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Written by Administrator
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Address by: His Grace MARK Bishop of Kashira, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada at the Centenary Celebrations July 27, 1997 Wostok, Alberta
The seeds of the Orthodox Faith were planted in the Canadian soil by newly arrived immigrants from Halychyna (Galicia) and Bukovina. They began arriving in Canada in the year 1894, in search of land for a better life. Some of them settled southwest of Edmonton which was known as Rabbit Hills, and the others began arriving in 1896, settling northeast of Edmonton in the (Edna) Star and Limestone Lake area which became known as WOSTOK, where the first Post Office was established in January, 1899, at the home of Theodore Nemirsky.Leaving their homeland in Europe and crossing the Atlantic Ocean by ship and faith in God, they prayed for a safe journey to the new, unseen and unknown land of Canada.Theodore Nemirsky has left the following commentary in his Diary: “We prayed to God for His blessing of a safe arrival in the new, promised land. Some of us recited prayers, others who could read, read the Akaphists or sang religious hymns. We all felt a deep spirit of devotion and security."After their arrival in Canada, the settlers located themselves on homesteads -160 acres of free land granted by the Government of Canada for a registration fee of ten dollars. The new settlers began clearing the bushes on their land, and building their first log huts, covered with sod roofs. They worked very hard and long hours. But their souls were in deep sorrow because they were lacking the benefits of a religious life and prayers in a church congregation.The new settlers began meetings in their homes for prayers. Those who had some knowledge of church services organized the services of common prayers. Ivan Halko, Kost Nemirsky, Ivan Hawrylenko, Ivan Lakusta and others assisted Anton Sawka, one of the foremost leaders, in these layman’s services. However, the community felt that these services were not enough; they did not replace the benefits of a church and its Liturgical Divine Services.We read in Mr. Nemirsky's diary, "Above everything else, we were sad and depressed, when someone died and funerals were conducted without a priest, children were growing up not baptized, and young couples lived without the sacrament of marriage. To live without the word of God and a church was very unsatisfactory."Consequently, the new settlers decided to write a letter to His Grace Nicholas, Bishop of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, who at that time resided in San Francisco, California, requesting that His Grace would accept them in his arch-pastoral care, and also, that at least once a year he would send a priest to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and other related church services.Vladyka Nicholas accepted the request with love and offered to make his personal visitation to the colony of Wostok, and thus familiarize himself with the needs of the peoples. However, the people felt not prepared to receive such a high dignitary of the church, and they informed His Grace, accordingly. In reply to the above information from the colony, Vladyka Nicholas expressed regrets that his offer was declined. However, Bishop Nicholas responded promptly by sending from Seattle, Washington to Canada, two missionaries, Rev. Dimitri Kamnev and Cantor Vladimir Alexandrov, who arrived at the homestead residence of Theodore Nemirsky on Friday, July 16, 1897.Two days later, on Sunday, July 18, 1897, the first Orthodox Divine Liturgy, on Canadian soil, was celebrated on the homestead farmyard of Theodore Nemirsky by Rev. Dimitri Kamnev and assisted by Cantor Vladimir Alexandrov. Approximately 380 people living in the surrounding settlement attended it. It was a glorious and happy day for all who were present.To commemorate the occasion, a wooden cross was constructed and erected on the site by Mr. William Stesko. The cross had the following inscription carved into the wood by Theodore Nemirsky: "In memory of the re-unification of Uniates with the Eastern Greek Orthodox Faith of the Halychany (Ga1icians), July 18, 1897.” In the spring of the following year, 1898, Rev. Kamnev and Deacon Alexandrov returned to Canada, to the colony of Wostok. On May 24, 1898, Rev. Kamnev baptized 28 children on the Nemirsky farmyard. This was followed with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. At that time the people started discussions and plans for the organization of a parish church and cemetery. With assistance from Rev. Kamnev, the parish forwarded an application to the Interior Department of the Government of Canada requesting a grant of land for the church and cemetery. The request was granted and forty acres of land were assigned for the newly formed parish.Construction of the first church was started in the spring of 1899, progressing rapidly through the voluntary labors of the parishioners. A year later, 1900, the log church building was completed enough so that Divine Services could be celebrated. Beginning in September 1897, Orthodox Church parishes were started in the Province of Manitoba, in the areas of Assinaboia. Father Malyarevsky, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, visited the parishes once or twice a year and provided the religious services. At that time there were about 1500 