St. BARBARA’S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL

Report of Bishop Iov of Kashira,

 

Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada

(The 46th General Annual Meeting of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada)

(St. BARBARA’S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL,  

January 29, 2011)

Glory to Jesus Christ! Slava Isusu Christu!

Dear Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ! I sincerely welcome all participants of this meeting and give my archpastoral blessing for its working!

Review of the state of our parishes and the activity of the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada in 2010.

The number of registered parishioners – 828 people

During the past year our priests performed:

50 Baptisms

9 Weddings

27 Funerals 

As the ruling bishop of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada in 2010 I regularly served at the Cathedral in Edmonton, made 4 archpastoral visits to the parish in Ottawa and on Feb. 15 consecrated the newly-acquired Church of St. Tikhon which is the Patriarchal Podvorye in Toronto. I also replaced priests during their absences. Archpastoral services were served in parishes on church holy days and on other eventful days in parishes. On several such days they are served regularly. During the past year I served 150 Liturgies of which 69 were served in the Cathedral, 50 in Ottawa, 4 in Toronto at the Patriarchal Podvorye, 13 in parishes and 14 in the monasteries and churches in the homeland and in different dioceses of the Canonical Jurisdictions in North America. Events of 2010 were regularly posted on-line on our site and also in parish bulletins and so I won’t list them now. I’ll mention only a few.

Undoubtedly the most significant event of the past year in the history of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada was the participation of Archbishop Mark of the Moscow Patriarchate in the celebrations honoring the 50th Anniversary of the consecration of St. Barbara’s Cathedral.

By the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, as of Dec. 24, 2010 Priest George Sergeev is relieved of his duties in the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada. He will be replaced be Father Anton Filchak, a priest who presently serves in Kiev.

In summary we have grounds to believe that the results of the past year are positive since  the Patriarchal Parishes fulfill the spiritual mission placed upon them. We offer Almighty God our sincere thanks for His great mercy to us! Thank God for everythng!

General Concerns of the Spiritual Life of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada.

The main theme of our annual diocesan meeting regards the unity of our Patriarchal Parishes which are under the protection and guidance of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. The spiritual unity with the Russian Church was bequeathed to us by your grandfathers and great grandfathers. We can continue to secure this unity by strengthening the Orthodox faith and live our lives according to the Gospel fulfilling the Church’s expectations, the Patriarch’s and clergy’s recommendations. To perserve our parishes we need to make them educational and missionary centers. By their grace and beauty, the Divine Liturgy and Mysteries should transform the life of the parishioners, strengthen the faith and attract new people to the Church. The doors of the priests and parishioners should be open for continual spiritual communication and mutual aid. Finally, we should come to those people who were baptised but who still are uncertain. We should find a path to every believing heart, which “yearns for the life to come”. The parish should be a united spiritual family where everyone respects one another, where there are no strangers, lonely or forgotten people. The clergy should be an example of generosity, show readiness to dialogue with parishioners, and demonstrate openness and honesty in relationships with the church community. The clergy should demonstrate brotherly love and respect and strong prayer. For the strengthening of this unity our parishes should not be isolated from each other but actively participate in general church functions. It is important that we all learn that in church and in our parishes nothing significant should happen without consulting with the parish priest and asking the blessing of the bishop. Pilgrimages hold a significant importance in the strengthening of the faith. In 2010 five parishioners visited our churches in the Ukraine. The parishioners of the Ottawa parish and I visited a Greek Monastery located near Montreal. These pilgrimages brought great spiritual gain.

It’s important that the parishes and parish boards not forget about the necessity of reasonable support of the clergy and remember to support the diocese on time and according to the rate.

Working with the youth. 

In working with children and the youth, we should all make a special effort with regard to volunteering, encouraging young people to actively participate in the church services, in serving and helping others, teaching them to pray daily, reading the Bible and spiritual literature, and do good works.

Proposals for the New 2011 Year.

As at former meetings, one of the important questions in the life of the Patriarchal Parishes remains the completion of the Parish By-Laws (Constitutions) through additions or acceptance of the constitution in a new format and also the bringing into suitable order all of the documents about the right of ownership regarding the real estate and land of the parishes. After the general and parochial meetings of Orthodox IX and Orthodox V in February and March 2011, I ask the priests and presidents of the parishes to present me in written form all possible information about this with copies of documentation.

A second important point regards the annual inventory of parish property with a description of church service and parochial items. As far as I have been informed, the last time this was done was in 1984 in which a form was completed. Up until now these forms are kept in the files of the parishes.

2011 will be the 65th Anniversary of St. Barbara’s joining the North American Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate. At that time it was headed by Metropolitan Benjamin in New York. This year is also the 50th year since the repose of Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov). On Oct. 1, 1946 at a general parish meeting, the parishioners of St. Barbara’s entered into the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. If you are in agreement, according to church protocal, it would be in order therefore to invite an Archbishop of the Mother Church to visit our parishes this year. In my opinion, in doing that it will enrich the lives of our parishes. I recommend that you consider this proposal.

Conclusion

I sincerely thank you all for your prayers, your work in your parishes, and for your donations in the past year. I call upon all to remember our huge common responsibility before God, The Church and our parishioners. May your efforts, which you make in God’s vineyard, become an example for all those who surround you, so that other people seeing “our good deeds will glorify Our Heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16) and come to glow with the wish to join the Holy Church of Christ (see Matthew 11:30). May the Lord help all of us in our efforts.

I also, together with everyone, congratulate the secretary of the Patriarchal Parishes Roman Lopushinsky on his birthday!

+Iov (Job), Bishop of Kashira,

 Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes

of the Russian Orthodox Church in Canada