News
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Response of Assembly of Bishops to Obergefell v Hodges
07:46 PM
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America strongly disagrees with the United States Supreme Court decision of June 26, Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Court invents a constitutional right for two members of the same sex to marry, and imposes upon all States the responsibility to license and recognize such “marriages.”
The Supreme Court, in the narrowest majority possible, has overstepped its purview by essentially re-defining marriage itself. It has attempted to settle a polarizing social and moral question through legislative fiat. It is immoral and unjust for our government to establish in law a “right” for two members of the same sex to wed. Such legislation harms society and especially threatens children who, where possible, deserve the loving care of both a father and a mother.
As Orthodox Christian bishops, charged by our Savior Jesus Christ to shepherd His flock, we will continue to uphold and proclaim the teaching of our Lord that marriage, from its inception, is the lifelong sacramental union of a man and a woman. We call upon all Orthodox Christians in our nation to remain firm in their Orthodox faith, and to renew their deep reverence for and commitment to marriage as taught by the Church. We also call upon our nation’s civic leaders to respect the law of Almighty God and uphold the deeply-rooted beliefs of millions of Americans.
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Celebration of the 85th anniversary of the parish off All Saints in Calgary, Alberta.
09:02 AM
On the 7th of June the celebration of the 85th anniversary of the parish of All Saints took place in Calgary, Alberta.
The parish was founded in 1930. Its first priors were Rev. Father Michael Danilchyuk and Rev. Father Theolog (Beskaravayniy). In 1932, after the arrival from Yugoslavia to Western Canada memorable Vladika Bishop Iosaf (Skorodumov), the parish of All Saints started to build a wooden church. In 1934 the building was already finished and blessed by His Grace Vladika Iosaf. In 1953, due to the efforts of the prior of the parish of All Saints at that time – Rev. Father Agey ( Mazuro-Shimko) – the building was considerably extended, and – adjacent to it – a belfry was raised. In 1961 memorable Vladika Bishop Savva (Saratzevich) laid the first stone for the future new masonry building; already in December of 1962 His Grace made a minor consecration of the church, and the very first Liturgy was served there. Rev. Father Archpriest George Primak (the oldest priest of our Canadian diocese – who is still alive and well, and is being retired) had been the prior of the parish of All Saints from year 1985 till year 2011.
On the 7th of June, 2015, a special Divine Liturgy – headed by His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel – was held in the Church of All Saints, Calgary, Alberta. Vladika Gabriel, the Archbishop of Montreal and Canada, came to Calgary in order to participate in celebration of the anniversary of our parish. Multiple clergy of three local parishes took part in the Liturgy and concelebrated with His Eminence: Rev. Father Peter Shashkov, Rev. Father Viktor Kramarenko, Rev. Father Svyatoslav Dubanenko, with Archdeacon Father Vasiliy Milonov, deacons George Misku, Dimitry Grigoryev and Alexandre Savitsky.
Earlier, on the Vigil Hours, a young parishioner of our church – Nickolay Koutaytzev – was ordained a Reader. Kolya has grown up in front of our eyes; for 10 years he has been diligently attending the parish Sunday school that was organized by his mom – Irina Koutaytzev.
He reads excellently in Old-Slavic language and all Vesper and Vigil Services of the Feast of All Saints was read by him, under guidance of Reader Alexey Primak – the son of Rev. Father George Primak, the previous long-term prior of our church (who is now, though being retired, is always present at every service and supports us with his Holy prayers).The choirs of two parishes – of All Saints and of Saint George, the Great-Martyr, Victory-Bearer and Wonderworker (Red Deer, Alberta) – were charmingly and magnificently singing in turn during all Divine Liturgy.
After the Communion, multiple parishioners and the guests of the parish took part in the Cross Procession around the Church building. After the Liturgy the choir sang “Many years” to all the Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, to our Ruling Hierarch – His Eminence Vladika Gabriel, to the clergy of our parishes and their families, to everybody who was attending the Service at that day and those, who were not able to attend, but spiritually was with us on that day.
