Juny 23, 2018. At Wostok memorial site

Children’s pilgrimage

On Saturday, June 23, 2018, Sunday school students and their teachers, as part of the final lesson of the Law of God and the first school year completion, visited the Patriarchal parishes in the Lamont area.

With the blessing of the Administrator of Patriarchial parishes in Canada Bishop Iov, the rector of St. George parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Priest Viktor Kramarenko organized this pilgrimage trip to the main, historical Russian Orthodox tradition temples on the Canadian land.

The rector of the Patriarchal parishes, Priest Alexei Suraev, met the guests in the church of St. John the Baptist in Chipman, and told them about the construction of a typical Orthodox church. He brought the boys to the altar and showed them the sacred things inside , explained their origin, use in the service and symbolic-edifying significance. After a delicious tea, prepared by matushka, the pilgrims visited the site of the first Divine Liturgy in Canada, honored the icon of St. Tikhon with a part of his relics that are in the Holy Trinity Church in Old Wostok. By the way, in this parish in 1900 the first Rusyn-Orthodox school in Canada where children studied the Law of God and the native language was founded. The students also learned about the history of these temples, about the life of the first settlers to Canada and the ministry of the first priests in Canada. During the communication, children and adults got answers for all their questions from priests .

The rector of the parish and head of the school Father Victor hopes that “after the trip, the children will become more active participants in the liturgical life of the parish and in the near future together with their parents will be diligent builders of a beautiful new parish church. And the divine beauty of Orthodoxy will save them from temptations and save their souls in purity and holiness! “