St. Nicholas Orthodox Church

Tag: Orthodox Church in America

  • + Fr. Oleg Krawchenko

    This past week the The Right Reverend Protopresbyter Oleg Alexander Krawchenko fell asleep in the Lord, surrounded by his loving family. Many people reading this email will have not known who Fr. Oleg was beyond his name being on our prayer list or his relation to Dn. Thomas Chaput (father-in-law). Beyond his many accomplishments (which are numerous) Fr. Oleg articulated  in many respects the unity between Orthodox clergy and faithful that many of us take for granted.  Despite struggles and distractions that historically were the sources of division and disunity (especially between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Archdiocesan (OCA) Churches), Fr. Oleg was to one degree or another, willing to see past them and celebrate as he was able to, the unity of our faith. In many respects his work as a teacher at St. Andrew’s college inspired many of his students (some of whom I consider my closest friends) also to see the unity of  the “Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15) in other jurisdictions regardless if they are Ukrainian, Russian, Greek, Serbian Romanian, or the OCA. It wasn’t as if his Ukrainian heritage was abandoned in this – certainly not!  Rather it provided a perspective that reconciled every difference as being the diversity of grace. 

    I hold dear to my heart, the few times  Fr. Oleg would show up at St. Nicholas with his wife (Dobordika Maria), having just served at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Gonor (also called St. Nicholas!) Each and every time he would radiate joy in greeting and blessing the our faithful, as if he was their pastor, and they were his flock! Nothing was held back, or reserved in walking into a Church more full of strangers, than people he knew (I have heard other stories like this from other priests in Winnipeg). This has always been a source of inspiration for me, in my relationships with other Churches and clergy, compelling me to always look at what we do (as unique as it might be) as being truly united with what other Orthodox Christians are doing (as unique as they might be) in serving the Lord. 

    Politics and culture will always surround our Churches, seeking to pull us apart – yet Fr. Oleg’s example should inspire us to recognize that although there are differences of politics and culture (some great and some small), we have been baptized into the same death and been raised in the same newness of life of Christ; we all confess our sins and are forgiven by the same Lord; and we all receive His Body and Blood from the same cup. Glory to God! 
    Truly may the Lord bring peace and mercy to His newly departed servant, healing what was broken, and reconciling that which was lost; and glorifying that which was of love, and exalting that which was of mercy.

    Our hearts and prayers go out to his Dobrodika Maria, and their five children, and our blessed brother Dn. Thomas. Memory Eternal! Вічная Пам’ять! Christ is Risen! Христос воскрес!

  • Photos from Pascha 2024

  • Archpastoral Message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon Pascha 2024

    resurrection

    To the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, 

    My Beloved Children in the Lord,

    CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

    Now all is filled with light: heaven and earth and the lower regions. Let all creation celebrate the rising of Christ: in him we are established. (St. John of Damascus, Paschal Canon, Ode Three)

    Today we greet the most radiant feast of feasts, the king and lord of days, the Pascha of Christ our true God. Standing in the light of the Resurrection, we glimpse the true and unfading joy of the life to come.

    To be sure, even on this chosen and holy day of light-bearing festival, my own heart remains heavy as I look out upon the world and behold wars and terrorism, unjust imprisonment and persecution, civil strife and political divisions. Indeed, “the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of iniquity” (Ps. 73:20). The world and its troubles present a threefold temptation to Christians who behold this multitude of “dark places”: we are tempted to despair; we are tempted to indifference; and we are tempted to conform and subordinate our holy Orthodox Christian faith to some worldly political program or ideology.

    However, with his Pascha, Christ offers us a different response: a hope beyond this world, yet already present in this world. As we sing in the Paschal Canon of St. John of Damascus, everything is filled with the light of the Resurrection, even the lower regions. Life has burst forth from the grave; a light has shone in darkness (Jn. 1:5).

    We dwell in a world of real trouble, real sorrow, real pain. The Lord came down into this world and became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and he felt pain in his heart—on the night in which he was given up, his soul was “exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death”—and pain in his flesh (Is. 53:3; Mt. 26:38). But out of pain, the Lord has brought forth healing; out of sorrow, he has wrought an incorruptible source of joy. He died, but now he lives forever, and he offers us the same hope: eternal life.

    And the eternal life that he offers is not just an extension of life in this world, with its ups and downs, sorrows and joys, sins and foibles and accidents. Rather he offers us abundant life, true life, by restoring our communion with God, who is the Source of life.

