Stepan Magalas (Igumen Sviatoslav)

Stepan Magalas (Igumen Sviatoslav) [Степан Маґаляс (Іґумен Святослав)], (b. September 15, 1898, in Lukashivka, Kyiv oblast, Ukraine; d. ca. 1970). Igumen Sviatoslav was born Stepan Magalas on September 15, 1898, in Lukashivka, a town located about 75 miles northeast of Kyiv. He served in the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic during the struggle for independence (1917-1920). Eventually, he was captured by enemy forces and spent a year in a Polish internment camp in Kalisz. Upon his release, he left for Canada and settled in Montreal where in the 1930s and 40s he became the choir director at St. Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There he worked together with Rev. Volodymyr Sluzar and another director, Joseph Marciniuk, to develop an impressive choir. In 1950, he was called to the priesthood and was ordained by Archbishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk). His first assignment was at St. Nicholas Orthodox Monastery in Grimsby, Ontario, where he served as the rector and choir director until 1954. He became the priest at Holy Trinity UOC in Buffalo, NY (1954-1957). After serving for a short time at St. Volodymyr UOC in Chicago, IL, he was assigned to St. Nicholas UOC in Miami, Florida (1959-1969), and finally to Holy Virgin in Arnold, Pennsylvania.

1917-1920: Served in the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic.

1930s-1940s: Choir director at St. Sophie UOC (Montreal, Quebec).

1950-1954: Rector and choir director at St. Nicholas Orthodox Monastery (Grimsby, Ontario).

1954-1957: Pastor at Holy Trinity UOC (Buffalo, NY).

ca. 1957-58: Assistant Pastor at St. Volodymyr UOC (Chicago, IL).

1959-1969: Pastor at St. Nicholas UOC (Miami, FL).

1969: Holy Virgin (Arnold, PA).