Save as PDFBISHOP’S REPORT
49th Annual Meeting
OF THE PATRIARCHАL PARISHES OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN CANADA
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN CANADA
Reverend Fathers! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Peace to you and my episcopal blessing for the success of the annual meeting of our Patriarchal parishes!
Today, at the general annual meeting of the clergy and representatives of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada, we, according to the tradition, are to summarize the results of the past year, as well as to define the plan of our activities for the year that has just started.
Episcopal Service of the Administrator of the Patriarchal parishes.
As you are all aware, the last year was very challenging for our parishes and for me personally. But, due to God’s Grace, it ended very well. Of many different aspects of my service I want to mention only the following:
For the period of 9 months of the year 2013, our parishes «Orthodox- 5», unfortunately, did not have a permanent priest. According to the schedule and personal requests of the parishioners, the lot of performing Services temporarily there fell upon me. In order to make my preaching to the congregation sound in proper and accurate English, I asked Martin and other Altar helpers of the Cathedral of St. Barbara to aid me by reading my sermons. Almost for every Service in different parishes of «Orthodox- 5» I was brought, in a very timely manner, from Edmonton by the Altar helper Charles. According to his own will and pledge, I ordained Charles a sub-deacon on September 24 of the past year. I would be very happy if in the future there might be found similar worthy candidates from among our parishioners for various church ministries in our parishes!
When I did not have the opportunity to serve in the temples of «Orthodox- 5″, the worshiping, according to my blessing, was performed by the distinguished Archpriest, old reverend Farther Mircha Panchuk (Fr. Mircea Panciuk) of the Romanian Church and a young priest Cyril Chkarboul from Taiwan (it was the time when I left for Moscow, for the Council of Bishops and celebration of another anniversary of the election of the Patriarch). Some burials and other Church Services were performed by our fathers-archpriests Rev. Igor Kisil and the prior of the Cathedral, Rev. Sergey Kipriyanovich. Occasionally they were assisted by Deacon Joseph Winnick, whom I, for his merits and service in the Russian Orthodox Church, awarded by blessing him to wear a double orarion. When I was performing regular Church Services in the Cathedral of St. Barbara during the vacation of Father Sergei Kipriyanovich, a new priest Alexei Surayev temporarily conducted the Divine Liturgies in the parishes of «Orthodox- 5». At the request of the congregation of those parishes, on October the 1st, 2013, I appointed him the permanent rector of all the parishes of «Orthodox- 5».
Another consoling event of the past year for me was the performance of the Memorial Service at the cemetery of Peter and Paul’s parish in Red Water ( in 2012 this Service was missed).
Similar to all previous years in the history of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada, year 2013 was rich in various church events. The most important among them were the following:
1) Visits:
According to his own wish, and upon the invitations of some our parishioners, His Eminence Archbishop of Khust and Vinogradov Mark (Petrovtzy), unofficially visited Patriarchal parishes in Canada (he stayed in Canada from February 21 to March 4, 2013). In the past, from year 1993 to year 2005, Archbishop Mark had an ecclesiastical obedience of serving as the Administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in this country. This visit, however, due to the joint worshiping services, that were performed, and the meetings with His Eminence’s multiple ex-parishioners, had outgrown the limits of a personal one, and, truly, became “an extension of his apostolic work for strengthening the Orthodox faith in Canada.”
2) Sacred icons, which the believers of the Cathedral of Saint Barbara in Edmonton could venerate in the past year:
On the 2 and the 3d of June the Great Sacred Icon of the Russian Orthodox Church – The Wonder-Working Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God “The Omen” visited our Cathedral for the first time.
On the 15-16th of September, due to the suggestion of His Eminence Archbishop of Montreal and Canada Gabriel, a newly glorified Holy Icon of the Russian Church – The Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God, named “The Softener of Evil Hearts” also for the first time visited our Cathedral of Saint Barbara in Edmonton.
The visits of these Sacred Icons were filled with the missionary value. A great number of people, who just recently arrived from Ukraine, Russia and other countries, came to the Cathedral in order to venerate the Wonder-Working Icons. Some of those people were in the temple for the first time, and, perhaps, in the future will become the parishioners of our Church.