In His Feast Sermon His Eminence Vladika Gabriel pointed out to the necessity of following the example of Saints and all servants of God, whom we commemorated on that day , never stopping, at the same time, enlightening ourselves with the Light of the God’s Gospels , and bearing this light further on – to all people – through charity work and good deeds.
After the Liturgy everybody was invited to a grand feast that was prepared outside, on the church lawn, by the Sisterhood of the parish of All Saints. The Head Sister Monika Van Royen – on behalf of all parish – gave wonderful “thank-you” gifts to the two recent priors of the parish – to Rev. Father George Primak and to Rev. Father Peter Shashkov and to their Matushkas.
We rejoice at every time our dear Vladika Gabriel visits our parish: His Eminence knows how to find a proper word for everybody, how to cheer up or praise, or to make a clever decision…
During and after the Feast our parishioners had a chance to talk to Vladika and to make better acquaintance with the members of the neighbouring parishes of Saint John Chrysostom (South Calgary) and of Saint George, the Great-Martyr, Victory-Bearer and Wonderworker (Red Deer).The participant of the Celebration.
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Consecration of the new Church of St. Tikhon and New Martyrs of Russia in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
08:26 PM
Consecration of the new Church of St. Tikhon and New Martyrs of Russia in
Cambridge, Ontario, CanadaOn May 2nd, 2015, through the Grace of God, the new Church of St. Tikhon and New Martyrs of Russia was consecrated in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. The service, Divine Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil the evening before were headed by His Eminence, the Most Reverend Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and all of Canada. Many guests and clergy attended these festive services from neighbouring parishes in the area. During the service, the rector of the parish father Evgeniy Shchukin was presented with the right to wear the kamilaukion, and the director of the choir, reader Alexander Oreshkin, was made subdeacon. The parish choir was enriched with voices of visiting choir members from the Holy Trinity Church in Toronto, which helped the choir to sing very festively and prayerfully during the services. The guest clergy included protopriest Vladimir Malchenko (Toronto), protopriest Vladimir Morin (London), protopriest Fyodor Ganchanin (Windson), priest Viatcheslav Davidenko (Toronto), priest Antoniy Filchak (Hamilton), protodeacon Vasiliy Milonow (Ottawa), protodeacon Alexander Morin (Toronto), deacon Dmitry Grigoriev (Calgary) and deacon Boris Bakhvalov (Toronto).
Archbishop Gabriel congratulated the parish with the fact that the Lord has granted them this Church building, and wished that the parish would grow and serve the Lord in love, peace and with humbleness. The same words were echoed by all other clergy who congratulated the parish following service.
After Divine Liturgy, the sisterhood of the parish, lead by head sister (and treasurer of the parish) Raisa Ratsen, organized a charity banquet dinner to raise funds for the church. There were over 210 people in attendance in the newly renovated dining hall of the church building. The students of the parish school, with their teachers Elena Suhak and others, brought more smiles for the guests with a small fairy tale performance, along with other children who performed at the banquet. In addition, the guests were treated to war-time songs by professional singer matushka Maria Bakhvalova, with Lika Entel accompanying her on the piano. Overall, the whole day felt as a festive, warm family event for the entire parish and guests.
For the parish and local community of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and surrounding area, the consecration of the new Church building is a very long-awaited event. The Russian-speaking Orthodox community in Kitchener and Waterloo has been in existence for over 14 years, and has had significant growth in the last 4 years – during which, the community has a local priest and regular Church services in the old building – a small rented office space. There is also a successful parish school for children with several subjects taught each week. It was obvious that the small rented space was not enough to fit the needs of the Church, sisterhood and parish school, and it is a story worth sharing as to how the new building was acquired.