Bukovinian people in the above area. The people lacked land for church sites and cemeteries. The Government of Manitoba did not grant free land for such purposes. The new immigrants were very poor and unable to buy such land.The diary of Rev. Konstantine Popov indicates that from 1897 to 1902, Orthodox priests visited the people on their farms near the villages of Stuartborn, Emerson, Winnipeg, Yorkton, and the other places.The history of the establishment and growth of the Orthodox Faith on Canadian land is picturesquely described in his report of his visitation to Alberta in1899, written by Rev. Vladimir Alexandrov to His Grace Tikhon, Bishop of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Alexandrov arrived in Edmonton on May 25, 1899, where he met many Orthodox believers whom he had met on his previous two visitations. He was received with love and great joy.On May 26, 1899, he had a very important meeting with Mr. R. Routen, an official of the Government of Canada, who informed Rev. Alexandrov that Bishop Tikhon should proceed promptly with communication for the official registration of the Russian Orthodox Church as a Corporation in Canada; and that it was necessary to have a resident priest in the Province of Alberta as soon as possible. An Ordinance to incorporate the Bishop of the Russo-Greek -Catholic Orthodox Church and the Parishes and the Missions of the said Church was Assented to on June 19, 1903 by the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories as follows: An Ordinance, under the name of “The Bishop of the Russo-Greek Catholic Orthodox Church."On Sunday, May 28, 1899, the day of Holy Trinity (Pentecost), Rev. Alexandrov celebrated the Divine Liturgy, under the open sky, on the church site where the construction of the Church had been started the previous year. About 400 communicants received Holy Communion. And for the Holy Trinity Vespers that followed about 2,000 people were present. On May 29, the day of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated on the same site, and a bout 500 communicants received Holy Communion. On the third day of the Holy Trinity, because of unfavorable weather, the Liturgy was celebrated in the home of Theodore Nemirsky.On June 6-7, 1899, Rev. Vladimir Alexandrov visited the newly started Orthodox parish at Skaro, located eight miles north of Beaver Creek north of Lamont, Alberta. There he conducted the funeral service for Wasyl Lopushinsky, about whom Rev. Alexandrov wrote the following in his diary: “In the afternoon of June 6, I buried the servant of God Wasyl Lopushinsky. He was a true Orthodox man and a great, Russian patriot. He was among the first, with another patriot, John Sachman, who inspired their brother Uniates to leave the Unia and become reunited with Orthodoxy.”The next day he celebrated the Liturgy and gave communion to over 100 communicants. He inspected the church being built in the Russian Orthodox style.On September 1, 1900, Rev. Jacob Korchinsky was appointed resident priest for Canada. He resided in Edmonton, in a house, which he purchased, located on the present site of St. Barbara's Cathedral. In this house he set up a residence for a priest and a chapel dedicated to St. Barbara. From this center in Edmonton, Rev. Korchinsky visited and served the Orthodox people and parishes being established in the surrounding area of Edmonton.Rev. Jacob Korchinsky was a dedicated and energetic organizer. Under his guidance many people became members of the Orthodox Church. Chapels and churches were started in many rural communities throughout Alberta. Under his guidance, on March 21, 1901, seventeen families met in the home of Kondrat Sheremata in the community of Mundare, decided to leave the Uniate church, and to become members of their former, historic Orthodox Church. They formed a parish and began to build their Russo-Greek Orthodox Church, dedicated to Apostle St. Jacob. Rev. Korchinsky baptized forty-two children on that occasion.In 1900, Rev. Korchinsky visited the colony of Shandro and celebrated the first Divine Liturgy on the site of the present-day Shandro Cemetery. Thirty-three children received Holy Confirmation in the Orthodox Faith. During the winter of 1901-02, timbers were hauled from the forests; and in the summer of 1902 construction of the new church carried on.Rev. Korchinsky also visited Orthodox believers in Rabbit Hills. After his arrival in Edmonton on November 12, 1900, he and Ivan Workun traveled to Rabbit Hills, and in the home of Ivan Borys, he celebrated the Divine Liturgy at which all present received Holy Confession and Communion.During Rev. Korchinsky’s missionary services in Edmonton and the surrounding area, His Grace Tikhon, Bishop of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands made the first visitation to Canada. In his first visit in 1901 on the Feast Day of the Holy Trinity (Pentecost), Bishop Tikhon consecrated the first Orthodox church built in Canada, located at Wostok, Alberta, and Dedicated to the Holy Trinity.Evidence of this historic visit is presently preserved in a photograph of Bishop Tikhon with his personal signature, dated August 27, 1901, and presented to Theodore Nemirsky. The photograph is in safekeeping at the Archives and Library of St. Barbara's Cathedral in Edmonton.A second arch-pastoral visitation to Canada by Bishop Tikhon happened in August 1904. Rev. John Vasil has recorded an interesting event about the travels