mt 28:19 canadian orthodox messenger · 2 canadian orthodox messenger spring/printemps 2003. . ....

Go therefore and make disciples ofall nations . . . .

Mt 28:19

Allez, faites de toutes les nationsdes disciples . . . .

Mt 28:19

CANADIAN ORTHODOX MESSENGER

Nouvelle Série 14:2 Spring 2003New Series 14:2 Spring 2003

Founded by the blessed Archbishop Arseny (Chahovtsov), 1866 – 1945Published by the Archdiocese of Canada, Orthodox Church in America

Fondé par le bienheureux Archevêque Arseny (Chahovtsov), 1866 – 1945 Publié par l’Archidiocèse du Canada, Église orthodoxe en Amérique

Archbishop ARSENY (Chahovtsov)

Archdiocese of Canada takes historic step:

The Archbishop Arseny ArchivesArchives, our collective memory, tell us about thepurposes and paths of those who have walked before us.Especially in a spiritual setting, records of the past areinvaluable. They document not simply human activities,but acts of faith and the tangible,lived blessings of God over time.We can learn a lot from the past,but in order to do this, first we mustpreserve it.

On October 26, 2002, afterthe fall meeting of theArchdiocesan Council, in which aplan for the historic preservationof archival records was examined,His Grace, Bishop SERAPHIMestablished an ArchdiocesanArchives, a place where records ofthe Archdiocese and other keyhistorical materials tracing thedevelopment of the Orthodoxfaith in Canada will be held.Named for Archbishop ARSENY(Chahovtsov) of blessed memory,tireless worker in the building ofthe Canadian Church in the1920s and 1930s, the Archbishop Arseny Archives willidentify, acquire, preserve and govern the research use ofall records created and accumulated in the course ofconduct of affairs of the Archdiocese of Canada and ofits predecessor body, the Diocese of Canada withinthe Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of NorthAmerica, and prior to the creation of the Diocese, allpreceding Canadian Orthodox missions. The Archives, asecure, specially-constructed history room, will be locatedat the Archdiocesan Centre, Fair Haven, where materialswill be stored on proper archival shelving in acid-free

enclosures and document boxes. Close cooperation withthe OCA Archives at Syosset NY, where a numberof pertinent records pertaining to Canada are held, willhelp to create our full historic profile. We will also

cooperate with Winnipeg’sUkrainian Orthodox Archives.

What constitutes anarchival record? We think of one-of-a-kind documents, such asletters, or photographs, minutebooks and personal papers. How-ever, rare publications, antiquatedservice books and newspaper clip-pings have their place. In morerecent years, anniversary videosand electronic records (even PowerPoint presentations) qualify. TheArchives will be home for thepapers of priests and others whohave served our Archdiocese,where collections held under theirnames will serve as a memorialto them. These will be added

to already-existing valuable col-lections, such as the Archbishop

SYLVESTER (Haruns) Papers at Fair Haven, where theywill be accessioned, arranged and described. There arealso early publications such as Amerikanskii PravoslavniiVestnik which contain historical accounts of Churchmissions in Canada from the 1890s. All of these recordsdeserve an honoured place on our Archives’ shelves.

This exciting development in caring for our pastrequires teamwork—our pulling together to identifypotential records and to see that they are preserved. Thanks

continued, next page . . .

2 CANADIAN ORTHODOX MESSENGER Spring/Printemps 2003

. . . Around the Archdiocese . . .continued from p.1:

to the diligent efforts of people like Protodeacon AndrewPiasta, we have a good database for metrical records thatwe can use as more registers (or copies) are added. Theoffice staff at Fair Haven has maintained the records of theArchdiocese most capably over the years, establishing asolid base of history. In our midst are those who have com-piled histories of parishes and even the Archdiocese, andwho might have come across valuable photos, letters orother documents in their work, or those who update theirparish web pages with events from their past and knowwhere these items are to be found. In many parishes,matushki are avid collectors of history, and their effortsare welcomed.

We also have members who work in the fieldof archives as their profession. Bishop Seraphim hasappointed Kathryn Szalasznyj of Holy ResurrectionParish, Saskatoon, as Archdiocesan Archivist to developan acquisitions plan, an accession system, and to beginthe process of arrangement and description. A longtimearchivist in Saskatchewan and researcher of historicbuildings, she will need your help.

If you have historic records in attics or closets thatyou think should find a home at the Bishop ArsenyArchives or have been involved in church work and havefiles that ought to be preserved, or photos (or scans ofphotos) do not be shy about mentioning them! All of thisis for our common good. Please contact Ms Szalasznyjat (306) 374-7143 or at [email protected]. The mailingaddress of the Archives is Box 179, Spencerville, Ontario,K0E 1X0.

Bishop Seraphim, having asked the prayers of theBlessed Arseny in the establishment of this place of recordof our past, encourages us to call further on his assistance,and to work together in establishing a strong record of theOrthodox faith in Canada at our Archives. Let us be trueto the Orthodox Way, which is to remember and honourthose who have walked before. We will only accomplishthis if we commit our past to safe-keeping.

A record from our past: Fr Ignatius Falkovsky withOrthodox faithful, NWT Missions, Canada, n.d.

August blessingsIn Manitoba, Saskatchewan

His Grace Bishop Seraphim led the faithful on twomomentous occasions during the last weekend in Augustin the beautiful Parkland area of western Manitoba andeastern Saskatchewan.

On Saturday, August 24, 2002, people from andaround Sandy Lake MB gathered for a liturgy served byHis Grace at the “North Church,” St Nicholas. The churchis just outside Sandy Lake on the north. With the bishopwere Priests Robert Kennaugh, Myrone Klysh, and AnatolyMelnyk, and Protodeacon Raphael Cole, all of Winnipeg.Approximately 150 people attended.

A very noteworthy aspect of the celebration was theblessing of the Pioneer Cemetery (North). This cemeteryis possibly Sandy Lake’s oldest. The picturesque locationon a hill is believed to have been chosen by the Métis andFrench Canadians who inhabited the land in the area inthe late 1800s and early 1900s. The site is located on thefarmland first homesteaded by Daniel Lilley, and theparishioners of St Nicholas used the cemetery until 1917,when they opened their own beside the church. Unfortu-nately, due to lack of use and a number of grass fires, thegraveyard fell into a poor condition. In 2001, a Restora-tion Committee began painstaking work clearing brush,straightening tombstones and marking graves to return thecemetery to its pristine state.

The program began with a representative from theMétis community who burned incense-like sweet grass. Acairn displaying the names of all the reposed was unveiled.Bishop Seraphim led the faithful in a memorial service,and then blessed the graves, during which the localUkrainian Centennial Choir sang inspiring hymns.

Afterwards all partook in a celebratory meal at the“North Church” hall. There the program continued withan account of the hard work involved by the RestorationCommittee as presented by Joyce Coulson. Honouredguests were present, including representatives from theMétis community, including Tom Ducharme, who playeda few lively numbers on his fiddle. The Ukrainian Centen-nial Choir graced the program with more songs. Finally,the Hon Rosann Wowchuk, Minister of Agriculture for theProvince of Manitoba and Member of the LegislativeAssembly for Swan River, gave a few words, and the Gov-ernment of Manitoba was duly acknowledged forgenerously paying half of the restoration expenses incurred.

