News
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Nativity epistle of His Eminence, Archbishop Gabriel
06:29 PM
To the Clergy & the Whole Divinely Saved Flock of the Diocese of Montréal & Canada
Beloved brethren and sisters,Throughout the forthcoming holy and great days of the Nativity of Christ, Orthodox Christians strive to bring joy to one another. In particular, we try to bring joy to children, preparing presents for them and distributing sweets. The intent of this beautiful custom is to remind the people of the gifts given to the divine Infant by the magi; but more importantly, of the divine benefactions, the spiritual gifts, which are sent down upon us from the cave of Bethlehem. The grace-filled joy of the Nativity of Christ is expressed in oue triumphal glorification of the divine Infant, not only in the holy church, but also, as much as possible, in the homes of all of us Orthodox Christians. Unfortunately, in the West they have not only all but forgotten the spiritual essence of this great event; indeed, they have distorted even the very concept of what actually happened, of what we are celebrating! We see plenty of ornamented windows, even whole streets decorated, where, however, not even a single word is uttered about the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we hear only bland greetings, no one knows what for. Parties and amusements await the revelers. But who prepares himself for the Nativity of Christ, which they do not call by its proper name? Who fasts? Who, ultimately, can recount to those close to them the wondrous and moving events of the Nativity, which soften men’s souls?
Dear brethren and sisters, let us strive during these holy days of the Nativity to maintain peace and joy within ourselves, driving evil thoughts from our hearts. In this, the preëternal Infant, Christ the Savior, will help us, just as two centuries ago, on His Nativity, He helped our glorious forefathers drive from Russia the invading armies of Napoleon. “Let us with tears of gratitude moisten His all-pure feet; let us worship Him with humility and joyous glorification, spiritually placing ourselves before the cave of Bethlehem; and at the same time let us feel pity, with all our souls, for those around us whose hearts and minds fail to share in the great event of the Nativity of Christ,” says His Beatitude, Metropolitan Anthony, the founder of our Russian Church Abroad.
“What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, in that Thou hast appeared on earth as a man for our sake?” (from a Vespers sitcheron of the feast). “As God of the world and Father of compassions, Thou hast sent to us Thine Angel of great Counsel, Who granteth us peace” (from Irmos V of Canon I of the Nativity of Christ).
.CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!
GABRIEL
Archbishop of Montreal & CanadaNativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2012/2013
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New Ordination of Fr.Philosoph to the Priesthood.
07:04 PM
New Ordination
On the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, Deacon Philosoph Uhlman from the parish of St. Sophia in Victoria, BC, was ordained a priest at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY – by Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada.
With the blessing of Archbishop Gabriel, Fr. Philosoph will be opening a mission parish in honor of St. John of Shanghai & San Francisco on Vancouver island in the city of Nanaimo. Presently there is no full time functioning Orthodox parish in Nanaimo, so God willing, this will be the only parish that will have regular services.
As is the case in many cities in North America, Nanaimo is populated with a number of new émigrés from Russia and the Ukraine. Therefore, we hope that having a mission with a full time priest will help to attract the new Orthodox faithful to this new parish that will not only help to meet their spiritual needs, but also help the mission grow into a full fledged parish that will be a beacon in the beautiful city of Nanaimo.
We congratulate Fr. Philosoph on his elevation to the priesthood and wish him God’s help, good health and many years of service in the Vineyard of Christ.
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Protopriest Vladimir Malchenko Honored with a Government Award
07:27 PM
TORONTO: November 26, 2012
Protopriest Vladimir Malchenko Honored with a Government AwardMitred Protopriest Vladimir Malchenko, Rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toronto, Canada, and active member of the Russian community, was given an important government award.
At a benefit event in Toronto on November 22, 2012, Mark Adler, member of the Federal Parliament, gave Fr Vladimir the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond 60th Jubilee Medal on behalf of the Governor General of Canada, in recognition of his role as an eminent social and ecclesiastical figure who has greatly contributed to the life of the Russian community in Canada.
Protopriest Vladimir also received congratulations from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
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Official email address of the Canadian Diocese.
07:22 PM
Since the recent malfunction made the official electronic addresses of the Canadian Diocese inaccessible, with the blessing of His Grace Gabriel, Archbishop of Montreal and Canada the Diocesan Chancery has created a new address to prevent a breakdown in communication between the Chancery and all its addressees.
