TORONTO (CCN) — The priesthood bears both a sense of glory and the reality of thorns.
This summer, two Byzantine Catholic priests in Toronto, Rt. Rev. Alexander Laschuk and Rt. Rev. Marek Novicky, received a reminder of both. Each was crowned with a mitre — a ceremonial head covering usually associated with bishops.
The Byzantine Catholic tradition is distinguished from other Catholic traditions by its roots in the Christian East, particularly Constantinople, present-day Istanbul. Among the Slavic variations of Byzantine Catholicism, one distinctive practice is that of bishops granting mitres to priests, the highest honour a priest can receive.
The Very Rev. Peter Galadza, professor emeritus of liturgical theology at the University of St. Michael’s College, explained mitres were first granted to priests throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The honour signified that a priest had taken on a share of the bishop’s responsibilities. The priest’s mitre, mirroring the bishop’s, visually represents their connection.
During a Divine Liturgy, the bishop prays over the priest before placing the mitre upon the priest’s head. The honour is therefore not merely a title: It is made visible to the community the priest serves.
Over time, however, the mitre developed from a sign of delegated episcopal responsibility into a broader recognition of distinguished priestly service.
Father Laschuk received his mitre Aug. 8 in recognition of his service to the Church through canon law and education.
He was ordained to the priesthood in 2012 and earned a doctorate in canon law in 2016. He is the judicial vicar for the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada and serves on the Toronto Regional Tribunal.
Since 2012, he has taught courses at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, where he also served two terms as director. His work at the tribunal helps administer the eparchy’s canonical affairs, while the Sheptytsky Institute advances Eastern Christian education.
He said he does not think of the mitre as strictly his own: The honour is an “indication … of how much the eparchy accomplished in terms of getting its house in order,” he said.
Father Laschuk said his mitre is a reminder to be steadfast in his work, faithfully represent his bishop, and remain “attentive to how many people are required to get things done.” His own work, he said, would be impossible without those who support it. In enduring various trials together, he and his community accomplished “more than I could have imagined,” he said.
Father Novicky is pastor of the Slovak Byzantine Catholic Cathedral in Toronto. Ordained in Slovakia in 2006, he served there as a pastor and later as secretary to the archbishop before moving to Canada in 2012 to minister to Slovak Catholics across southern Ontario.
Mary Snell, a member of the cathedral parish for more than 50 years, said everyone noticed a change when Father Novicky arrived in 2012. She said he fosters a “good relationship with every single person,” practicing “honesty and inclusivity” in all he does. This approach allowed him to more than double Sunday attendees and put the cathedral on sound financial footing within a decade, she added.
Father Novicky’s parishioners banded together to seek recognition for his service. They petitioned their bishop to confer this honour on their pastor — an unusual step, as the decision to confer a mitre ordinarily begins with the bishop.
Father Novicky was mitred during a Divine Liturgy June 7. However, the priest was clear: “We know it is not a mitre for me, only, but it is a mitre for the people.” He said he could have achieved little without the compassion and sacrifices of his parishioners.
An increase in church attendance requires a commitment among the people, he said, and balancing a parish budget requires their generosity.
Quinton V. Peralta-Greenough is a Toronto-based Byzantine Catholic, husband, father and political science doctoral student.
This report was produced during CCN’s God in the City Catholic Journalism Seminar, Aug. 9-15, 2026.