The next day, Sunday, August 25, 2002, marked thecelebration of 100th anniversary of the Holy Assumption[i.e., Dormition] of the Theotokos Parish, also knownas the “Boychuk Church,” north of Rhein SK. The dayhad arrived for the few active parishioners after muchplanning and there was much excitement.

CANADIAN ORTHODOX MESSENGER 3Printemps/Spring 2003

. . . Around the Archdiocese . . .

Once very active, the parish had fallen on hard timesabout two decades ago, with no priest in the area, and mostof the members having moved away to the larger centres.

Encouraged by Fr Orest Olekshy, and then by Fr DennisPihach, the parish continued to meet once a year on the Sun-day closest to its feast day and now it was a hundred years old!

Planning had begun over a year ago, and there was muchdiscussion on whether the church should be painted, a cairnbuilt, or the floor repaired. People wondered if anyone wouldcome, whether it could be afforded, andwho would do it? After a general meeting,a number of people stepped forward tooffer help, even those not so active in thepast, or now active in other parishes.

Now the time had come, the churchwas painted, the cairn built, the grass cut,the tent set up. Anxiety began to set in. Asit was heard who was attending, wouldthere be enough food, enough chairs, andhow would everyone fit into the tinychurch? And then how is the bishopgreeted? The last bishop anyone couldremember had come in 1927! How doesone greet a Bishop with bread and salt?What does one say? Someone remembereda red carpet and little girls with flowerpetals. Was this proper? Was it required?After many questions to Fr Rodion Luciuk,the priest in charge of the church (and likewise Fr Rodion toHis Grace), most of the details fell into place.

It was decided that since the last bishop arrived byhorse, an upgrade was due, but not one too big. The finalresult? Bishop Seraphim was chauffered in a Model A Ford!

Blessing the graves of the restored Pioneer Cemetery (North), Sandy Lake

Blessing water at the “Boychuk Church,” Rhein SK

Young girls in traditional Ukrainian dress greeted HisGrace with flower petals. Metro Boychuk offered thetraditional greeting of bread and salt. He is one of the few

remaining active members of this littlecountry parish (he is also an activemember of St Mark’s, Yorkton) and haslived in the area all his life. Being adescendant of the pious Boychuk whodonated the land to the church, he was cho-sen for this honour as he is one of the veryfew that still helps to maintain the churchevery year. The Boychuk who donated theland was a cantor and is remembered forcoming to the church each day to pray.

With the blessing of His Grace, themain part of the liturgy was celebratedoutside under very warm and brilliantsunshine and a blue dome of a sky, withthe little church serving as the altar. FrRodion Luciuk of St Mark’s, Yorkton SK;a priest visiting from L’viv, Ukraine,Fr Nikholai Petrushchak; and Fr OrestOlekshy and Dn Taras Papaish, both ofHoly Resurrection Sobor, Saskatoon,

concelebrated with His Grace. Br Innocent of Yorkton ledthe choir, mostly of people from St Mark’s.

In his sermon Vladyka emphasized that we mustalways look to and depend on the Lord Who saves us. Hesuggested that we follow the pioneers for examples who,even in their daily speech, demonstrated their reliance uponGod: Slava Iisusu Khrystu. Slava Na Viki. (“Glory be to

Jesus Christ. Glory forever.”) when they greeted each other;and Slava Bohu! (“Glory to God!”) when they foundsomething that was lost. The pioneers also had theirpriorities in order: one of the first things that they would



. . . Around the Archdiocese. . .

do was to build a church, even when they still lived in“soddies” and other makeshift huts.

Towards the end of the liturgy, many saw anintersection of two clouds in an otherwise clear, brightblue sky, forming the sign of the Cross.This phenomenonhighlights how the Eternal intersects the temporal every timewe celebrate the liturgy. After the liturgy, His Grace serveda panikhida for the reposed, blessed water, and subsequentlyblessed the church, the faithful, and the 141 graves in theadjacent cemetery.

Approximately 300 people attended, some comingfrom as far away as Victoria BC. Many present had been

continued from p.3:

baptized and/or married in this little parish. All wereinvited to a sumptuous Ukrainian feast. During the shortprogram after the meal, His Grace presented a gramota tothe parish. A letter from the Her Honour the former Lieuten-ant Governor of Saskatchewan, Sylvia Fedoruk, was read.Ms Fedoruk has some relatives buried in the cemetery.Thanks were given to all who attended and had helped inpreparing for the celebration.

Everyone enjoyed this most festive, memorable andinspiring weekend! Thanks and praise be to God!—by EstherG. Juce , with assistance of Fr Robert Kennaugh, Fr RodionLuciuk, and Howard R. Engel.

Eighty-strong women’s conference hears abbess

“Christian Spiritual Maturity in the 21st Century” was thetheme of the 2nd Orthodox Women’s Retreat held September27 through 29 at Entheos Retreat Centre, 35 km west ofCalgary. Much of the success of the event was due to theleadership offered by the retreat’s guest speaker, MotherRaphaela, Abbess of the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery inOtego NY. With a full attendance of 80 women from allover western Canada and Yukon, the diverse backgrounds,ages, and ethnic parishes represented, enhanced andcontributed to this truly wonderful week-end for the womenof our Orthodox faith.

Mother Raphaela has worked to establish Orthodoxmonastic life for women in North America for over a quar-ter of a century through the foundation and establishment ofthe Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery. Formerly a nun in theEpiscopal Church for more than ten years, Mother Raphaelajoined the Orthodox Church in 1977 and was blessed to con-tinue living her monastic life. As a published author, heressays have been printed in her community newslettersas well as numerous other church publications. Her bookLiving in Christ was published by St Vladimir’s SeminaryPress, and her second book is now in publication.

The words of Eleanor Gasparik of Edmontonaccurately reflect the impact she had. “With down-to-earthcandor she gave us much to think about. For me, herrepeated encouragement for us to try devoting five minutesa day to silence and five minutes more to reading the Gospelreally hit home. With about 1,050 waking minutes in my

average day, 10 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but . . . . AsI struggle to make this a part of my life in Christ, I recalldaily Mother Raphaela and the retreat that enabled me tohear her. And I am grateful.” We were blessed not only byMother’s sharp mind and ability to see the humour in almosteverything, but also by the exposure to monastic life. Shebrought a video of the monastery as well as a pictorialdisplay which gave us a small look into the life of the nuns.

An opening Moleben was served Friday evening by FrTaras Krochak of St Vladimir’sUkrainian Church. Fr IbrahimChahoud of Holy Annunciation Artiochian Church servedSaturday Morning Prayers and Fr Patrick Powalinsky, alsoof St Vladimir’s, served Saturday evening Vespers and heardconfessions. Divine Liturgy was celebrated on Sunday morn-ing by Fr Taras Krochak. Psa Lillian Lupu of St Mary’sRomanian Church and Dob Donna Krochak rose to thechallenge of directing the 80-strong women’s multi-culturalchoir made up of all the participants of the retreat.

The weather on this warm sunny weekend at the endof September was an added blessing. The retreat centre is ina lovely location in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.The walking paths were well used and provided sharing timeand exercise for the women. The breaks between sessionswere a chance for the women from the different places tomeet and visit.

