Source: The National Herald TORONTO – The Patriarchal Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy is in its 26th year of operation. Through the years 63 young men have graduated and thirty have been ordained and serve in the churches of Canada. In 2024 four young men graduated, and two of them have already been married and ordained priests. The graduation ceremony took place at the Metropolitan Center of the Archdiocese and Theodore Papadatos, a senior official of CIBC, was the Master of Ceremonies. There were more than five hundred attendees. The event took place on May 11 and had a rich program,…
Browsing: Canada
Source: The National Herald By Archbishop Sotirios of Canada “Darkness covers once more cities and towns while our souls wait and our anguish abounds. Lies and bitter hatred have poisoned us all the tragically spilled blood of countless dead. Come dear Christ to us who patiently await, bring us peace and comfort.” Darkness. Everywhere darkness. Thick black clouds cover the sky. Wars everywhere. Bloodshed. People uprooted from their homes are running to find peace. They drown in the seas. Decimated, they seek out new countries in which to relocate. Incredible to witness. They commit suicide and kill innocent people. Furious…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Talia Zajac Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Niagara University I first heard the rumor’s confirmation as I was heading out the church door. The cantor was saying goodbye to me and added with a half-smile that change was inevitable. The Julian calendar was bound to fall behind the Gregorian calendar, he said, so much that Christmas according to the two calendars eventually would be celebrated hundreds of days apart, instead of the current difference of thirteen days. I knew then that the rumor was true. Parishioners and priests had whispered for years that the Ukrainian Greek…
Source: The Charlatan By Mark Ramzy Since the mid-to-late 20th century, Copts, an ethno-religious group from Egypt, have immigrated to Canada in pursuit of better job opportunities and to escape religious persecution and systemic inequality. According to a report from Genocide Watch in 2020, a non-profit that “exists to predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder,” Egypt is at stage eight out of the 10 stages of genocide due to the routine persecution and violence against the Coptic minority. In Egypt, laws restrict the building of Coptic churches. In Canada, the report explained that Copts are free to…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada Archbishop Sotirios of Canada With the advent of the coronavirus, our churches were closed to the public on March 17, 2020, by order of the government authorities in Canada (we are generally referring to government authorities in Canada, because matters in regard to health do not fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, but rather under the jurisdiction of provincial governments and local municipalities). The churches reopened on June 12, 2020. For the period between June 12 to July 3, 2020, the churches dispersed Holy Communion normally, until one or more persons (their…
Source: Orthodox Christianity TORONTO – On June 20, the city government of Toronto issued revised COVID-19 guidelines that ban the offering of Holy Communion to the faithful. The new guidelines read: All places of worship must adhere to the following requirements: General Guidance Suspend all communion-related activities as advised by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. The Ontario Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 advice calls for “Suspend[ing] activities that increase risk of disease transmission, including,” “Sharing or distributing materials or objects, which may include but is not limited to: books, communion, microphones, prayer mats, prayer shawls, water, etc.” The new guidelines also “Suspend…
Source: Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto [Toronto, Ontario] On Thursday, March 29, 2018, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (Canada) filed its Statement of Defence with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in response to a Statement of Claim filed by the Greek Community of Toronto (GCT) against it and others in October 2017. As set out in the Statement of Defence, we believe that the allegations made by the GCT in its Statement of Claim are unmeritorious and without any basis in fact or law. Proceeding with the litigation and delivering our Statement of Defence was not our first choice;…
Source: Orthodox Toronto The path of an Indian – a chief of the Mohawk tribe – led him to the bosom of the Orthodox Church. A modern – day story of orthodox “lunacy” in the Indian reservations of Canada. Saturday night. Very few lights were on. In the Russian Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Vespers have just started. The shadowy silhouettes of the few faithful who were attending the service became more defined, as the candles were lit, one by one, in the candle stand. The iconostasis of the altar was very imposing; it was something that was carved…
Source: The National Herald BY THEODORE KALMOUKOS Rev. Anastasios Gounaris, former presiding priest of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tarpon Springs, FL, who last June abruptly left his parish and family and departed the United States for an unknown destination, now lives in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada with his mistress, Patricia T., TNH has learned. The love story between Fr. Gounaris and Canadian Patricia, who is said to be wealthy, began in 2012 or even before that in Chania, Crete, where she and her husband are building a summer home for their retirement there. Both Gounaris and…
Source: CJAD 800AM by Andrew Brennan As the world tries to figure out how to respond to the millions of Syrian refugees fleeing war and strife, the leader of the Syrian Orthodox Church gave his take while in Laval on Sunday. “The world should unite in order to defeat terrorism and to restore peace to Syria, to Iraq and to the entire region,” said Morignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. “I’m saddened by the fact that it took the photo of a young boy floating on the shore to draw the attention of the world to the…
Source: Radio Canada International Mid-East persecution: Leader of Syriac Orthodox Church visits Canada By Marc Montgomery The 123rd successor of St Peter in the Apostolic See of Antioch is set to visit Canada for his first visit starting this weekend. His Holiness, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church will visit Toronto and then Montreal. Fate of Christians in middle east The theme of his visit however is of great seriousness. He will be speaking about the deteriorating conditions for Christians in Syria, Iraq and other parts…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] On Thursday, February 6, 2015, the Court of Appeals of the Province of Manitoba affirmed the conviction of Archbishop Seraphim on one count of sexual assault. Archbishop Seraphim has begun his eight-month prison sentence imposed by the trial court in this case. The process leading to a spiritual court will commence as mandated by the Canons of the Orthodox Church and by the Policies on Sexual Misconduct of the Orthodox Church in America, the latter of which require that clergy who have been convicted of child sexual abuse be deposed by the…