Save as PDFBISHOP’S REPORT
OF THE PATRIARCHАL PARISHES OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN CANADA
(Chipman, Saint John the Baptist Church; 2015, February 21st)
Job (Iov), Bishop of Kashira, Administrator of Patriarchal Parishes in Canada
Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
I greet all the participants of this jubilee – the 50-th annual meeting of the Patriarchal parishes in Canada. Peace to all of you and my episcopal blessing for the success of this assembly!
Let me start my report from the short review of what changes and challenges our Mother- Russian Orthodox Church – faces in general, and then gradually narrow down my topic to the various domestic problems and the ways of how we solve them in our Patriarchal parishes in Canada.
Statistics of the Russian Orthodox Church.
At the beginning of the year 2015 the number of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church amounts to 330 people, which is 130 more than it was at the beginning of the year 2009.
The number of dioceses increased from 159 in 2009 to 286, as of today.
The actual number of parishes is 35,496.
The number of clergy, serving now in the Moscow Patriarchate is 38,344, which is 4 139 more than in early 2013.
Interchurch Relations in Canada.
On April the 10th, 2014, I attended the first meeting of the newly established Episcopal Assembly of Canada in Toronto, under the chairmanship of Toronto Metropolitan, Archbishop Sotirios (the Church of Constantinople).
The chief question in agenda of this meeting was the question of establishing the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in Canada and of organizing its work through the election (according to the rules of the Orthodox diptych) of the governing structures, which would include the chairs of the secretary and the treasurer. It appeared also of necessity to formulate the definition of the working committees and their chairmen, to adopt the Constitution or the Charter of the Assembly on the basis of decisions of the IV Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference in Shambezi. The Meeting decided to create a new website and publish there the already compiled lists of the Orthodox parishes and clergy in Canada. Based on the similar decisions and working experience of the US Episcopal Assembly, special committees were established in the areas of liturgy, pastoral care, finance, education, ecumenical relations and legal issues. A distinct committee has correspondingly been established for planning (on strictly canonical basis) of the church organization of the region.
Participants of the meeting have listened to the disturbing information about the political crisis in Ukraine. Metropolitan Sotirios’s personal reflections and information about how he perceives the future of Orthodox Church in Canada were of a particular interest and concluded by a proposal to take actual steps in order to return to the Church those departed from it.
The official engagements of the ruling bishop.
Over the past year Vladika Iov visited and served Divine Liturgies at 8 Patriarchal Parishes.
On the days of the Patronal Feasts of those churches the special episcopal services were held for the parishes in Nisku, Skaro, Wostok, Mundare, Chipman, Regina and Ottawa (in Ottawa Vladika served 12 liturgies). Bishop Iov also was serving the Liturgies on farmers’ parishes, according to the existing schedule, in the periods when their own priors were temporarily absent. In addition to that the Bishop thrice headed the church services at the Patriarchal Compound in Toronto. Also, according to the invitations of the priors and the blessing of Archbishop Gabriel (ROCOR), Bishop Iov conducted episcopal Liturgies in 4 churches of the Canadian Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, served in connection with Patronal and other commemorative holidays – in London (Ontario), two churches in Calgary and in the parish of Red Deer (Alberta).
During the whole 2014 year, due to the absence of a regular priest in the parish of St. Peter and Paul in Regina (Saskatchewan), Bishop Iov was conducting all worshipping services there, including the Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, the Patronal Feast Day of the parish and, in addition, one Sunday of each month throughout the year. The parish is located at a distance of 800km from Edmonton and its parishioners are only paying for the airfare tickets for Vladika.
In the year 2014 the Administrator of Patriarchal Parishes in Canada participated in the following Feast Liturgies:
February 1, 2014: in the 5th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour;
From 6 to 21 of February, during a pilgrimage trip to Ukraine: in Kremenets Epiphany convent, in the Holy Spirit monastery, in the diocese cathedral of Ternopil and in Pochaev Lavra;
April 27, 2014, on the 2nd week after Easter, by the invitation of the Serbian Bishop George: in the sacrament of the Great Blessing of a newly built temple in honor of St. Simeon, the Myrrh-Gusher, in Calgary and the Divine Liturgy that followed the Great Blessing.
August 6-12, by the blessing of Bishop David of Alaska: in the annual pilgrimage organized by the Orthodox Church in America in honor of St. Herman of Alaska.
September 17, 2014: by the invitation of the Coptic bishop in Canada Mina and the priest Rewis Rofaiel of the Coptic parish of St. Mary and Mark in Edmonton: Bishop Iov, together with Archpriest Sergei Kipriyanovich and Priest Alexei Suraev, took part in the Feast meeting with Pope Tawadros II, the Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa.
November 29, 2014: Vladika Iov took part in the celebrations of the Canadian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America devoted to the enthronement of the newly elected Bishop of Ottawa and Canada Irenee (Rochon). Vladika Iov hopes that the ministry of Bishop Irenee, whose name means “peace”, will bring peace to his diocese and establish the good relations between our Churches in Canada.