God willing, the next women’s retreat planned by thiscommittee, will be September 26 – 28, 2003. For informa-tion please contact Myra Reinheimer (403) 938-4929.


. . . Our seminarians . . .

It was the spring of 2001 when St Vladimir’s seminarianRichard Rene, his wife Jaime, and their six-month-olddaughter Lily first made the cross-continent journey fromtheir home in Vancouver/Langley BC to the bright lightsof New York City. Bright lights were indeed Richard’s firstand most lasting impression of the Big Apple as they flewin—a vast, unbelievable expanse of lights and more lightsstretching far beyond his field of vision, and then the hugeneon billboards of Times Square, clearly visible from 5,000feet in the air. Richard is no country bumpkin; his home-town is Canada’s third largest city. He has a B.Ed. fromUBC, and has taught English in high school for three years.He nonetheless felt quite unprepared for the unending seaof humanity and technology he first encountered in NewYork City.

Fortunately for Richard and Jaime, who has adegree in music from Trinity Western, St Vladimir’s Semi-nary is located a 45-minute drive (in good traffic) out ofNew York City on the north side of Whitestone Bridge inWest Chester Township. Richard’s visit to StVlad’s wastaken at the suggestion of Bishop Seraphim, and after muchencouragement from his parish priest, Fr Lawrence Farleyof St Herman of Alaska parish in Langley BC. He wouldbe following in the footsteps of onr of Fr. Lawrence’s pre-vious parishioners: Fr John Hainsworth (and his wifeJennie), now serving as Priest at All Saints of Alaska mis-sion in Victoria BC. Richard has good company atSt.Vladimir’s, too, as his fellow parishioner, teacher, andgood friend Edward Hewlett (and wife Sara) is also in hissecond year there, as is Anastassy Gallaher (and wifeMichelle), who also spent timeat St Herman’s..

After the spring trip, the Renes felt that it was God’swill for them to attend St Vladimir’s, and so they arrivedin late summer 2001, just in time for the 9/11 catastrophe.They had $300 to begin a three-year (six semester) courseof study for a Master of Divinity degree. Given that thefees for one semester of study run around $5000 US, andthat a highly subsidized one-bedroom apartment runsaround $600 US per month, this could be seen as a bit of astep of faith. Their faith has proven to be well-founded.Richard is able to contribute to his tuition fees by workingat the St Vladimir’s library for about 18 hours a week, andJaime has been able to teach music, and there are alwaysbabysitting opportunities available. In addition, the Renefamily has been adopted through the FOCA “Church Spon-sorship Program” by the St Theodosius parish in Ohio,which has been very generous. [Our other Canadianstudents would welcome such support from our Canadianparishes!] In addition, Richard has received major

scholarship help through the seminary, and the City ofNew York also helps by providing free dental, medical,and even juice and milk for their daughter Lily. Richardsays that their needs are constantly being met unexpect-edly, and that they have really experienced God’s graceover the last year and a half.

Richard and Jaime ReneLife at St Vladimir’s:

Richard, Jaime,and Lily Rene

A typical day for Richard begins around 7:00, withyoung Lily being the alarm. Matins in the seminary chapelbegins at 7:30, and then he is home again for breakfastat 8:20. Classes start at 9:00. After typing his morningnotes on campus, he is home for lunch (and hopefully aquick nap) from 12:30 until 2:00. Richard works from2:00 till 5:00 daily in the library. Vespers begins at 5:00.After Vespers on Monday there is a quick supper andthen back to the library to work from 6:30 until 9:30; theother weeknights are for studying. Bedtime is 10:00.Weekends are a little less structured with Friday nightbeing “date night,” usually a video, and then Saturday isfilled with shopping and family life until Vigil from 6:30to 8:15. Sunday Liturgy at the chapel usually has about175 attendees, 60% of whom are from off campus.

Richard was baptized as an infant in the RomanCatholic Church, but grew up attending the Anglican,although not regularly. In his teens he drifted from theseChristian influences, and when he started searching onceagain, he spent some time in Protestant Evangelicalcircles. He hungered for stability and the true churchauthority and could not accept the free-for-all “spirit ofthe age” he found himself involved in. When he encoun-tered the Orthodox Church, he very quickly and joyfullyresponded to her ageless call. He converted in 1995, beingnamed Nicolas, and faithfully attended services and stud-ies at St Herman’s, soaking up his new faith. He metJaime at St Herman’s and they were married in 1998.

Richard sees Fr Lawrence’s encouragement asa key influence in his decision to attend seminary;




Fr Lawrence credits the loving, healing culture of accept-ance that has developed through God’s grace at St Herman’s,as a central motivation for several young men from his par-ish to enter St Vladimir’s. Richard was not certain that Godwas calling him to be a priest, although he had already beenordained a subdeacon, but he felt that the first step beforehim was to attend the seminary. Fr Lawrence spends timewith all of his potential seminary students before they leaveSt Herman’s, teaching them to speak passionately about whatGod has placed in their hearts. He encourages them not torely on notes—comparing notes to training wheels—butboldly and prophetically to speak God’s word directly fromtheir hearts. It would seem to be effective counsel. In Octo-ber of this year, as a second-year student, Richard was askedto give his first homily in the chapel. He knew after thatservice that he was to become a priest, through God’s grace.He says it is a sobering knowledge. It requires giving up theright to direct one’s own life, trusting in God to lead theway. He says he would love to come back to Canada, butrealizes that there are no guarantees, and that he will dowhatever, and go wherever, his bishop directs.

Richard says that because of his experience at StVladimir’s, he now has a much broader view of the world-wide Orthodox Church, and he appreciates the greatdiversity of external expression found in the various ethnicOrthodox churches. He now understands that Churchhistory is much more complicated than he had once thought,with issues getting worked out over great lengths of timeand with much controversy. This gives him a deeperappreciation for those Fathers who lived through the painof working out the doctrines that have been delivered to us.It also makes him aware that conflict is often—even nor-mally—part of the struggle in serving God. These changesin perspective have not strained Richards’s faith, but haverather served to strengthen it. He has not found manysurprises in Liturgics because, as he says, Fr Lawrence gavehim a very solid base in this area. He continues to findstrength and healing in participating in the full cycle ofservices during the liturgical year.

We in the Church can be grateful to God that He israising up such dedicated servants as Richard and JaimeRene to guide His flock. Many of us will be directlybenefiting from the leadership that seminary students suchas Richard will be providing to our parishes. The financialand other sacrifices that Canadian students are prepared tomake to follow God’s call and attend seminary in the UnitedStates are considerable. Let us here in Canada make aconcentrated effort to ask God how we may help theseyoung seminarians and share in some of their sacrifice. Ourprayers and financial help are needed so that God may useus as partners in the building of His Kingdom, “on earth asit is in Heaven.” —Brent Applegate, Calgary

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Metropolitan TheodosiusHonoured in Montréal,Site of his 1977 election

On Saturday and Sunday, October 19 – 20, 2002, HisBeatitude, Metropolitan THEODOSIUS returned toMontréal where, almost twenty-five years ago to theday, he was elected Primate of the Orthodox Churchin America.

