Marat M. Holobow was born in 1925 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. During his school years, Marty's overriding interest was in sports: Winnipeg Public School soccer championship (1937), Sr. Boy's basketball championship (1944), R.C.A.F. Bombers Football Western Conference Championship (1945). Before finishing high school, he enlisted and was selected for Air Crew Training in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He felt God's call even then and knew that, should he survive the war, he would serve Him as pastor. Accordingly, upon discharge in 1945, he began studies, which would occupy him for the next nine years. It was an important decision not only for his calling, but also because it brought him to Luther College in Regina where he met Marian, who would become his wife five years later.
Marat (Marty) graduated from the University of Saskatchewan and after three years at the Lutheran College and Seminary in Saskatoon, received both his Arts and Divinity degrees. These lengthy studies were largely financed by his association with the R.C.A.F. Auxiliary, in which he served on many weekends and in summers as Radio Officer. In the summer of 1953, he was given the opportunity to serve as Assistant Chaplain at River's Base, Manitoba - an experience which convinced him that his call to serve God and his fellow man would be realized as a Military Chaplain.
Upon graduation in 1954, Marty received a call to serve the double-point parish of Mazenod/Mossbank in Saskatchewan. By this time Marty and Marian had two small children and the little family thrived on the love and intimacy of country parish life. The call to Christ Church in Regina was accepted after much prayer - and again the warmth and affection of the parishioners so embraced them when the call to the Military Chaplaincy arrived it was difficult to say farewell. Another consideration was Marty's recent appointment to the Division of Student Service of the American Lutheran Church. He felt, however, that he could still carry out the duties of this appointment since his first military posting would take him only as far as Manitoba.
During the next 25 years, the Chaplaincy Service took Marty to many parts of Canada and the world. Most of these postings required him to be Base Chaplain (with duties very similar to that of congregational pastor), but other postings took him to College Militaire Royale as College Chaplain, and to the Middle East for service in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. While in Egypt, Marty's concern for the poverty-stricken people he saw there led him to organize a clothing drive which resulted in tons of garments being airlifted from chapels across Canada to Ismalia, Egypt for distribution. In addition, he began a drive, which raised enough money to purchase a motorized vehicle for the work of the Egyptian Christian congregation.
Interest in airplanes has always been one of Marty's hobbies and, during his years in the chaplaincy, he trained for and received his B rating in glidercraft and his pilot's licence.
An unexpected change in Marty's robust health was to bring his flying to an end. His wife and three children shared his shock in the discovery that he would require heart surgery - a triple bypass. Again God showed his marvelous grace and restored Marty to health so that he was able to resume full duties just a few months later. Indicative of his recovery and ability was the fact that he was asked to extend his military service two years beyond normal military retirement.
Again, one perceives the workings of God's plan: Marty's last posting was at CFB St. Hubert, Quebec and it was in his last year of service there (1981) that he received a Call from St. Ansgar's parish in Montreal. It was an easy transition from Base Chaplain to parish pastor. Again he felt the welcome warmth and love which parishioners extend to their pastor - a love which he has felt for them in turn and which grows with every year. He feels the people of St. Ansgar's are not merely parishioners, they are friends!
While St. Ansgar's is a healthy and active parish, Marty has felt called to serve in other areas: he has several times headed-up the joint Reformation Services in Montreal, he was chairman of the Canadian Bible Society, Montreal Branch, and has helped to organize Conference Retreats and Conventions.
Retirement (June 1989)
In his first year of retirement, Marty completed the interior of the cottage they owned on Lake Champlain, N.Y. While staying there, Marty and Marian became Associate Members of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Plattsburgh, but still enjoyed singing in St. Ansgar's choir at Christmas, and visiting friends whenever they were hospitalized.
Not long into his retirement, Marty was asked by the Department of National Defence to replace the CFB St. Hubert Protestant Chaplain who was about to be posted to Bosnia. When this posting was completed, Marty held services for a Lutheran Mission congregation in the West Island of Montreal. He was there several months, and then his decision to retire was final! Marian had retired in 1993, and in April 1996 they moved to Kingston, Ontario, a city halfways between their children in Montreal and Toronto.
In Kingston, Marty and Marian are members of St. Mark's Lutheran. Until his present health setback, Marty was kept busy visiting hospitals and nursing homes (a St. Mark's program), attending gatherings of retired chaplains, singing in the Kingston Choral Society, looking after the house and garden, E-mailing, and visiting family and friends. Whenever they visit family in Montreal, Marty and Marian attend worship services at St. Ansgar's. It gives them great joy to be with their friends there.