of Bishop Tikhon throughout Alberta. After his arrival in Edmonton, in 1904, he was greeted by a party of men from Shandro, Alberta, riding in wagons pulled by horses. The distance from Edmonton to Shandro was 85 miles. The road was not hard-surfaced; it was more like a winding trail through mud, deep ruts, and bypassing of heavy bushes. Often it was necessary to get off the wagon and help the horses to pull the wagon through. At the end of the first day, the wagon party traveled only half the distance to Shandro. His Grace was informed by one of the drivers, “Here, Vladyka, not far from the stream of water, here is the Russian hotel. We will stop here for the night. This will give the horses time to rest and pasture some grass during the night.”Upon arriving at the creek, the horses were unhitched, a fire was started, and preparations for supper were made. After watching the preparations anxiously for some time, His Grace addressed the men, “Please, will someone tell me, where is the Russian hotel? Where we will spend the night?”A chorus of cheerful voices responded: “Right here! Vladyka! This is our Russian hotel! ...Surrounded by birch trees, with a creek in the middle, and tall trees...looking at the sky above! Here... we always stay overnight, whenever we travel with wagon and horses to Edmonton or Shandro.”Thus, Vladyka, spent the night by the creek called Beaver Creek, surrounded by birch trees! But there was more! ! ! After midnight a typical Canadian summer rainstorm broke loose with a display of unforgettable lightning, thunder and a flood of rain that left Vladyka and his escorts wet, cold and shivering, awaiting the sunrise to regain their energy to continue the second half of their journey to Shandro. During his visitation to Shandro, August 28, 1904, Bishop Tikhon consecrated the newly built church in honor of the Dormition (Assumption) of the Mother of God. It should be noted that previously on August 6, Bishop Tikhon consecrated the church at Mundare, dedicated to the Apostle St. Jacob. On August 12, Bishop Tikhon visited the church of the Holy Ascension at Rabbit Hills, where he also celebrated the Divine Liturgy. He also awarded Theodore Fuhr the Bishop’s Gramota (Certificate of Gratitude for Devoted Service), for his work for the Holy Ascension Parish. An explanation should be made about the historic situation at Rabbit Hills. Construction of a Uniate church was started on March 26, 1900, in honor of the Nativity of the Mother of God. Before the above date, for several years, Orthodox clergy, Rev. D. Kamnev and Cantor Alexandrov, had visited this community, and celebrated the Liturgy in the home of Theodore Fuhr, who was truly an Orthodox believer. He had donated the land for the church site. In 1902 construction of the Holy Ascension Church was completed. Thus, there were two parishes -one Uniate, and the other Orthodox. The spirit of Orthodoxy was growing, and many Uniate families wanted to join the Holy Ascension Orthodox parish. The long anticipated and expected re-union with the Orthodox parish was realized in the year 1910. Theodore Fuhr invited Archimandrite Arseny to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. Upon his arrival on the designated day, Mr. Fuhr and members of the parish greeted him with the holy cross, icons and banners. At the same time, by the Divine Providence of God, the procession of the members from St. Mary's Uniate parish met the Orthodox procession on the roadway. With deep respect, the two groups bowed to each other, shook hands, and approached Archimandrite Arseny, who kissed the crosses and icons of both processions. Then, Archimandrite spoke a deeply inspired sermon to the Uniate group, after which both groups entered St. Mary's Uniate church where Archimandrite Arseny celebrated the Divine Liturgy according to the Orthodox tradition. This act completed and fulfilled the unity of the Uniate parish with, the Orthodox Church. The parish of St. Mary's became the Orthodox parish, whose church was larger than the Holy Ascension Church, which was eventually purchased by Theodore Fuhr, and was dismantled so that it would not be used for any other purpose.The visitations of Bishop Tikhon inspired the Orthodox people, who, with great enthusiasm, began the construction of new churches. Parishes were organized and churches were built at Serediaki, 1904-05; Shishkovtzy, 1904; Farusi, 1907; Pakan, 1904; Smoky Lake, 1907-09; Redwater, 1911-12; MacNutt, 1909; Foam Lake, 1910; Insinger, 1911; and many others. By 1926, it was reported that there were 123 Orthodox parishes throughout Western Canada.The outbreak of the Revolution in Russia in 1917 disrupted the relations and unity of the Orthodox parishes in Canada with the Mother Russian Orthodox Church. New political and national motives disrupted the unity among the Orthodox people. A part of the Orthodox parishes established a new Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Newly arrived immigrants from Ukraine united themselves with this church. Many parishes remained in the American Metropolia of the Russian Orthodox Church, which did not have communion with the Mother Church. The remaining Orthodox parishes that were founded by the first immigrants to Canada did not want to end their spiritual ties with the Mother Church They continued their identity with and support of the Mother Church. The wish for unity for these parishes was realized in 1959 when the Edmonton