On Saturday evening, His Beatitude was welcomedby the Very Rev John Tkachuk and the faithful ofThe Sign of the Theotokos Church, where he presidedat Great Vespers. At the time of Metropolitan Theodosius’election in 1977, Father John was rector of Sts Peter andPaul Cathedral, Montréal, the site of the All-AmericanCouncil at which the election took place.

On Sunday morning, Metropolitan Theodosius wasgreeted at Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral by the Rector,the Very Rev Alexander Janowski, and GeorgeKoutchougoura, the warden, while Anna Tombergpresented him with flowers. Concelebrating at the DivineLiturgy with His Beatitude and Father Alexander wereHigoumène Irénée (Rochon) and Moine-prêtre Cyrille(Bradette) of the Communauté Monastique St-Séraphimde Sarov, Rawdon QC, and the Very Rev Oleg Kirilov, ofToronto ON.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, MetropolitanTheodosius addressed the congregation in Russian, whichgreatly moved those present, most of whom were recentemigrants from Russia.He then presented to the cathedralthe holy relics and an an icon of New Martyr Elizabeth aswell as relics of Sts Herman of Alaska, Raphael ofBrooklyn, and Tikhon of Moscow.

His Beatitude was then honoured at a banquetfollowing the Liturgy, during which a number of tributeswere made. Father Alexander presented the Metropolitanwith an icon of Saints Peter and Paul, specially paintedby a local iconographer. Members of the parish choir,under the direction of Elena Ilvahina, offered a briefconcert of choral and instrumental folk and classicalmusic. In his closing remarks, Metropolitan Theodosius,referring to the choir’s harmony, spoke of the need forGod’s People to live in harmony. Before departing, heexpressed his desire to return in 2007 for the 100th

Anniversary of the cathedral.



New priest for Albanians, deacon for Ottawa ordained

In Kingston ON at the altar feast of St Gregory of Nyssa:Bishop Seraphim with newly ordained Deacon Foti and hisspiritual father, Fr Christos Christakis of Middletown OH

On 2 February 2003, Bishop Seraphim ordained DeaconFoti Cici to the priesthood, and Subdeacon GregoryScratch to the diaconate, in the Cathedral of Annuncia-tion/St Nicholas, Ottawa. Previously, on January 10,Fr Fotis was ordained to the diaconate at St Gregory ofNyssa Mission in Kingston ON—this ordination being afirst-time event for that parish.

An ethnic Albanian, Fr Foti was born in 1968 andgrew up under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, who madeAlbania the world’s only officially and repressivelyatheistic state. The new priest remembers his grandmoth-er’s nightly prayers, but otherwise he had no contact withany religion at all until 1990 whensomeone he met influenced him tobelieve in Christ. Thereupon he fledto Greece where he studied theol-ogy and Byzantine music for eightyears. He then earned a grant fromthe Fellowship of St Alban andSt Sergius in England, withthe recommendation of BishopKallistos (Ware), to study Englishat Oxford, where he spent twoyears, while also working at aGreek church in London as a psaltis(chanter) and teacher.

In 1999 he returned toAthens to continue graduatestudies in Byzantine musicology, atthe same time becoming involvedwith ministry among the Albanian diaspora there. In 2000he moved to the USA in order to teach Greek at OhioState University while pursuing Modern Greek studies.

In Ottawa on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, newlyordained Fr Foti gives communion for the first time to the

faithful; Protodeacon Cyprian Hutcheon is at right

Newly ordained Deacon Gregory Scratch with Bishop Seraphim, Fr John Scratch,Matushka Taesia, daughter Maria Suzanne, and baby Seraphim.

At that time he was also chanting at the Greek Orthodoxcathedral in Columbus, Ohio.

For a long time, however, Fr Foti’s deepest desirehas been to be a missionary priest among Albanianimmigrants and refugees. He stopped his graduatestudies and teaching when he learned of the possibilityof organizing the Albanian Orthodox community ofToronto. The developing parish of St Astius is perceivedby both Fr Foti and his faithful there as a Canadianparish which for the time being is using mostly Albanianin order to serve the newcomers. This is the reason theysought affiliation with the Archdiocese of Canada.

Deacon Gregory Scratch, the eldest son of thediocese’s beloved Fr John Scratch, was born in 1968. An

continued, last page . . .


. . . The intercessions of the saints . . .

Throughout the ages, Christians have called upon the saintsfor their intercessions, particularly in times of need. We seethis often when we look at the biographies of the saints, forthere we see that they in turn called on the saints who hadlived before them, to pray for them in times of great struggle,stress, and want. Christians love the saints, for they arestalwart examples of the life in Christ, and they are loving,fervent helpers, quick to hear and pray for us to the Lordwhom we mutually love.

Often the help the saints give is very specific. Some are“specialists” in certain areas, just as doctors are paediatri-cians or cardiologists. Sometimes it has to do in some waywith their particular tests in the course of their eartly lives;other times, it seems connected to their particular interests.In a few cases we simply do not know why they help wherethey do, and likely we will not know until the day the

Invoking the prayers of the saintsmystery is revealed. We do know, however, that they, likeChrist, are touched by our infirmity.

With reverence and love, then, let us approach thesaint with our prayers, perhaps even using a formal Akathist,if we have one. And having prayed earnestly, let us remem-ber to thank him or her fervently, as we would a greatbenefactor; and if it helps to increase warmth of faith, letus envision the saint’s help, trusting in the power of her orhis intercessions for us.

Below is a list of saints who are specialists incertain areas of need. It is a partial list at best; perhapsmore names will come to light and a revised list can bepublished later. May we feel the power of the prayers ofthese holy ones who, having struggled on earth as we do,now dwell before the light of God’s eternal countenance,bringing before Him their loving prayers for us!

To have a childSt Anna, Mother of the TheotokosSt Elizabeth, Mother of the ForerunnerSt Sabbas the Sanctified of PalestineSt Irene ChrysovolantouSt Symeon the Myrrh-streamer, father of St Sava of Serbia

For safe childbirthSt Eleutherios

For the care and protection of infantsSt Stylianos

For young peopleHoly Great Martyr Demetrios the Wonderworker

For marital difficultiesHoly Martyrs Shamuna, Guria and HabibSts Peter and Febronia of Murom (also for newlyweds)

Delivery from sudden deathSt Barbara the Great Martyr

Against drinkingHoly Martyr Boniface and the Righteous Aglais

For travellersSt Nicholas: in general, and specifically for sea travelSt John the Russian: for transport, auto, bussesSt Niphon, Patriarch of Constantinople: for safety at sea

For the kitchen, homeSt Euphrosynos the CookSt Sergius of Radonezh: for bakingSts Spyridon and Nikodim of Kievo-Pechersk: for

prosphora makingSt Juliana LazarevskayaSt Prochor of Kievo-Pechersk

For tradingSt Paraskeva

For cobblersSt Eustathius the Cobbler of Georgia

For physiciansSt PanteleimonHoly Unmercenaries Cosmos and DamianSt Agapit the Physician of Kievo-Pechersk

For perfumersSt Abo the Perfumer of Georgia

For headachesHoly New Martyr Demas of Smyrna

For eyesSt ParaskevaSt Lucia of Sicily

For earsSt Spyridon the Wonderworker

For teethSt Antipas of Pergamum

For hernias and intestinal disordersHoly Great Martyr ArtemiusSt Artemius of Verkola

For throatSt Blaise of Sebastia

For finding employmentSt Xenia of St Petersburg

For help in studiesThe Three Hierarchs: St Basil the Great, St John

Chrysostom, and St Gregory the TheologianSt Sergius of RadonezhSt John of KronstadtSt Nestor the Chronicler of Kievo-PecherskSt Justin the Philosopher

For finding thingsSt Phanourios the Great MartyrSt Menas the Great Martyr of Egypt


. . .The intercessions of the saints . . .