The rector of the parish, father Evgeniy Shchukin, has been looking and applying for mortgages for various buildings for a number of years, but was declined from the banks each time. Eventually, a building that seemed to be perfect for the parish was found – an old Anglican church with a spacious room for the Church, large parish hall, stage, classrooms and parking. After a church and parish council meeting, it was decided to proceed to collect funds for a down payment, and an unprecedented fundraising effort helped gather a very large sum in a short amount of time. The sellers of the building agreed to the sale, but the bank refused the mortgage application once again. This all happened the night before the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and father Evgeniy was visiting the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. How wonderful are the Works of the Lord, and through the prayers of St. Nicholas, as the next day, the feastday of St. Nicholas, as father Evgeniy was leaving the monastery with heavy thoughts, he received a phone call from the agent at the bank – she said that she decided to resubmit the mortgage application when it was rejected, and miraculously, it was instantly approved! The news was received with great joy by the parish, and after a thanksgiving moleben, the parish began to prepare for the renovations and move to the new building.There was very little time to prepare for the move – in one month, with the colossal help from volunteers from the parish, the main renovations were complete in the new Church space, the dining hall and classrooms. Below are some photographs that show the extent of the work that was made in such a short time.
The rector and parish of St. Tikhon and New Martyrs of Russia thank the Lord for the new Church building, and also Archbishop Gabriel for his prayers, support and visit for the Consecration of the new Church. The rector and parish also thank all visiting clergy and guests who came to share the joyous occasion with the parish, the sisterhood for their tireless work in organizing the charity banquet dinner, and all those who donated and helped with the renovations and preparations for this day.
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Easter Bazaar at the parish of Our Lady of Smolensk Russian Orthodox Church in Jackson’s Point, Ontario (Berezki)
01:01 PM
Easter Bazaar at the parish of Our Lady of Smolensk Russian Orthodox Church in Jackson’s Point, Ontario (Berezki)
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Paschal Epistle of His Eminence Gabriel, Archbishop of Montreal & Canada. 2015
06:34 AM
Paschal Epistle
To the Priests, the Clergy
& the Entire Flock of the Diocese of Canada,
Beloved of GodBrethren & sisters beloved in the Lord,
Christ is Risen!
In these bright paschal days, when we greet each other with the joyful words “Christ is Risen,” our hearts are filled with an all-encompassing and unspeakable feeling of grace, which the Risen Lord gives to us as a foreshadowing of the promised Pascha in the heavenly kingdom.
We truly rejoice when we hear the soul-warming paschal hymns. These hymns, along with the particular paschal greeting, stay with us for forty days and thus show us that the Resurrection of Christ is truly the feast of feasts.
St. John Chrysostom, in his homily which is read during the paschal night, says: “Enter all of you, therefore, into the joy of our Lord,” even those that came, as Christ says in the parable, at the eleventh hour; those that fasted and those that did not, for the Lord accepts all and warms them with the grace of Pascha.
The ever-memorable Metropolitan Vitaly used to say that we must be especially thankful during these days that we are Orthodox Christians, because only in the true Church can we feel this paschal grace.
St. Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians writes: “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Cor. 15: 14). The holy fathers explain that, had Christ not resurrected, His coming into the world, ministry and sufferings would not have meaning.
Truly our own lives would be completely without meaning and purpose had not Christ appeared to us and resurrected from the dead, granting us life eternal. How terrifying must it be for the unbeliever, who after this temporary life has no hope? In what or in whom can he have hope? Therefore it is with complete fairness that David the psalmist said, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” (Ps. 13 (14): 1).
We, on the other hand, know truly that Christ through his salvific struggle vanquished death and opened to us the way to Eden. Therefore our Lord gives us this special feeling of joy, so that we do not forget that He is waiting for the truly faithful in eternity. Remembering this, we must always try to live our lives so that we will be worthy of the unwaning light of God’s kingdom.
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 117 (118): 24).
Truly Christ is Risen!
Gabriel,
Archbishop of Montréal & CanadaPascha of Christ, 2015
