Archpriest Nikanor and Matushka Maria Komarnitsky

Archpriest Nikanor Komarnitsky (1893-1989)

and

Matushka Maria Komarnitsky (____-2001)

— edited from an article in the “Canadian Orthodox Messenger”

Nikanor may be spelt Nicanor. Some may atypically use "Nikita".

Komarnitsky may be spelt Komarnitski, Komarnicki, Komarnizky.

Early life of Nikanor Komarnitsky

On 10 August, 1893, Nikanor Komarnitsky was born into the family of some generations of priests in Volyn, Ukraine (which was then in the Russian Empire). He was, therefore, raised in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Being the eldest son, he dreamed of one day becoming a priest to carry on the clerical tradition of his family, which came from both the maternal and the paternal sides.

Higher education

After having completed his primary and secondary education, Nikanor entered the Volynian Seminary, where he received both a religious education and a paedegogical education. He then taught school in Koltipov, Volyn, at the same time as he continued with advanced studies. During summer vacations, Nikanor returned home to Kniaze, Volyn, to visit his family. Here, he became involved in more ecclesiastical activities. He helped out both as a reader and as a choir-master.

It was during a choir-rehearsal that Nikanor met his future wife, Maria.

Marriage, 1928

In 1928, Nikanor was married to his beloved Maria.

It was after this that they agreed that he should petition the bishop for ordination.

Ordinations, 1928

It was after this, then, later in 1928, that Nikanor Komarnitsky was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and then to the Holy Priesthood.

Pastoral service

Times were difficult in Ukraine, because of the constant unrest that had been caused by World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Civil War, the Polish-Ukrainian War, the economic turmoil (which included the great famine of the 1920s), and the activities of the anarchist underground.

Emigration : transfer to Canada, 1929

Thus, when Father Nikanor was called by Bishop Arseny (Chahovtsov) in 1929 to serve in the Orthodox Christian mission in Canada, he decided to answer that call affirmatively.

Father Nikanor and Matushka Maria had planned to leave their homeland to serve in Canada for only a few years ; but the situation in Ukraine did not improve, and they remained in North America for the rest of their lives, and it was there that they raised their family.

His first Canadian parish was that of the Temple of Saint Elias in Sirko, Manitoba. (Sirko is located about 8 km (5 mi) south of Manitoba Highway #201 on Mile Road 54E, just east of Sundown). He served in the original Temple there, built in a Romanian-Bukovinian style (there is now a much newer one as well). Father Nikanor and Matushka Maria served also in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Then they served at Saint Mary’s Church near Nisku, Alberta, and in Holy Ascension Church near Calmar, Alberta (1938-1940).

They then served in the Saint John of Sochava’s Church in Lachine, Québec (a suburb of Montréal).

After this, they served in several parishes in the USA, after which they returned to Canada, and to Ottawa, Ontario.

During his years of service, commencing with the poverty of the Great Depression, Father Nikanor endured many trying and difficult times, but he never wavered in his faith and hope. He devoted himself to the Church. Besides enthusiastically fulfilling his priestly duties, Father Nikanor enjoyed working with the youth of the parish, teaching them the Ukrainian language, “the Law of God” (catechism) and choral singing.

Included in his many priestly awards was a gramota (certificate) given on 27 June, 1948, by Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky) and the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) for “his zealous service and courage in defending the Church truth”.

When Father Nikanor returned to Ottawa in 1955, he had been serving for some time in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR{. It is to be remembered that distinctions between jurisdictions in those decades were not clearly-defined, and that many clergy (including Father Nikanor) were not as concerned about these demarcations as they were about feeding the rational sheep of Christ. Thus, Father Nikanor and Matushka Maria were assigned to Holy Trinity Bukowinian Church in Ottawa. It was here, too, that his son and his daughters Evgenia and Ludmilla settled and remained. Evgenia did not marry, but, Ludmilla did. As it sometimes happens that there can arise certain difficulties in parishes between national groups within, so it happened at Holy Trinity Church for a period. Before the arrival of Father Nikanor, a group of “great Russians” left Holy Trinity Church to form the Protection of the Theotokos parish. Then, soon after Father Nikanor’s arrival, a different group of Russian-speakers separated from Holy Trinity Church to form the Saint Nicholas parish (which would much later become the Annunciation-Saint Nicholas Cathedral).