For Church-singingSt Romanos the MelodistSt KassianaSt Theodosius of ChernigovSts Leonty and Geronty, Canonarchs of Kievo-Pechersk

For iconographersSt Luke the Apostle and EvangelistSt Alypius of Kievo-PecherskSt John of Damascus

For patient endurance of afflictionSt Job the Much-SufferingSt Eustathius Placidas and FamilyHoly Forty Martyrs of Sebastia: especially in freezing

cold weatherHoly Forty-Two Martyrs of AmorionSt Pimen the Much-Suffering of Kievo-Pechersk

For protection against thievesSt Gregory the Wonderworker of Kievo-Pechersk

For stone-workersHoly Martyrs Florus and Laurus

For soldiersHoly Archangel MichaelSt George the Great MartyrSt Barbara the Great MartyrSt Titus the Soldier of Kievo-Pechersk

For spiritual help, consolation and compunctionSt Ephraim the SyrianSt Alexis the Man of GodSt Seraphim of Sarov

For a good end to one’s lifeHoly Archangel MichaelSt Niphon, Patriarch of Constantinople

For captives and court casesSt Onouphrios the GreatSt Peter of AthosSt George the Great MartyrSt Simeon the God-Receiver

For help in distress, poverty, etc.St Nicholas the WonderworkerSt Martin of Tours, the MercifulSt John the Almsgiver of AlexandriaSt John of Kronstadt

For meeting a difficult situation, an interview, etc.St David the Prophet, Psalmist & KingThe Holy Unmercenaries and Healers Cosmos and

Damian of RomeSts Cosmas, Damian, and their mother Thodoti of Asia MinorSts Cosmas, Damian, and their brothers Anthimus,

Leontius and Evropius of ArabiaSts Cyrus and John of AlexandriaSts Panteleimon and HermolausSt MociusSt ThallelausSt Diomedes the HealerSt Anicetus

St Julian the MartyrSt Zoticus the Orphan-KeeperSt John of KronstadtSt Nectarios of AeginaHoly Archangel Raphael

For animals and livestockSt George: cattle & herdsSt Modestus of JerusalemHoly Martyr MamasSt Parthenius of Radovysdius: cattleSts Spevsippus, Elesippus and Melevsippus: horsesSt Tryphon: geese

For protection of crops from pestsSt Michael of SynnadaSt Gerasimos the New Ascetic

For the protection of gardens against pestsHoly Great Martyr Tryphon: also for hunters

Against demons and witchcraftSts Cyprian and JustinaSt Theodore SykeoteSt Mitrophan of Voronezh

For chastity and help in carnal warfareSt John the ForerunnerSt Demetrios the Great MartyrSt Moses the HungarianSt John the Much-SufferingHoly Martyr Theodore the ByzantineHoly Martyr Ignatios of AthosSt ThomaisSt MartinianSt Basil of MangazeaSt Mary of EgyptSt Joseph the All-ComelySt Susanna [Old Testament]St Anysia the Virgin Martyr

For mental disordersSt Naum of OchridSt AnastasiaSt Gerasimos of Cephalonia: especially for the possessedSt Mark the gravedigger of Kievo-Pechersk: for the possessed

Against plagueSt HaralambosSt Marina the Great MartyrSt Bessarion of the Saviour, Archbishop of Larissa

For help against quick-temper and despondencySt Tikhon of Zadonsk

For workers in hospitalsHoly UnmercenariesSt Dositheus, Disciple of Abba Dorotheus

For guilelessness and simplicityHoly Apostle NathanielSt Paul the Simple

O Holy Saints of God, pray for us sinners!


. . . From the Bishop’s desk . . .

We human beings have a tendency to extremity. Sometimeswe are really liberal, and sometimes we are really conserva-tive; more often we are reactionary in one way or another.So it is in politics, so it is in society and its mores, and so itis in human relationships. Perhaps it could be said that whatwe are consistent about is being inconsistent. And every timeI think about these things, I feel exasperated that we don’t,as a supposedly intelligent race, seem to learn much in theprocess. I often marvel at God’s patience with us. Truly, if itwere I, or likely any one of us, the earth would have beencleaned of us all long ago. And also, as I am aging, I findmyself, when asked “What’s new?” responding much asQoheleth, the Preacher, in Ecclesiastes: “there is nothingnew under the sun,” and “vanity of vanities, all is vanity,”and even “all is vanity, and striving after wind.”

No, don’t call for the electroshock-therapists! I amnot depressed, I am not in despair. But I am bothered by thefact that we human beings can’t manage to make progresswhere it counts, and it bothers me that not only I, but most ofus, can’t manage to see the good examples in the good peo-ple God sends to us, nor to hear Him speak to us throughthem. We don’t really change much, and we make prettymuch the same mistakes as humans have always made, andthis despite our being Christians, and called by His Name.

One of the reasons, of course, that we are notmaking much progress is that we can’t keep our hearts andminds off ourselves. It has always been so: God revealsHimself to us in His love; we respond, but not in a lasting orcomprehending way. Fundamentally, we are so taken withourselves that we cannot bear to let God be in control ofeverything. We cannot bear not knowing all the details. Wehave to be in control ourselves, and so we try to box in God,as it were, to make Him more manageable to us.

And all of this little rant brings me to address moredirectly the topic of Orthodox fundamentalism.

Fundamentalism is a phenomenon which has alwaysbeen with us to some extent, but it seems to me that in thesedays we are perhaps seeing rather more of it. Not only dowe see more of it, but it is, it seems to me, appearing instrange ways. And it is always for me a bit difficult todistinguish between fundamentalism and reaction, becausethey are very close kin.

In the West, we have long lived with the phenomenonof protestantism, which clearly has elements of reaction, andalso zealotry, which can be another word for this fundamen-talism. In the East, although we certainly have knownzealotry, we have not so much experienced a reaction likeprotestantism. But we have experienced the schism of the

Orthodox FundamentalismFrom the Bishop’s desk:

Old Believers, a movementwhich has exhibited ele-ments of both zealotry andreaction, which we ratherbrought on ourselves, andwhich is a study in itself.