3) Anniversaries:
On the 10th of November the parish of The Protection of Our Mother of God in Ottawa celebrated the 80-th anniversary of its long-term prior Archpriest Dmitry Sever. The Divine Liturgy was followed by a lovely feast, arranged for the jubilee by the parishioners of that church. A special book about the clerical ministry of Father Dmitry was published and offered to him with dedication as a gift.
4) Clerics:
The main and most joyous event of the year 2013 for me was the appointment on the 1st of October the permanent prior of the Patriarchal parishes «Orthodox- 5» in Canada. After the departure of the previous priest оn November the 1st, 2012, the place of a rector of these parishes was vacant for 11 months. Priest Alexei Suraev was elected by the consensus of the Parish Council and all parishioners after 4 months of conducting Worshiping Services there, first on the temporal basis. He is a native Ukrainian of 26 years and speaks fluently three languages: English, Russian and Ukrainian. He knows how to drive a car and how to manage professionally the church choir. Father Alexei is a Canadian resident, has already lived in Canada for three years and knows the peculiarities of the life in this country. I hope that he is being that very priest, whom the congregation of the 13 churches of «Orthodox-5» had wanted to see as their prior for a long time.
5) Losses :
On February the 27th of the year 2013, our old parishioner Victor Pheodorovitch Lopushinsky reposed. He was in his 98th year of life (born 26.09.1915) and widely known as a long-term and hard-working member of our Patriarch’s parishes. He once worked as an editor of the quarterly magazine “Canadian Orthodox Messenger” (1963-1986). Since the year 1970 he also had been a secretary-treasurer of the Patriarchal parishes and of the Episcopal Council. In this administrative office position he prepared invitations and met the clergy from the “Old Country”. His duties also included general management of organizing the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the first Liturgy, served on Canadian land by the Russian clergy, and the centennial anniversary of the foundation of the Cathedral of Saint Barbara in Edmonton. He headed the working groups that prepared publication of the books on the history of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada towards the celebration of the thousandth anniversary of establishing Christianity in Russia and towards the centennial anniversary of the Cathedral in Edmonton (“The Century of Faith”). He also established the Cathedral Parish Library and the Museum of the History of the Russian Church in Canada. Memory eternal to him and to all the departed in the last year!
6) The website of the Patriarchal Parishes:
Our website constantly provides information about all important events that take place in the Patriarchal parishes. Throughout 2013 I have published on our website 26 materials in English and 25 in Russian.
I hope and entreat you for help, expecting that in this year one of the active members of our parishes who has an experience with websites, will agree to become an administrator of our website or at least provide me with support in these efforts.
Summarizing everything that was done in the past year, and not without reason, we can admit that, by the Grace of God, the results of the service of our clergy and parishes are very positive in general. The clergy and God’s flock – the congregation of Patriarchal parishes in Canada – have everything that is necessary for accomplishing the Gospel teaching and for self-realization in this world as the members of the eternal Body of Christ – the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church!
I want to thank God for His mercy toward us, to thank father Alexei for his consent to enter the ranks of our clergy, to thank our prior-fathers for their priest service, to thank presidents and parish councils for the care about maintenance of our temples, our choristers, led by the regents, – for their perfect singing, and all of you that are present here, and all our congregations, which you represent, for your understanding, patience, feasible donations and prayers! I also want to thank all those who assisted me in my difficult ministry in 2013, for their kindness and sympathy!
This year I am planning to continue the quest for the parish priest for Peter and Paul church in Regina and, till he is found, to serve there in his stead monthly. I am also planning to find the solution for the vital necessity of acquiring and properly decorating and adorning the building for our parish of The Protection of Mother of God in Ottawa. Particular attention in this year will also be placed on implementing missionary and catechetical work on each of our parish, and I summon up to it every one of you!
Dear Fathers, brothers and sisters, please, accept, each of you, my sincere congratulations! I also implore you to congratulate, on my behalf, all your parishioners, friends and relatives with the upcoming Lent and the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Let this year be even more successful and blessed for our parishes and for all of us!
Thank you for your attention!
With blessing,
Job, Bishop of Kashira, the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada