BISHOP’S REPORT 53rd Annual Meeting Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Canada (short version)

Iov Bishop of Kashira, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada

Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Slava Isusu Christu!

I greet all the participants of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada.

I call upon God’s blessing on today’s Assembly and prayerfully ask for us to do successful and fruitful work!

MEMORY ETERNAL

At the beginning of my report, I would like to honour the founders and members of the Patriarchal Parishes and of this church in Chipman whom have laboured over the past hundred and twenty years to create the spiritual family of Orthodox parishes that we have today! Memory Eternal to the great worker of Orthodoxy in Canada, Victor Feodorovich Lopushinsky, who died at the end of Febuary, 5 years ago, and to all of them whom have deceased in the past year! May the All-Merciful Lord give rest to their souls,where the righteous repose!

My visits and participation in special events of our Mother Church

In Febuary and November of 2017 I visited Moscow, where I participated in the celebration of the 8th anniversary of the inronization of His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill and the ‘Assembly of Bishops’. His Holiness has blessed me to pass on to you his blessing, his prayerful well wishes, and gratitude for your efforts towards our Orthodox Chruch. I very much regret that I could not be with His Holiness on Febuary 1st 2018, at the service in honour of the 9th anniversary of his Patriarchal Ministry, on account of my documents.

120th Anniversary of Orthodoxy

Last year the most important event in the life of our Patriarchal Parishes in Canada was the visit, from Moscow, of Bishop Anthony (now Archbishop) for the celebration of the 120th anniversary of Orthodoxy in Canada. Archbishop Anthony highly values our ‘church life’ in comparison to other Russian Church Parishe outside of Russia; he sends his gratitude to the Rectors, Clergy, to our Secretary Roman Lopushinsky, Presidents and all members of our Parishes; to all those who took part in the successful visit, those who welcomed him into their churches and homes.

………

Plans for near future

Due to the old age and health issues of Archpriest Dimitrii Sever I must help serve in our parish in Ottawa and will be absent from March 1st till mid May. I am hopeful that a new worthy priest is found for that parish, so that I may return to Edmonton earlier.

Also I am hopeful, if it be God’s will, that I may continue this year and there after to serve our Patriarchal Parishes, and with our secretary Roman Lopushinsky to solve the problems which have arisen, and improve our collaboration, with Christ’s help.

Facebook page of Patriarchial parishes in Canada

Last year we started a new social media project — Facebook page of Patriarchial parishes in Canada https://facebook.com/patriarchialparishesincanada/. Our goal was to attract the attention of our parishioners to a churchlife as well as to share news. photos and videos with them and people who are interested in our parishes life in Canada.

Facebook page is a modern and convinient way for publishing materials and communicating with the audience. The page content includes up-to-date parishes news, feasts and celebrations pictures, sermons, lives’ descriptions of Saints, Patriarch’s messages, congratulations and announcements and information about the upcoming events. Also we’ve made a couple of pilot videos of Father Mircea’s sermons in St.Barbara’s Cathedral.

Now the number of our subscribers amounted to 126 people from 10 countries (Canada, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Poland, Belarus and some others). 60% of them are Russian-speaking subscribers, 40% — English-speaking.

We publish materials in two languages, although we still have difficulties with English version and translations. Everyone who is willing to help the page editors to translate, edit and correct texts is welcome to join the Facebook page team.

Also we’re currently seeking for photographers who are able to take pictures of our remote churches and parishes outside of Edmonton. So if you have a camera and a wish to share your pictures you are more than welcome.

The goal for 2018 is to involve more subscribers to our page, especially our parishioners from other than Alberta provinces: Saskatchewan and Ontario.

We will be grateful if you have any suggestions how to make the Patriarchial Parishes in Canada page more interesting.

My great gratitude to the author of the project and responsible for the work of the page to the new parishioner of our Cathedral Valeria Karetnikova.

Patriarchial parishes website

During the course of the past year I have put out more than 40 texts in Russian and 30 in English.

I thank matushka Anastasia, Valeria Karetnikova, Natalia Karyakina (Ottawa), Valery Khleborob (Toronto) and others who provided their photos for our site. Also I invite our clergy and parishioners to more actively participate in the workings of our site and to send materials about important news in the life of their parishes, sermons, and material on important spiritual subjects.

GRATITUDE

I as well wish to thank the Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers for their teaching and efforts, deacons for their service, our choirs for singing, and to the church boards for the upkeep of our buildings. May our Lord reward with His Blessings all those who care about the beauty of our churches, who help in the altar, who clean the churches, parents for making an effort in bringing their children, and young people for their love of God. For those, who are new arrivals to our parishes, I wish for them to become active members in the life of the parishes, to love Christ and our Church with their whole heart. I thank all parishioners for participating in the services, for praying, for donations to the upkeep of our churches and other good deeds!

CONCLUSION

Dear Fathers, brothers and sisters, I thank you for the labours you incured in 2017, serving Divine Liturgies and participating in them, performing various ecclesiastical obediences, preaching the word of God, taking care of the temples. Let the main reference point in our lives and our deeds be our Lord Jesus Christ, who is «the Way, the Truth, and the Life». The Lord said, when adressing the Apostles and all who serve in the churches: «By this, they will know that you are My diciples, If you have love for one another»! So let it be among us!

May our God grant all of us good health for many years! God bless you all!

Iov Bishop of Kashira, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada

Febuary 24, 2018. Chipman