“Zeal for Your househas devoured me,” readsPsalm 68:10, which is citedby the Apostle and Evange-list John after he describesChrist’s cleansing ofthe Temple (Jn 2:17). See-ing what they think is wrongwith the majority ofOrthodox Christians, andforgetting the meaning of the second part of that sentence,some of us fall into the temptation to try to cleanse the Churchas Christ. And so we find ourselves facing various fragmentsof people, separated off into special groups, whocompare themselves to St Athanasius, St Maximus theConfessor, St Mark of Ephesus, and others. They considerthemselves a remnant, and like Esdras or the Maccabees,they want to preserve and rebuild something pure. Theproblem with this fear-based mentality, however, is that theconcern to protect leads to an attitude of exclusion, and evena sectarian exclusivistic mentality, the antithesis of theOrthodox Church. But what about the second part of theverse? The second part of the sentence says: “and thereproaches of those who reproach You have fallen upon me.”This psalm, so rich in its connexion to Christ’s Passion, ifwe really are to apply it to ourselves, needs balance. If weare zealous for God’s house, we must be ready to shareChrist’s suffering in love.

How well I remember witnessing the encounter ofone of our hermits with Pope Shenouda III, many years ago.This hermit, finding himself in a kind of dead end, waslooking for a sense of direction. Pope Shenouda had been ahermit. And so they debated various scriptural texts, itseemed, from Genesis to the Apocalypse (it was mostly inArabic, and not easy for me to follow), for more than halfan hour, without a clear resolution. Finally, after a silence,Pope Shenouda said: “It is tempting to be found busy aboutthe House of the Lord, but it is necessary to be found busyabout the Lord of the House.”This was the looked-foranswer, providentially given. And here we see an exampleof one central Orthodox characteristic: balance.

Another monk I know asked the saintly Elder Paisiosof Mt Athos about the zealotry we are seeing so much ofthese days. His response was to say that the zealots havelost balance and that they are living in their heads, not intheir hearts—that in them the head and heart are not united.There should be a union of the heart and the head, and inthat union there must be balance.

His Grace, Bishop Seraphim


. . . From the Bishop’s desk . . .


In this vein also I remember well a colloquium inMontréal a few years ago. It took place during a meeting ofinternational leaders in Québec City, where there were theusual protests while the leaders met behind a protectivebarrier. The question was raised: “Where are the Orthodoxin this case—with the leaders inside, or with the protestersoutside?” The answer was “With those on the fence !” Theillustration says simply that the Middle Way, the way ofbalance, is the typical Orthodox position.

According to the Saviour, the foundation of our life isthe Summary of the Law: “You shall love the Lord YourGod with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all yourmind. This is the first and great commandment. And asecond is like it: you shall love your neighbour as yourself.On these two commandments depend all the Law and theProphets” (Mtt 22:37-40).

In my opinion, it is a loss of this “prime directive”already given in Deuteronomy 6:5, and the development of afear of breaking the Law in any way, and offending God inany way, most particularly because His wrath was consid-ered more than His love, that led to the development of theexcesses of the Pharisees. Instead of protecting God’s Lawabout the relationship of love between us and Him, and there-fore also with all human beings and even all creatures, thePharisees produced a burden of observance that was impos-sible to bear, and produced the rebukes by the Saviour givenin Matthew 23:1-23. Indeed, it seems to me that there hasbeen distinction made between the Law and Him who gaveit. And it is in making the Law something different that canlead to difficulty. We Orthodox cannot point the finger atothers, because when we lose the balance between the heartand the head, we very easily turn our canons, which aresimply medicinal methods for spiritual healing and correc-tion, into a legal taskmaster—turning righteousness intojustice. One might even go so far as to say that this alreadyhappened in the days of the Roman Empire, when emperorsturned some canons into imperial laws (nomocanons).

The Apostle Paul was a zealot of this type, a Phariseeof the Pharisees; but the Saviour met him and changed him,as we see in his Epistle to the Galatians 1:11-24, and in hisspeech in Acts 22:3-21 (to which it is important to refer here).He, as we in our own zealotry, had forgotten the words of theProphet Isaiah in 49:1-13, who said: “I will give you as alight to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end ofthe earth. Thus says the Lord: the Redeemer of Israel, andhis Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by thenations, the servant of rulers: ‘Kings shall see and arise;princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because ofthe Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who haschosen you’. . . .”

Always, too, we are tempted to think in terms ofjustice in our relationship with God. Indeed we westernersseem to prefer to use this word in translations, when ourSaviour speaks to us about righteousness—which is rather a

different thing. He says to us that the Law is still in force,and that “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of thescribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom ofheaven” (Matt 5:20). But all of this is to be understood inthe context of love. The Law is given out of love. It does notdrive us towards God through the following of a series oflegal prescriptions, which, if we fail to observe them willcause painful penalties. Rather, this Law, springing fromGod’s love, is a description of how a person who truly lovesGod will behave first towards God, and then towardsfellow human beings. Of course, out of love a person wouldallow no other substitute or interloper to come between himand the Father. Of course worshipping Him would be apriority in our lives. And of course, out of love, we wouldhonour our parents, and we would avoid and refrain fromstealing from anyone (which includes cheating), killinganyone, committing adultery, bearing false witness, andcoveting anything. All of this is the product of this love, theliving of which is described as righteousness. It is the prod-uct of faith in love. Later in the same passage, after givingus the Our Father, the Saviour shows us the way: “For ifyou forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father willalso forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their tres-passes, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses”(Matt 6:14-15).

Remembering the foundations of the Christian Way,and following Him who is the Way, we must recall alwaysthe exhortation of the Apostle John in the fourth chapter ofhis first Epistle:

Beloved: let us love one another; for love is of God,and he who loves is born of God and knows God.He who does not love does not know God; for Godis love. In this the love of God was made manifestamong us, that God sent His only Son into the world,so that we might live through Him. In this is love,not that we loved God, but that He loved us, andsent His Son to be the expiation for our sins. Be-loved: if God so loved us, we also ought to love oneanother. No man has ever seen God; if we love oneanother, God abides in us, and His love is perfectedin us . . . .

Further he says,

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts outfear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he whofears is not perfected in love. We love, because Hefirst loved us. If anyone says ‘I love God’ and hateshis brother, he is a liar; for if he who does not lovehis brother whom he has seen, how can he love Godwhom he has not seen ?

It is not that the Apostle Paul himself, for all hisstrong words, was in any way lacking in love, patience, or



forbearance. On the contrary, although he called a spade aspade, his life of suffering, deprivation and persecution wasfilled with and propelled by love. He was full of love forGod, having been put in correct focus at Damascus, and heyearned that everyone should know this love and know andexperience it as he did. Why else would he endure what hedid? Indeed, why would all the other martyrs do the same,right up to our times, except for that burning love? And yet itis not a love out of focus, or out of balance.

If we are going to be true “fundamentalists,” and true“zealots” for the love of God, then we should be preparedto put Christ in the driver’s seat of our lives, and also ofthe Church of which He is the Head, after all. We need toremember the “fundamentals” of the loving relationshipwhich the Lord has given us with Him, and all the implica-tions for us that this brings. It means allowing this love tocast out fear. It means taking the Beatitudes and the OurFather seriously, and living by them. It means knowing theLaw, and living it out. It means loving God above all, as StHerman exhorts us. It means, with God’s help, reducing themultitude of extra details of our lives to only what is neces-sary. It means living in true freedom in Christ. It meansremembering the Commission that Christ gave us, as recordedin Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority in heaven and on earthhas been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples ofall nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and ofthe Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe allthat I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, tothe close of the age.”—text of a talk given at Christ theSaviour Church, Chicago IL, 13 November 2002

continued from p.11:

On December 22, 2002, Bishop Seraphim presented the StTikhon Medal to Anna Kuzmenko and Emily Demkiw of StHerman of Alaska’s Sobor, Edmonton, for their lifelong serv-ice to the Church. Both are founders of St Herman’s, whichbegan in 1977 in the basement of Anna’s sister, IreneTkachuk. Fr Jaroslav Roman was the priest, and Emily’slate husband, Nick, was the fledgling parish’s first reader.