The number of our priests and deacons (31.12.2014):
priests – 6 (including Fr. Kyrill Shkarbull, who has been sent by the Church Hierarchy to serve on Taiwan) and deacons – 3.
On January 26th, 2014, in connection with a long-term vacancy of a deacon at the Cathedral of Saint Barbara, a Canadian citizen and hypo-deacon Andrei Boldireff, who moved to Edmonton in October 2013 and from that time, together with his wife, became an active member of Saint Barbara Cathedral, was ordained a deacon. Father Andrei from his early childhood sang and read in the temple, was an altar boy and then later was ordained a reader and a hypo-deacon, has a true and deep faith. Having gone through a serious illness (cancer of blood) about 10 years ago, he had made a conscious and responsible decision to devote his life to serving the Church of Christ, Our Saviours. Father Andrei possesses sufficient theological and liturgical knowledge, including practical knowledge of Church Slavonic, Russian, English and French languages, as well as sufficient singing talents, in order to fill the place of the Bishop’s proto-deacon. I congratulate Father Andrew and wish him a long life for carrying out his deacon ministry in Our Church!
Patriarchal parishes
In assessing the total amount of its parishes the Russian Church begins now to apply the new counting system, associated with the number of the Divine Liturgies, served in the same parish or community. At the end of the last year I was already required to send to the Head Office of the Moscow Patriarchy a table with the exact number of worshiping services held at our every temple throughout the year.
We also can add that the main indicator or criterion, by which we can determine the proper existence of the Orthodox community, is the Christian atmosphere within the parish, its, so to say, “Orthodox microclimate”. The Apostle Paul was speaking to all of us, while saying: “Love brotherly one another, with tenderness and affection; in paying honor to one another be ahead of each other.” (Rom. 12:10). Let us make these apostolic words the rule of our lives!
The statistical information about the number of baptisms, wedding services and burials for the year 2014: baptisms – 48 | wedding services – 9 | funerals – 23
Educational work with young Christians.
The annual Orthodox children’s summer camp, named after St. Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin), was held from the 3d to the 10th of August, 2014. This year the main theme of the Orthodox camp was celebration of the 700th anniversary of the Great Russian Saint and “The Abbot (Igumen) of all Russian land” (as He is often called), Saint Sergey of Radonezh. The kids were offered to study His live and deeds, as well as the lives and deeds of his multiple followers and spiritual children.
In the past year the Patriarchal parishes in Canada also organized an art competition and an exhibition of the works of children, devoted to the life and spiritual feats of Saint Sergey. Our little Canadian were able to feel the alive connection with the tradition of the Old Holy Russian land, the land of their ancestors, as well as the spiritual connection with the great Saint, who is widely known as a Patron of all students and a sure help in any learning issues…
Anniversaries in 2015.
This year, the whole Russian Church and the whole Orthodox world celebrate the millennium of the repose of St. Grand Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles.
This year, the Patriarchal parishes, in particular, will also celebrate:
50 years anniversary of Archpriest Igor Kisil (April 4, 1965), the rector of the «Orthodox IX» parishes;
60th anniversary of the foundation of the parish sisterhood in Nisku (1955).
80th anniversary of foundation of the Peter and Paul’s parish in the North Star (12.06. 1935).
Congratulations to Father Igor and all members of the celebrating communities!
Resolution of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill
At the conclusion of this report, I want to read for you the resolution of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, which was superimposed on my Annual Report for the year 2013, in the English translation:
“To His Grace Bishop Job. I thank you and all church workers of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada for the efforts incurred in the previous reporting year.
I especially want to mark your efforts in providing pastoral care for the parishes that temporarily were left without rectors. I hope that Your Grace’s fatherly attitude to all parishes and individuals will serve as the key to preserving the unity of our church.
I perceive as very promising such direction of the social service of the Patriarchal Parishes as the advisory support to the citizens, wishing to move to Canada for permanent residence.
I appreciative your efforts in the development of the official website.
I invoke God’s blessing on the works of Your Grace, of the clergy and the pious laity.
September 2, 2014.”
In conclusion, I would like to address all of you, dear reverend fathers and dear brothers and sisters in Christ, with the words of special gratitude for your hard work and constant help, as well as for the praying support, without which my ministry would have been impossible. Let Christ the Savior help us even more to make our service to God “with one mouth and one heart”!
Thank you for your attention!
+Iov, Bishop of Kashira, Administrator of Patriarchal Parishes in Canada
Appendix
Greeting from the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada
Your Grace:
We the clergy and delegates of the 33nd Annual Assambly of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada, held at Holy Trinity Church, Kitchener, Ontario, from February 6th – 8th, 2015, under the presidency of His Grace Bishop Georgije, are honoured to send our warmest greeting to you and your clergy and parishioners and our fervent prayers to Lord for His guidance in your archpastoral ministry and for your long life and good health!
Sincerely your in Christ,
Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Vasilije Tomic, Chairman Commitee for Resolutions and Greeting