Father Nikanor Komarnitsky became the first significant priestly leader of the Church of Saint Nicholas, together with his wife, Maria, for a time after 1956. It is the opinion of one of his successors as rector that his and her particular love and generosity of spirit affect this community even now. Their descendants (and those of many of the founding families) remain active either in this community or elsewhere. The community consisted of an interesting blend of Russian-speaking aristocracy, intelligentsia, and ordinary people, who got along well together.

Throughout his life, Father Nikanor showed an interest in and a love for music. This love was passed on to his son and 2 daughters who sang in Church choirs for many years. His love was not only for music, but also for literature and for poetry. He had a great thirst for knowledge, and because he was an avid reader, much of his leisure time was spent with his books.

In his retirement years, Father Nikanor continued to serve actively by visiting the sick and the needy, and by attending the Holy Trinity Sobor in Ottawa, where he participated in Church services as long as his health allowed.

Repose of Father Nikanor, 1989

Father Nikanor fell asleep in the Lord in retirement in Ottawa on 29 July, 1989. He left behind his Matushka Maria who was always a source of strength and support to him, his children and 4 grand-children.

After the Service for the Burial of a Priest, which was served at Holy Trinity Church in Ottawa, his body was interred at the Holy Trinity Bukowinian Cemetery in Ottawa.

Repose of Matushka Maria, 2001

Matushka Maria Komarnitsky fell asleep in the Lord on Pascha, 20 April, 2001.

After the funeral services at Annunciation-Saint Nicholas Cathedral, her body was interred next to that of her husband at Holy Trinity Bukowinian Cemetery in Ottawa.

Reflections

His family and those who knew him fondly remember Father Nikanor as a gentle, forgiving, loving and humble man, who had a warm and ready smile and a kind word for everyone. As with others like him, information about Father Nikanor, and about his family and life, is quite limited, primarily because of his and Matushka's humility and their keeping as a priority the feeding of the rational flock of Christ. Father Oleg Kirillov, one of his successors, called him “a shining example of a deep Christian life”.

Others who knew Father Nikanor commented after his repose as follows :

In my travels across the US and Canada, I found Father Nikanor's name pop up in almost every slav jurisdiction !
Nonetheless, he was not a ‘jurisdiction-hopper’, but a ‘journeyman priest’ who served as needed. [...] May
his memory be eternal.

If I recall my Orthodox Ottawa history, back in the innocent — at least for me — pre-Autocephaly ‘60s, the
Bukovinian parish, then in the Synod, made life rather complex for Russians (a Russian couldn’t be a member,
for example) and the latter group asked Archbishop Vitaly to bless the opening of a new Russian parish. He
figured that Ottawa could not support more than one Slav Orthodox parish and did not allow this. This group
then petitioned Archbishop Sylvester of the Metropolia to start such a Russian community and he did so.
[...] The Russian parishioners included people on both sides of the jurisdictional divide (not such a great
one at that time), and our family attended the new Metropolia Saint Nicholas Church until the Synod’s
Protection parish was established (which Vladyka Vitaly allowed only when the Bukovinian Holy Trinity Parish
went over to the Metropolia). For a while, Father Antony (Abramovitch) from Montreal serviced the parish, but
it seems to me that it was only a short while later that Father Nikanor became the first full-time rector of
Saint Nicholas, at the house-church on MacLaren Avenue, and my younger brother and I were privileged to have
been his altar-boys. He was a gentle and welcoming man and I was honoured to have learned about the mysteries
and complexities of the Liturgy, at least from the acolyte's point of view, from him. [...] I like your term,
‘journeyman priest’. It gives one the image of a well-travelled, hardscrabble [meaning a great effort made in
the face of difficulties, or managing with very deficient resources in a barren environment], and devoted
soldier for Christ — which he was. 'Vetchnaya yemu pamyat’'[Eternal Memory to him].

In the recent past, the Archpriest Andrew Morbey (then in Ottawa) wrote the following comment which well expresses the disposition of Christ-loving and Christ-imitating pastors such as Father Nikanor, who understood properly the meaning of the word "canonical" :

 Lots of people throw around the term canonical as if it were something magical or extraordinary. In this 
 instance I think one should simply think of 'uncanonical' as meaning disorderly, rather than 'graceless'.  
 Disorderly IS difficult and trying and exasperatimg - and a scandal - but it is a Very Far Cry from making 
 pronouncements denying Grace ! There is altogether too much disorder in ALL our houses these days [...].

Father Nikanor, together with his beloved Matushka Maria, were most particularly well-known for the great and generous warmth of their Christian hospitality. Everyone who arrived in their home felt warmly embraced in Christ, and they felt encouraged to do likewise.