The service of these two women began before StHerman’s came into existence, with Anna even serving onthe Archdiocesan Council in the 1960s, and their very hands-on love and dedication have continued to the present, from

St Tikhon’s medals given

the renovtions at the Ellerslie Road church to the altar clothssewn by Anna for our new temple. At the All-AmericanCouncil last summer, Emily reminisced with and encour-aged people who were facing challenges in new missions.Talking about St Herman’s early days, she told how mem-bers took turns covering the financial shortfall at the end ofeach month to keep the parish alive and active: “Whateverwe had to do, we just did it.”

For many years now, Anna has been parish ecclesiarch,preparing the music for the Liturgy and always ready tohelp new readers, in order to ensure that services runsmoothly. Because of her faithfulness in this ministry,parishioners and visitors have been able to obtain a far widerand deeper range of liturgical experience than would havebeen possible otherwise. Emily, who with her sons ownsand operates a bridal store, is particularly active in hospi-tality, decorating the church at feast times and providing the“extra touches” on special occasions.

A parishioner said recently that when he thinks of thesetwo women, the word that comes to mind is “fellowship,”knowing that they are always ready to share their wealth ofknowledge. They have helped to make our sobor what it istoday, and we at St Herman’s are blessed to have among usthese models of devotion and faithfulness. May God grantthem both many years!—Moira Calder, Edmonton

Anna Kuzmenko (l) and Emily Demkiw with Bp Seraphim

The CANADIAN ORTHODOX MESSENGERis published quarterly by the Archdiocese of Canada,

Orthodox Church in America, with the blessing of His Grace SERAPHIM,

Bishop of Ottawa and Canada.

Editor: Nun Sophia (Zion),Monastic Community of St Silouan the Athonite,P.O. Box 179, Spencerville, Ontario K0E 1X0

Phone 613-925-0645; Fax 613-925-1521.e-mail: [email protected]

Circulation Manager: Helene Culhane,377 Kintyre Priv., Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3M6.

Dedicated to the memory of St Tikhon,Patriarch of Moscow (+1925),

Archbishop Arseny (Chahovtsov),and other missionary labourers

of the Orthodox Church in America.

ISSN 1183-4773

Copyright 2003



Two new deacons for St Herman’s Sobor, Edmonton

Along with Bp Seraphim and other clergy, Deacon Vincent is shown with his wifeCarol, his daughter Kristen, and his son Matthew (upper right corner).

Bp Seraphim, Fr Denis Pihach, and Deacon Gregory are shown with thedeacon’s wife Zenobia, his daughters Tatiana and Yuliana, and his parents.

In December, St. Herman of Alaska Soborin Edmonton was blessed with theordination to the diaconate of two menwhose growth in Christ has followed verydifferent paths.

Dn Gregory and Matushka ZenoviaKopchuk were both raised in the OrthodoxChurch. Dn Gregory was born in Winni-peg and grew up in Manitoba and BritishColumbia. He later moved to Edmonton,where he worked as a computer program-mer and served in the Canadian ArmedForces Militia, where, he met his futurewife, Zenovia, at a church feast daydinner, and they started dating soon after.In 1991, Zenovia visited Ukraine, and whenshe returned, Dn Gregory proposed mar-riage to her but said that he did not want animmediate answer, because he hoped oneday to be ordained in the church, and he wanted this pathto be her choice as much as his. However, Zenovia wasready with her answer. In Ukraine, she had visited theMonastery at Pochaev, where she had prayed to the Motherof God for direction, and she had returned to Canadaconvinced that future deacon Gregory was the man to marry.

In 1993, the Kopchuks started attending St Hermanof Alaska’s Sobor because both husband and wife are

keenly interested in evangelism and they wanted, in thewords of Zenovia, to “celebrate our Orthodox faith in alanguage that we can share with our non-Orthodoxfriends.” Dn Gregory has organized a men’s fellowshipand has been a leader in evangelism and church growth.

Professionally, he sells advertising and real estate, andZenovia, a legal assistant, is currently busy caring fortheir three daughters, Tatiana, 8, Yuliana, 5, and Liliana,born on January 10 of this year.

On December 22, with his father, a teacher whoaccepted a late vocation as a priest in the UOCC, and hismother in attendance, Dn Gregory was ordained to thediaconate.

Dn Vincent Lehr and hisfamily come to Orthodox ministrythrough a very different route.Brian Lehr was born in Newfound-land but later joined his father towork at Fort McMurray, in north-ern Alberta. There he met and, in1982, married Carol. Their firstchild, Joshua, was born in “FortMac” the following year. Active inthe Pentecostal church, within a fewyears the Lehrs moved to Edmon-ton, where Brian studied for theministry and where their secondchild, Matthew, was born. Aftergraduating, Brian served as aPentecostal minister at Red Deer(where daughter Kristin was born)

and Olds in central Alberta, then finally to Manning, inthe north of the province.

However, Brian’s search for the historical churchled him to the writings of St Vincent of Lerens. Through




study, the Lehrs came to recognize the fullness of the faiththat Orthodoxy offers—but they also knew that thepeople they were serving in Manning were not ready tofollow them. After much struggle, the Lehrs left the Pen-tecostal church and ministry, and moved to Edmonton,where Carol and Brian now work as sales managers. Theentire family was chrismated at St Herman’s in 1999,and Brian took St Vincent as his patron but had nothoughts of ordination. The Lehrs quickly became activeparishioners. Carol has coordinated charitable collectionsfor Ukraine, whereas Dn Vincent has been a leader inevangelism and church planning. He also designed andbuilt an award-winning website for the parish. He laterbegan study under the late vocations program, and onDecember 26, Bishop Seraphim ordained him to thediaconate.

We at St Herman’s are blessed to have these twofamilies in our midst, one an example of lifelong growthin Orthodoxy, the other a reminder that it is truly possi-ble, as Scripture tells us, to leave everything to go whereChrist is leading us. We wish Fr Gregory, Fr Vincent, andtheir families God’s blessings as they continue theirservice to the Church.—Moira Calder, Edmonton

continued from p.13:

On 15 December 2002, Archpriest Nikolai Nikolaevwas appointed Rector of six churches in Alberta: HolyTrinity, Sunland; St Nicholas, Desjarlais; St Nicholas,Bukovina; Sts Peter and Paul, Dickie Bush; Transfigura-tion, Star; and St Michael, Peno—the St Tikhon’sParish Family of Churches.

On 22 December 2002, Subdeacon Gregory Kopchukwas ordained to the Holy Diaconate at St Herman ofAlaska’s Sobor, Edmonton AB, to which he is attached.