    This true and incorruptible life, a life of constant trust and love and joy, is not only available in the world to come. Whenever we believe in Christ and his Resurrection and accept the joy of his Pascha, we are already, through faith and hope, getting a foretaste of that life—a life without fear of suffering or death, that sees sorrow as a source of joy, since even in sorrow, Christ, the Man of Sorrows, is there, ready to draw near to us in a union of love.

    It is because of this that the holy Psalmist could write: “If I go up into heaven, thou art there; if I go down into hell, thou art present. If I take up my wings at dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand guide me, and thy right hand shall hold me” (Ps. 138:8–10). 

    Wherever we are, whatever troubles we experience in our lives, whatever troubles we behold in this world, Christ is there with us, suffering with us in our suffering and offering us the hope of the unfailing happiness of his Pascha, inviting us to be in the world and not of the world, storing up all our hope and all the treasure of our hearts with him, in the kingdom that has no end, where neither moth nor rust can destroy and where no thief can break in and steal (Mt. 6:20).

    May he who rose from the dead on the third day, kindling the light of hope for all the world, always shine upon our hearts with Paschal light, filling us with a joy-making desire for the good things to come and changing all our troubles and cares into opportunities to hope and trust.

    To him, the Risen Lord, be all glory and adoration, together with his Father and his All-holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages!

    Yours in the Risen Christ,

    + TIKHON
    Archbishop of Washington
    Metropolitan of All America and Canada

  • Yet another new Deacon.

    It is a pretty good indication that our Church is doing what it is supposed to be doing, when we gain three deacons in the course of week. For those keeping score, that is four in less than a year – Glory to God!

    Last Sunday, Vladika Irénée was in Hamilton On. at the parish of St. Maria of Paris (home of our dear brother Fr. Yuri Hladio) to ordain James Dale to the Holy Diaconate. 

    I first met the newly ordained deacon James back in 1982 when he started coming to (and was received into the Orthodox Church) at the Holy Transfiguration mission in Ottawa (now the Annunciation Cathedral) where my father was serving. I also attended some classes with him at St. Paul’s University and incidentally but nonetheless remarkable James also introduced me to punk rock- for which I am eternally thankful. James’ love of God and neighbour truly has guided him and his wife (Diakonisa Martha) to a life of service; becoming a cornerstone of St. Maria’s in its early days, and an example of Christian life for many new converts. It is only fitting that his service has been now “set apart” and offered to the Lord in the Diaconate, as a witness of the Lord’s love for us, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mk.10:45) May the Lord grant him and his wife, many blessed years in service to His Body, the Church.

  • Ordination of John Schantz to the Holy Diaconate.

    By God’s grace and mercy, the faithful of St. Nicholas of Narol, welcomed back, his Eminence Archbishop Irénée, for the blessed ordination of John (Dayrl) Schantz to the Diaconate. 

    On a beautiful sunny and warm spring morning (Saturday April 6th) Vladika Irénée served the Divine Liturgy with the faithful of St. Nicholas, and other Orthodox parishes. Joining Vladika in the service was the Archpriest Gregory Scratch (parish rector), the mitred Archpriest Serhii Kashyrets, the Archpriest Roman Pavlov, the Priest Matthew Beynon (both from Holy Trinity Sobor), the Priest Stephen Sharman (St Nicholas of Narol), Protodeacon Edward Jordan (St. Aidan’s Cranbrook BC) Deacon Denis Letunovsky (St Seraphim of Sarov Rawdon, QC), and the Deacon Greg Wiebe (St. Nicholas) Archpriest Anthony Esterbrooks (Retired) Dn. John Kavalas (St. Demetrios GOA – not serving) 

    During the Liturgy, the Priest Matthew Beynon was awarded the Gold Cross, and the Priest Stephen Sharman was awarded the Kamilavka.

    It is something of a marvel, that it was less than eight months ago that Vladika Irénée was last at St. Nicholas – also for another ordination – Dn. Greg Wiebe. Indeed, this fact was not lost on his Eminence, as he noted in his sermon “there are churches that devour priests and clergy… this church produces them”. The newly ordained Dn. John, Matushka Robyn Sophia, and their four daughters, have with love and thanksgiving served the various needs of St. Nicholas for more than a few years; and truly this ordination is a confirmation of the Lord’s saving grace. In them, this service, has been “set aside” and offered to the Lord in thanksgiving through the laying on of hands; that the Lord, Himself, might reveal His saving service to us, through the newly ordained Deacon’s hands.. 

