“May the Lord from Zion bless him, and may he see the good fortune of Jerusalem all the days of his life.” (from the ordination ceremony)
On the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, 17 May 2026, a wonderful event took place at our parish church in Richmond. Subdeacon Christopher Chiu was ordained to the diaconate at a Divine Liturgy and ceremony which was anticipated by considerable preparation.
Deacon Christopher was ordained to minor orders just over a year ago at the Eparchial Cathedral of the Holy Eucharist in New Westminster. Since then, he continued his program of studies and preparation until he, together with his parish priest, Fr. Richard Soo, SJ, decided upon this date for ordination and to begin the diaconal ministry in his parish.
The Dormition of the Mother of God Parish in Richmond, British Columbia, known throughout the lower mainland as the Eastern Catholic Church, is truly as stated on the parish website, “a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, & multi-generational congregation, rejoicing in the fullness of Christian faith & worship”. An example of this is that the Epistle was read in English as well as Mandarin and Cantonese. The joy and family spirit of the parish was experienced by all throughout the liturgical services and the reception that followed in the parish centre.
To lead the responses and propers the well-trained singers and readers of the parish were joined by some singers and servers from other parishes in the area for an inspiring full hierarchical Divine Liturgy and ordination ceremony at which the congregation joyfully shouted “Aksios!” for Deacon Chris. The reception that followed included an all-you-could-possibly-eat buffet of excellent Chinese food, Ukrainian cakes and warm fellowship.
Among the congregation were, of course, Deacon Christopher’s wife Joyee and three daughters, several family members who came for this special occasion, as well as Sisters Angelica and Janice of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate and friends. The vast majority of the capacity crowd, were, of course, the parishioners who were thrilled and grateful that one of their own was called and agreed to serve Christ’s Church in the diaconal ministry.
Most Reverend Michael Kwiatkowski, the bishop of the Eparchy of New Westminster, expressed his joy at having the opportunity to pray with the vibrant parish community and to ordain Deacon Christopher. In his homily he spoke extensively about vocations to clerical ministry and consecrated life. He invited all present to pray for vocations, but also to look into their own hearts and ask if the Lord might not be calling some of them. He said that he hoped that every parish would one day have at least one deacon to enhance the pastoral life and liturgical prayer.
Among the clergy were Father Joe Ostopowich, Fr. Alan Wizinsky and Subdeacons Ryan Bjorgaard and Adrian Kopystynski. The parish priest, Fr. Richard Soo, oversaw the preparations and served as the Archdeacon for the ordination rite. Father Richard will soon also receive a recognition for his many years of dedicated and ongoing priestly ministry when elevated to Archimandrite later this month.
The whole eparchy joins with those gathered at Richmond in exclaiming Axios! Please keep Deacon Christopher in your prayer as he begins this new important service of diaconal ministry!
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P.S. A UNIQUE CROSS. The parish has a special place in its heart for the people of China and Hong Kong in particular as they pray at every liturgy for peace and justice in Hong Kong and for the freedom of several activists in particular. The hand cross presented to Bishop Michael when he entered the church and which he used for most of the service, is extremely special. As one parishioner from Singapore explained: it is the cross that was used at the St. Francis Chapel on the square during the “Umbrella Movement” protests in Hong Kong (nine months after the “Maidan” movement in Ukraine) and on the back of the Cross is the Umbrella logo and the Chinese text that reads, “we want general universal suffrage” that signifies that they want to vote for candidates of the people’s choosing, not the authority’s choosing. It was given to parish pastor Fr. Richard to bring back to Canada as the parish was already so involved in uniting many people in praying for peace and justice.
[all photos: Volodymyr Mykhalyshyn]
