On April 7, 2010, the Annunciation of the Most Holy the Mother of God which fell on the Easter Week this year archpriest Nicanor Shimko, the confessor of the Volyn Diocese passed away in the 82-nd year of his life. The last years of his life he served in the cathedral church of the Patronage of the Mother of God in the town of Lutsk, the last 20 years he was the superintendent dean of the Lutsk region.

Archpriest Nicanor was born in the village of Khorupan, Mlinivsky district of Rovno region. His father perished during the Great Patriotic War. In his childhood he went to church with his parents. And at the age of seven he already went to church on his own.

After the war in 1946 he entered the Volyn theological seminary. In Lutsk he got acquainted with his future wife Mary and they married in 1949. In 1951 he was sent to the parish of the village of Khorlupi, Kivertsivsk district. Then for 16 years he was the rector of the church in the village of Arshichin of Rovno region.

By the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of 1979 archpriest Nicanor was sent to Canada as the rector of the Patriarchal Parishes in environs of Edmonton where he served till 1986.

In 2009 archpriest Nicanor and his wife Mary celebrated the 60th anniversary of their married life and also the pastoral ministry of Father Nicanor.

The funeral service was conducted by Metropolitan of Lutsk and Volynsk Nifont in the cathedral church of the Patronage of the Mother of God in the town of Lutsk.

The clergy and the parishioners of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada learnt of the death of the archpriest Nicanor with prayerful sorrow, he was a loving and caring priest for them. The rector of the Orthodox V priest George Sergeev led a memorial service for the former rector of the Patriarchal Parishes.

“With the Saints give rest, o Christ, to the soul of Thy servant, recently departed archpriest Nicanor”.