Ed Evanko

Edward Evanko (born October 19, 1941) is a Canadian actor and singer who became a Ukrainian Catholic priest. Evanko was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Danylo Evanko and Justyna Dmytryk, who had emigrated from Western Ukraine. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and sang with two opera companies in the 1970s - the English Opera Group and the Welsh National Opera. He has appeared in many evening and daytime television drama including Ryan's Hope, Chicago Hope, and Third Rock from the Sun. He appeared on Broadway in Canterbury Tales and Rex. He earned a BA at the University of Manitoba, where he was Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar" among other productions, appeared at Rainbow Stage, and on CBC Television and CBC Radio. His Broadway debut gained him a Theatre World Award, a New Jersey Drama Critics Award and a Los Angeles Ovation Award nomination. He has recorded Broadway albums for Capitol, RCA, an album for Decca, and three for Destiny Records. He has appeared at all the major Ukrainian festivals in Canada and the USA, and has promoted Ukrainian music by singing on many occasions at the Ukrainian Institute and at Lincoln Center in New York City. He did his academic and spiritual formation at the Pontificio Collegio Beda in Rome, at St. Josaphat Seminary and Catholic University in Washington, DC, and at Holy Spirit Seminary and St. Paul University in Ottawa. He is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic (Eastern Rite, vs. Latin Rite) He completed his Master of Arts in Theology degree (Eastern Christian Studies concentration) in the spring of 2005, and began to serve in the Archeparchy of Winnipeg. He entered the priesthood in his sixties and today practices as a travelling priest in rural Manitoba.