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1926-2003 (Creation)
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4.5 m of textual records 2 photographs: b&w 39 audio reels
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Rev. Michael Fesenko (1900-2003) was a Presbyterian minister for The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) and missionary amongst the Ukrainian population of Toronto. He was born in Krasnovodsk, Turkmenistan, then part of the Imperial Russian Empire on December 1, 1900 to Wasyli and Matrena Fesenko. As a young man, Fesenko graduated from Kuban Realna Shkola. He studied at Kuban Polytechnic University for one year and later attended the Ukrainian Polytechnic Academy in Podebrady, Czechoslovakia. With the encouragement of a visiting professor from Princeton Theological Seminary, Fesenko moved to the United States to study theology. Fesenko studied for three years at Bloomfield Theological Seminary and graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1929. In that same year Fesenko accepted a call to carry out missionary work amongst Ukrainians immigrants living in Toronto. After studying for a year at Knox College, he was received by the General Assembly into the ministry of the PCC. Fesenko's social and evangelistic mission continued to grow and in 1937, the Ukrainian Church in Toronto was constituted as a congregation with a church building erected and dedicated in 1942. Fesenko served as minister of this church until it was closed in 1976. He also served as moderator of the Presbytery of West Toronto from 1974-1975. Fesenko retired from full-time ministry in 1976 but continued with his other outreach activities for some time after. In 1939, Fesenko began publishing The Evangelical Truth (Evankelska Pravda), a religious journal written in the Ukrainian language. The Evangelical Truth was read by people all over the world, including in Ukraine, South America, and Australia. After 62 years of publishing, the last issue of The Evangelical Truth was printed in 2002. Fesenko also undertook the translation of religious texts and books from English into Ukrainian such as the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and Halley's Bible Handbook. In the 1960s, Fesenko began taping his sermons to be broadcast by the CBC across Canada. The CBC International Section then started broadcasting Fesenko's Christmas and Easter services which were transmitted to the Soviet Union. From here, Fesenko began taping sermons on a monthly basis which were broadcast by Trans World Radio to Ukraine until 1980 when the broadcasts were discontinued due to a shortage of funding. Fesenko was heavily involved in the Ukrainian community, serving as president of the Council of Ukrainian Evangelical Churches in Canada, president of the Ukrainian Evangelical Churches in Canada, and secretary of the worldwide Ukrainian Protestant Council. Fesenko married Julia Maystrowich in 1933. They had two daughters, Eleanor and Rhoda. Fesenko passed away on April 7, 2003.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Fonds consist of sermons, correspondence, manuscripts, financial records and audio recordings which document Fesenko's work as a minister and his heavy involvement in the Ukrainian community, both in Canada and overseas. The Evangelical Truth materials include published copies of The Evangelical Truth and correspondence regarding the publication. There are also some issues of the Kuban Cossack Journal, which Fesenko was involved in the publication of. Translation materials include copies of books translated by Fesenko from English into Ukrainian as well as correspondence relating to his translation activities. The sermons found in the fonds were delivered by Fesenko at Ukrainian Presbyterian Church where he served as minister for 40 years. Funding materials consists of correspondence between Fesenko and the Board of World Mission and Women's Missionary Society regarding funding for his many outreach activities. The committees material consists of correspondence from various committees that Fesenko was involved with. This section also contains correspondence during Fesenko's term as moderator of the West Toronto Presbytery. Biographical and educational papers include copies of class syllabi and essays from Fesenko's time at Princeton Theological Seminary as well as biographical information compiled by his family. Correspondence and writings is made up of letters and cards to Fesenko from his family and friends and some compositions written by Fesenko. Reference files contain newspaper clippings, articles and summaries of book resources relating to various subjects. Audio recordings are of Fesenko's sermons which were aired over the radio. The photographs are of a class at Princeton Theological Seminary and the 81st General Assembly of the PCC. Photographs and audio-visual records have been kept with the fonds.
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Fonds acquired from the daughters of Michael Fesenko
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Open
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Some material in this fonds may be protected by copyright (please ask the archivist on staff for clarification). A single copy of items in the fonds may be made for purposes of research and private study. Authorization must be obtained from the copyright holder if protected material is to be used for any other purpose. Protected material cannot be published without permission from the copyright holder.
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A detailed finding aid is available for this fonds.
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A significant amount of material in the fonds is written in Ukrainian. The remainder of the records are in English.