    May the Lord grant many blessed years to Vladika Irénée, blessing him with peace and wisdom as he criss-crosses the Archdiocese in service to the Lord. May the Lord grant many blessed years to the newly ordained Deacon John, his wife Matushka Robyn Sophia, their children Ann-Christina (and husband Jesse), Olivia, Adrianne, and Emily; and may the Lord grant many blessed years to the clergy and faithful of St Nicholas in their continued love and dedication to the Lord. 

  • Archbishop Arseny.

    Today marks the 77th anniversary of Archbishop Arseny (Chagovtsov) repose at St. Tikhons Monastary in 1946.

    I served a liturgy for him this morning, and was struck by the Gospel reading for the day (Lk. 6:46-7:1) and the Lord’s words.

    “why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”

    I am blessed to serve in a Church that has had (as far as I have been able to discover) about 35 + priests and bishops serve in.  This number has much to do with the fact that our parish was served intermittently by visiting clergy, from Winnipeg, Edmonton and  Minneapolis.  Before the  Liturgy, I considered how many of the pastors that served at St. Nicholas would have said “Lord Lord”.  Yet despite what they offered, many of their contributions have been lost to time, swept aside by the torrent of life. In stark contrast, Archbishop Arseny  stands out from this list of pastors.

    Truly the foundation of God’s saving love as manifested in the Orthodox Church, that he laid, is something that has provided refuge from the storms of life for countless generations for over a hundred years – after all St. Nicholas is a strong and healthy parish, our Archdiocese is strong and healthy, not to mention St. Tikhon’s monastery and seminary is still going strong (Glory to God!) all despite the struggles associated with being an immigrant Church, the struggles against ethnic nationalism, the struggles of cultural assimilation, and we can say the struggles of rampant secularism.

    There is something to be said about the fact that Archbishop Arseny not only heard the call of the Lord, but did what he was called to do! Although not recognized officially as a Saint, his life and legacy bears the mark of sanctity – the fact that I can bear witness to this as a priest who serves in a Church he served at, is indeed a reflection of God’s mercy, and his participation in it. By his prayers, may we continue the work he so tirelessly offered the Lord.

    Blessed Archbishop Arseny, pray to God for us!

  • The Church New Year (no need for fireworks)

    Although January 1st is the beginning of a new calendar year, there doesn’t seem to be anything that really denotes that -at least liturgically. After all nothing really changes with the new year beyond fireworks; it is as dark and cold on Jan.1st as it is on Dec. 31st. This being said, everything changes when September 1st come a long. 

    With cooler evenings – a prelude of shorter days, fields of ripe wheat, barley, canola ready for harvest, people heading back home from cottages and camping, and children heading back to school, just about every aspect of our life changes. It seems  so very fitting that Church recognizes this change by denoting September 1st  as the beginning of its year. 

    Even though Jan. 1st was the beginning of the Roman year in antiquity, September 1st was noted as the Indiction, a term to mark the reign of the emperor (and more importantly to pay taxes!) and this developed into the defacto new year. As Roman/Byzantine civil rule and the life of the Church became more intertwined, the Indiction on Sept. 1st was used more than a reminder to pay taxes, but also as at time to mark the time and significance of the state, and by extension the Church. 

    The Gospel that is read  on September 1st illustrates not only the change from summer to fall, but also change in time itself.  The Savior proclaimed, “The spirit ofthe Lord is upon me; because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to proclaim release to captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord”(Luke 4:16-22). Quoting Isaiah 61:1-2) 

    The Church new year, beautifully marries this change of time – as is marked by the change in the seasons and our routines – with changing our own hearts and the hearts of those around us.

    We are called to preach the gospel to those who are starving for the good news of mercy and grace; release the captives bound by grief, fear, loneliness; bring recovery of sight to those blinded by the passing promises of power and security; and to liberate those oppressed by passions and sin.

    These actions might seem as impossible as getting  teenagers up for school a 7:00 am after two months of sleeping in, but if we recognize that in Christ, the cyclical flow of time is changed eternally; we can see that this is indeed the “acceptable year of the Lord”,  of love and mercy, that we are called to profoundly manifest for ourselves, our families, and the world around us.

    No fireworks could ever be more brilliant than this. 

  • “I was in prison and you came to Me.”