From December 1, 2012 the official address of the Canadian Diocese is canadian.diocese@gmail.com
The Chancery would greatly appreciate it if all of our rectors and other persons who rely upon the electronic communication with the Diocese would enter the new address into all relevant lists straight away.
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Pushkin Russian School in Montreal celebrates 75 years.
10:31 AM
For the anniversary our goal is to gather as much information about the history of our school as possible. That is why we need your help! Letter to all alumni and teachers who studied and worked at the school.
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The feast of the Parish of St.Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow in Waterloo, Ontario
07:30 PM
On Sunday, November 18, 2012 at the Church of Saint Tikhon in Waterloo, Ontario celebrated their Patronal Feast of Saint Tikhon, 11th Patriarch of Moscow and All of Russia. The all-night vigil and the divine liturgy were presided by Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal & Canada with parish rector Priest Eugene Schukin and deacon Alexander Morin. Subdeacons and readers from across the province travelled to Waterloo to celebrate this feast. The choir was led by Reader Oreshkin. Immediately following the divine liturgy, a moleben was held in the middle of the Church. The participants of the Feast were invited to a trapeza immediately following the moleben. During the trapeza, participants were offered a buffet lunch, a children’s concert with poems, singing, and selected young parishioners were given the opportunity to present their musical talents. A gramata was awarded to Mrs. Raisa Ratsen for her endless contributions to the parish. Father Eugene commented that the parish Russian School has grown from eight to twenty-two students. Archbishop Gabriel reminded all participants that parents play a vital role in their children’s development in the Russian Orthodox Faith! The clergy thanked all volunteers for their assistance in making this Patronal Feast, a truly remarkable event.
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Directive of Archibishop Gabriel regarding special collection for the needs of St.German’ Council Committee.
07:13 PM
St. Herman Orthodox movement gives our young people a unique opportunity to come together to know each other, take part in the general discussion, to listen to lectures on Orthodox themes and finally, that in the spiritual sense, the most important thing to take part in f the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the feast day of St. German 12/25 December.
Directive of Archbishop Gabriel -
Mosaic Work at Saint Sophia in Victoria, British Columbia
08:44 AM
Mosaic Work at Saint Sophia in Victoria, British Columbia
Work on the series of mosaics on the eastern wall of the altar was recently completed at the church of Saint Sophia in Victoria British Columbia. Work on this series of mosaics has been ongoing over the past several years, and the final piece, the communion of the apostles, has now been installed. This work was first initiated after several members of Saint Sophia, including the rector, Archpriest John, attended the Orsoni mosaic course in Venice about 6 years ago. A variety of mosaic projects in the church have been taken on since, engaging an increasing number of parishioners whose collective hands have laboured greatly for the glory of Christ and the beautification of His church. With God’s help, perhaps, some day this entire church will be splendidly arrayed in this ancient form of church art.
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The feast of the Protection of the Mother of God in Ottawa
07:39 AM
On Sunday the 14th of October, the parishioners of the Memorial Church of the Protection of the Mother of God celebrated their church feastday. This year His Eminence, Archbishop Gabriel was unable to attend the celebrations, but the faithful in Ottawa were pleased to welcome His Eminence, Bishop Irenee of Quebec City, who presided over the services. The following clergy served alongside Bishop Irenee: archpriest Peter Perekrestov from the Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco; the rector of the parish Priest Stelian Liabotis; the assistant rector Priest Alexis Pjawka; Hieromonk Ferapont, a cleric of the Iveron Monastery in Odessa, Ukraine; Protodeacon Nazary and Deacon Jesse from the Annunciation Parish of the OCA in Ottawa; and the parish Protodeacon, Fr. Basil Milonow.
The parish choir with guests from Toronto, Montreal and Jordanville sang the Vigil. At the blessing of the five loaves at the end of Vespers the parish children’s choir sang the troparion of the feast. The Divine Liturgy was sung antiphonally by the visiting male choir of the Iveron Monastery, Odessa.
In his sermon Bishop Irenee recounted that as a young man, only a few months after becoming Orthodox, he moved to Ottawa to attend university and at the same time began to regularly attend services at the recently-founded parish of the Protection of the Mother of God. Vladyka said that it was in Ottawa that he learned to read in Church Slavonic and to sing on kliros.After the service all parishioners and guests were invited to the parish hall for a festive meal prepared by the sisterhood.