On 26 December 2002, Subdeacon BrianVincent Lehrwas ordained to the Holy Diaconate at St Herman ofAlaska’s Sobor, Edmonton AB, to which he is attached.

On 28 December 2002, upon election by the clergy ofthe deanery, Archpriest Dennis Pihach is appointedDean of Alberta for three years.

As of 28 December 2002, the Mission Station ofSherwood Park AB is named for St Athanasius,Archbishop of Alexandria.

As of 30 December 2002, the Mission Station of StAthanasius of Sherwood Park AB is named a Mission ofthe Archdiocese of Canada.

As of 30 December 2002, the Mission Station of St Astiusin Toronto ON is named a Mission of the Archdiocese ofCanada.

Effective 15 January 2003, Priest Ronald V.Poworoznik was released from attachment to theBishop’s chapel of St Silouan the Athonite in JohnstownON and assigned as Priest-in-Charge of the Mission ofSt Athanasius in Sherwood Park AB.

On 10 January 2003 Subdeacon Foti Cici was ordainedto the Holy Diaconate at St Gregory of Nyssa’s Mission,Kingston ON. He is assigned to the Mission of St Astiusin Toronto ON.

On 2 February 2003, Deacon Foti Cici was ordained tothe Holy Priesthood at the Cathedral of Annunciation/StNicholas, Ottawa ON. He is assigned to the Mission ofSt Astius in Toronto ON as Priest-in Charge.

On 2 February 2003 Subdeacon Gregory Scratch wasordained to the Holy Diaconate at the Cathedral ofAnnunciation/St Nicholas, Ottawa ON, to which he isattached.

Pastoral Notes

Bishop Seraphim’s Visitation ItineraryMarch – June 2003

30 Mar

31Mar – 3 Apr

3 – 6 Apr

12 Apr

2 – 4 May

7 – 9 May

22 May – 6 Jun

Toronto: Christ the Saviour Sobor

New York: Holy Synod

New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary

Montréal: Univ. of Sherbrooke Colloquium

Toronto: Archdiocesan Council

Ligonier PA: SCOBA Bishops’ meeting

Ukraine: pilgrimage


. . . Announcements. . .

++

+

Fr.Thomas Hopko, former Dean of St Vladimir’sSeminary and popular author of numerous books onOrthodoxy will be in Calgary on Friday, March 28to give a public lecture on The Cross and Salvation:the Orthodox Perspective. The time is 7:30 pm at StDemetrios Greek Orthodox church hall, #1 TamaracCr. SW, Calgary. No admittance fee, but donations willbe accepted.

Fr Hopko to speak in Calgary

On SaturdayMarch 29, Fr Thomaswill give a Lenten retreaton the theme of theCross, beginning withmoleben at 9:30 a.m. atHoly Martyr Peter Or-thodox Church, 1933 –33rd. Ave. SW, Calgary.Lunch will be providedand Vespers will be heldimmediately after theteaching sessions at 5:00pm. No fee will becharged, although dona-tions will be accepted,but registration is re-quired. Please contactFr Larry Reinheimer at 1-403-938-6393 for moreinformation and/or forregistration.

With the blessing of Bishop Seraphim, churchmusicians and singers are encouraged to attend thepan-Orthodox music conference being planned forSaturday, June 7, 2003 at The Sign of the TheotokosChurch, Montréal, which is sponsoring thisimportant event as a part of their 25th anniversarycelebrations.

The guest speaker is famed Orthodoxmusician, the Very Rev Sergei Glagolev. A popularteacher, choir director, and composer, Fr Glagolevis Professor Emeritus at St Tikhon’s Seminary,Lecturer at St Vladimir’s Seminary, and VisitingProfessor at St Herman’s Seminary. He also is thethe much-loved Director Emeritus of the Fellowshipof Orthodox Stewards.

Watch for flyers going out in the spring to allparishes in the Archdiocese of Canada. For moreimmediate information or concerns, please contactLesley-Ann Judge at 1-514-488-0212. +

+Church music conference planned

Attention all St Vladimir’s Alumni !

The two Canadian representatives on the Alumni Boardof SVS invite you to contact them with your comments,ideas, and suggestions about the following topics:

How can we foster the relationship between SVSand alumni? What concerns would you, as alumni, likeaddressed by the Board of Trustees? How can thealumni be more accessible to current students? How cancommunications be improved among alumni and betweenalumni and SVS?

Your thoughts and concerns about other issues wouldalso be welcome. We look forward to hearing from you!

Please contact: Dianne Julianna Storheim if you arein the West at: [email protected],or Laurie Rodger ifyou are east of Manitoba at: [email protected].

New Orthodox family website

continued, last page . . .

A new website, www.orthodoxfamily.com , which is be-ing offered by an OCA family with the blessing of theirparish priest.

The site offers a community bulletin-board;an e-mail digest for Orthodox mothers(www.orthodoxfamily.com/Mothers Digest.htm); articlespertinent to childrearing, marriage, and schooling;and extensive lists of resources for the Orthodoxfamily. Coming soon will be a forum for the develop-ment of an open-source, community-owned Orthodoxhomeschooling curriculum.

All family-oriented Orthodox faithful, catechumens,and seekers are invited to participate, regardless of their

Theologian Yannaras to be featuredAt Montréal Orthodox colloquium

On Saturday, April 12, 2003, Greek theologian andprofessor Christos Yannaras will be the featured speakerat the third annual Colloquium of the Certificate of Or-thodox Theology of the Faculty of Theology, Ethics andPhilosophy of the University of Sherbrooke, in Montréal.

The Colloquium will begin at 10:00 in the morningand continue throughthe late-afternoonpan-Orthodox Vespersservice. At press time forthe Messenger, thegeneral topic of thecolloquium was not yetknown, but the firm com-mitment of ProfessorYannaras to present twopapers at this importantconference has beenestablished.

Flyers with fulldetails will be sent out toall the parishes in theArchdiocese of Canadavery soon, but for anyquestions or immediateconcerns, please contactDr John Hadjinicolaou at1-514-738-4018; e-mailat: [email protected].

Archdiocese of Canada,Orthodox Church in AmericaP.O. Box 179Spencerville, OntarioK0E 1X0 Canada

RETURN ADDRESS:

artist, Deacon Greg studied art for several years inVancouver at Emily Carr, but for many years now hasfelt the call to ministry in the Church. He is currentlystudying part-time at the Sheptytsky Institute of EasternChristian Studies at St Paul’s in Ottawa. He is married toMatushka Taesia, and they have two young children,Maria Suzanne and Seraphim. Fr Deacon Gregoryis attached to the Ottawa Cathedral of Annunciation/St Nicholas.

canonicity, providing they understand that divisiveposting to the e-mail list or bulletin boeard is unwelcome.It is hoped that all users of the site and e-mail list willfocus on the things which unite all faithful Orthodox fami-lies: the incredible blessings of marriage and parenting,through which human beings are privileged to partake ofGod’s creative energies and to avail themselves of dailyopportunities for growing in grace and love.

Family website, continued from p.15:Deacon Gregory Scratch, continued from p.7:

mt 28:19 canadian orthodox messenger · 2 canadian orthodox messenger spring/printemps 2003. . ....

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