    At the Assembly in Montreal, Vladika Irénée, talked about the necessity of Orthodox Christians being involved in every aspect of our society as “chaplains”. To this point, he highlighted the work of the St. Silas Orthodox Prison Fellowship Society. It is one thing to be a “chaplain” with those who are sick or dying, or struggling through addictions and homelessness. It is another thing serving those who have broached the law. Yet the Lord calls us to “visit” the “least of My brethren” even in prison. The St. Silas Orthodox Prison Fellowship Society, has taken this to heart, and enters into those places many of us dare not go, in bringing the Gospel of the Lord’s victory and forgiveness. This is something for us to consider as we celebrate the feast of St Silas and his companions this weekend.

    About eight years ago, while working as a prison Chaplain at Kent Maximum Institution, Fr. Richard Rene received a letter from an inmate named Dale, asking to be baptized into the Orthodox Church. Dale had met Fr. Richard while at Kent, and had since begun to read about the Orthodoxy. His reading confirmed what he had already learned in conversation with Fr. Richard: he had found the fullness of the Christian faith.

    In January, 2016, Fr. Richard baptized Dale at Mission Medium Institution—the first ever Orthodox baptism in a Canadian federal prison. Dale took as his patron Moses the Black, whose life paralleled his in so many ways. Later that year, a second inmate was baptized, taking the name of the Apostle Silas. The following year, a third inmate was received by Confession and Chrismation, and took the name of Silouan. 

    The growing need among Orthodox inmates made it clear that a prison ministry was beginning. Fr. Richard appointed two members of an interim board, Dn. Symeon Price and Matushka Jaime Rene, and began the process of registering the ministry as a federal and provincial charity. The new ministry was dedicated to the Apostle Silas, who accompanied and was imprisoned with the Apostle Paul.

    Since its inception, St. Silas Prison Ministry has extended its work across Canada. We have connected inmates in need with local communities, regardless of jurisdiction. We have provided inmates with Study Bibles, books, icons, and prayer ropes. We have served Sunday and Festal Liturgies, sacraments of baptism, unction, and confession; as well as Lenten, Holy Week, and Paschal services. We have reached out and responded to inmates by letter and by phone.

    In the process of ministering to Orthodox inmates, we have also introduced many non-Orthodox inmates (not to mention Chaplains and Staff members), to Orthodox faith and practice. As such, St. Silas is truly a mission, answering the Lord’s call to proclaim the Gospel even in the darkest corners of the prison system. We need men and women of faith who are willing to join this mission field. Ask the Lord to show you how you can serve him among his incarcerated children

    While many of us are unable and un-equipped to do this work, they are those who are. So we ask you to always remember in your prayers those who are in prison, and especially those who serve them in love (like the  St. Silas Orthodox Prison Fellowship Society) in the name of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ!

    May the Lord bless and confirm our work! 

    For more information, or to offer any help, please contact the St. Silas Orthodox Prison Fellowship Society at contact@orthodoxprisonministry.ca.

  • Celebrating a better Canada day; by celebrating Dominion day.  

    A hundred and fifty three years ago when the fathers of confederation were putting the final touches on this “new country” called “Canada”, there was some question of what to call it. Although there was support for John A. MacDonald’s reference to Canada as a “kingdom”, the suggestion of Sir Samuel Tilley (then the premier of New Brunswick) to call Canada a “Dominion” held sway. He suggested the term inspired from scripture – He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth” Ps. 72:8 (this also happens to be part of the motto for our country “A Mari Usque Ad Mare” from sea to sea).

    As the years progressed, this title became more associated with an antiquated view of our history, being inconsistent with the desire to show the rest of the world, that Canada was a modern country, independent of its colonial history (not to mention that Canada day sounds much more patriotic than “Dominion Day”). So in 1982 “Dominion day” was changed to “Canada Day”. 

    Not surprisingly, this desire to distance ourselves from our past by changing the name of this day, did little to change the challenges of our sorted history (both good and bad). We have to say that even a title like “Canada Day” is still a reminder of the historic racism and blatant prejudice that oppressed indigenous peoples and minorities of our country (like the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act which banned Chinese immigration) despite its best intent.

    In a desire to reconcile the past, they are those who would rather ignore the fact that on July 1st 1867 a confederation of provinces was established to make this country called Canada; yet I believe there is a better way to not only celebrate this day, but also go some way at reconciling the blessings of this country with its tragic history. Maybe we should revert back to calling this day “Dominion day” or at least remembering its salvific context? 

