian language and published by Doroha Prawdy in 1972. Rev. Kindrat was a longtime general secretary and president of the Ukrainian Evangelical-Baptist Association in Canada. In his introduction to the book, Rev. Olexa Harbuziuk wrote that Peter Kindrat was 19 years old when he arrived in Canada in 1910. He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior toward the end of 1912 in Toronto.
Rev. Kindrat writes that the first Ukrainian Baptist congregation, consisting of approximately 25 members, was organized in 1903 in Winnipeg (page 40), with Brother Ivan Shakotko (Іван Шакотько) chosen as pastor and Brothers Wasyl Bubys (Василь Бубис) and Michael Nykyforiw (Михайло Никифорів) as deacons.
The book contains a brief English-language "A Word From the Author":
I am pleased to dedicate this modest work of mine to the pioneers who have struggled with much perseverance and great faith to deliver the light (of) the Gospel of Christ to the vast numbers of newcomers to Canada who are of Ukrainian nationality.
These men with great devotion under diverse circumstances gave their lives and their all for the cause of the Kingdom of God and have been found faithful to the end.
In this work I am including pioneers and saintly men of the Baptist Union of Western Canada and of the Ontario and Quebec Baptist Conventions who stood by and upheld those who went forth blazing the trails with the torch of the Gospel.
The choir of the Ukrainian Baptist Church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, produced a record album in the 1960s. The conductor was Paul Ulaniuk.
The choir of the Ukrainian Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, was under the direction of John Kovalchuk at this time.
Radio program in Vernon
A history of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was published in 1979 by the church, with Rev. Steve Skoworodko (Степан Сковородько) and Mr. Paul Ulaniuk (Павло Уланюк) as editors.
The book contains an English-language chapter, pages 61 to 76, written by Mr. Sam Rapko, chairman of the church. "By the grace of God, the time came when the Ukrainian Baptist Church was officially organized in July, 1929 with a membership of fifty. The first pastor of the church was the late Reverend John Shakotko."
The choir of the Church of Ukrainian-Ruthenian Evangelical Christian Baptists (Українсько-Руських Євангельських Християн Баптистів) in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada prepares for a live broadcast in the Ukrainian language at a radio station on a Sunday in early 1951. Seated behind the desk is Брат Я. Крестинський. It was the fourth year for the radio program. The church numbered about 35 members at the time. (Photo copied from The Messenger of Truth magazine)
Ukrainian Bible Institute
The photo above was copied from a pamphlet titled "The Ukrainian Baptists on the Threshold of Their One-Hundredth Anniversary," (which occurred in 1952). The 16-page pamphlet probably was printed in 1951.
The opening of the new building for the Ukrainian Baptist Church in Swan River, Manitoba, Canada attracted approximately 500 people, according to the "Christian Herald" magazine in its January-February 1950 edition.
Ukrainian Baptists in Canada - Канада
The Ukrainian Bible Institute operated from this building in Saskatoon, Canada for at least a dozen years in the 1940s and 1950s. (Photo copied from the Christian Herald magazine, May-June 1958)
Saskatoon
The choir of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1964, with Paul Ulaniuk as the director. (Photo copied from "History of Ukrainian Evan. Baptist Church in Saskatoon on Occasion of 50th Anniversary")