Canadian Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was proclaimed by the Moscow Patriarchate, with the appointment of the ruling Hierarch, Archbishop Panteleimon of Edmonton. This act by the Mother Church enhanced the growth and expansion of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada.Beginning in 1960 and continued to 1990, many faithful Orthodox Christians in Canada were sponsored by the Mother Church on pilgrimages to see the life of the holy churches, seminaries and monasteries in Russia and Ukraine. These pilgrimages aroused a new interest and enthusiasm for their Orthodox Faith in unity with the Mother Russian Orthodox Church. With the establishment of the Edmonton Canadian Diocese, which included 26 parishes, the leading center was St. Barbara’s Church in Edmonton, which became the Cathedral for the ruling bishop and spiritual center for the diocese.Archbishop Panteleimon, upon his arrival in Edmonton in 1958, brought from Kiev a segment of the Holy Relics of Great Martyr Barbara. The Relics are in safekeeping in the sanctuary of St. Barbara's Cathedral. These Relics are deeply respected and venerated by the faithful Orthodox Christians.As already mentioned earlier, Rev. Jacob Korchinsky arrived in Canada in 1900. He bought a house in which he established a chapel and residence for a priest. In 1908, on the original site of the chapel, a new frame construction church was built, and consecrated by Archimandrite Arseny. In 1958, on the same site, the present-day St. Barbara's Cathedral was completed and consecrated by Metropolitan Boris of Odessa on July 31, 1960.The outstanding service and dedication in the construction of St. Barbara's Cathedral and the spiritual re-birth of the church life in the parish must be credited to Right Rev. John Margitich for his 35 years of continuous service as Rector of the Cathedral from 1956 to 1991. The ruling bishop often celebrated Liturgies not only in St. Barbara's Cathedral but also in the country parishes, often alone, because of the lack of priests. In response to the request of the Edmonton Diocese for clergy from the Mother Church, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church began appointing clergy for pastoral service in Canada. In 1962 the Holy Synod sent to Canada the first two newly-appointed priests - Archpriest Evheni Bartchewsky and Archpriest Constantine Stakhovsky, whose dedicated service and devotion revived the religious life of the Patriarchal parishes to the extent that we see it reflected gloriously in today's Celebration of Orthodoxy in Canada.His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has regularly sent clergy to serve the spiritual needs of the Canadian Orthodox believers.In 1970, normal ecclesiastical and canonical relations were established with the American Metropolia of the Russian Orthodox Church with the granting of Autocephaly by the Mother Church to the American Metropolia. The achievement of this unity of Orthodox people was long and difficult.In accordance with TOMOS, the former American Metropolia was officially named as the "Orthodox Church of America" (OCA). The parishes of the Edmonton Canadian Diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate became officially the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada, which are administered by vicar bishops appointed by His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.With the granting of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of America, normal brotherly relations began to be realized between the parishioners of the Patriarchal Parishes and the Orthodox Church of America. This developing relationship is still going on at the present time.The Patriarchal Parishes have normal brotherly relations with the other canonical Orthodox Churches in Canada, which altogether form the One Orthodox.P1enitude. At the present time there are 22 Patriarchal Parishes in Canada with St. Barbara's Cathedral located in Edmonton. Some parishes participate actively in the religious life of the diocese. However, several parishes celebrate the Divine Liturgy only two or three times per year.Today, as we reflect on the past 100 years since the first Orthodox Liturgy was celebrated on Canadian soil, we remember with deep gratitude the first pioneers who labored for the establishment and continuation of their Orthodox Faith in Canada. Today, we are grateful to the bishops, priests and Orthodox believers who labored in the past, and those who continue to labor in the present, that the Orthodox Faith will be preserved for our future generations.We believe, and we hope, that today's young generation, have inherited this spiritual heritage, will preserve it and increase it, diligently, as the Faith of their fathers and their great ancestors.As I conclude my presentation of the History of Orthodoxy in Canada, I propose the prayerful "Memory Eternal" (Vichnaya Pamyat) for all Orthodox Christians who have labored for the establishment, growth and continuation of the Orthodox Church in Canada. INTONATION:"Give rest eternal, in blessed repose, O Lord , to Thy servants, departed this life:Archbishop Nicholas, Reverend Dimitri Kamnev, Cantor Vladimir Alexandrov, and all the first pioneers, our fathers, brothers and sisters --who founded and glorified the Orthodox Faith on Canadian land, and for all Orthodox Christians, make their MEMORY ETERNAL ! !! |
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