    Of course changing a name, does not change history; let alone, makes it easier for those who suffered systemic abuse and racism; but reverting to “Dominion day” recognizes (at least scripturally and spiritually) that we are not the ones who have Dominion (it is the Lord). As such we are not called to be lords or masters, but rather be ministers and servants; loving our neighbour as ourselves (Mk. 12:31)

    Anyone with half a heart can realize that there is no limit on the amount of evil that can be legitimized when people (or a group of people) see themselves as owning something exclusively (like the land they inhabit) irrespective of the people that used to live there, the people who want to live there, their neighbours, or even the environment. Truly this is a tragic context akin to those wicked servants saw the vineyard (that which is not theirs), as being their own possession (Mt. 21:33-44) 

    As Christians and particularly as Christian Canadians, we should take this parable to heart, lest all that we have in this country  “be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it” (Mt. 21:43). Of course the Lord is talking about the Kingdom of Heaven; indeed the Lord has Dominion over all of creation (including this parcel of land that we call Canada) and our vocation (indigenous, settler, or immigrant) is to cultivate it, in love and service, that it might reveal the fruits of the Kingdom of Heaven and render them to the Lord and the least of His brethren (Mt. 25:40) “in their season”. If we are unwilling to do it, those “nations” that this will be given to, will not be the United States, or any other country (God forbid), but rather the poor, and abused, the lost, and forgotten peoples of this country.

    Regardless if we moved here generations ago (like my family -1783), or just this past year (like Fr. Serhii and his family – this past March), or if we have been connected with the land for millennia; “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”(Philp. 31:20). So let us celebrate this secular feast day with repentance, turning to the Lord, and recognizing His compassionate Dominion and love over these lands (and all nations), and not our own fantasies of nationhood; and offer thanksgiving, for the blessings that we can see even the Kingdom of Heaven (and not the fantasies of a modern world) here and now, over these lands (and all nations).

  • Hierarchical liturgy with Archbishop Irénee, and the Ordination of Greg Wiebe to the Diaconate.

    To an outside observer, many of the liturgical elements we do at any service might seem “over the top ” ritual, full of pomp and circumstances – but when a Bishop is serving, it can seem truly all the more bizarre. I suppose that one can be left with the impression that these “over the top” rituals are just nostalgia for the glory years of Imperial Russia or Byzantium. Of course this is always a temptation (which I am all to often reminded of), but if we invest ourselves into the fact that these rituals are the expressions of our love of the Lord, they don’t seem to be as strange or inconsistent with anything else we do. 

    The presence of a Bishop at any given service (and especially at a Liturgy) is an apostolic icon of the fullness of our faith.  We see this rooted in scripture with St. Paul’s instructions to Timothy and Titus, and  reflected in early Church documents like the Didache (1st century) or Justin Martyr’s apologies on the faith  (2nd century). In these (and many more writings) we see the that the Bishops (or overseers ἐπίσκοπος) manifest the unity of the faith, not as an administrative and social position, but rather through the  through the historic, liturgical, scriptural, and spiritual life they embody. The short form for this is “Apostolic succession”   where each canonical Bishop can trace their vocation back through time to the very apostles themselves. 

    It is in this that we find ourselves not in the presence of a CEO, or guru (God forbid), but rather in the presence of a man who conveys the same  living “tradition” (2 Tess. 2:15) and teachings of the twelve apostles; and even of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. As St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote in the 1st century “Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be, even as where Christ Jesus is, there is the catholic (whole and undivided) church” (Epistle to the Smyrnaeans).

    This understanding of the whole and undivided Church in the presence of a bishop, was manifested last weekend on the Soul Saturday before Pentecost, as our long time choir director Greg Wiebe, was ordained to the diaconate by Archbishop Irénée. It is truly wonderful and witness of the saving work of the Lord at St. Nicholas (and the Archdiocese as a whole); indeed the willingness of men (like Greg) and their families to respond positively, like the prophet Isaiah to the call of the Lord; “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? (Is. 6:8) is a manifestation of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Not in some mystical or spiritual way only, but tangably in the pastoral and liturgical life of the Church. 

    In this context we were given the opportunity to see those rituals that surround us when a Bishop is serving, and at the ordination of a deacon; not as Imperial nostalgia, or “over the top” liturgics, but rather an expression of the honour to the apostolic proclamation of the Lord’s saving victory over sin and death.  Truly it is a blessing that we can not only bear witness to this proclamation, but participate in it. 

    May the Lord grant many blessed years to Vladyka Irénée, blessing him with peace and wisdom as he criss-crosses the Archdiocese in service to the Lord. May the Lord grant many blessed years to the newly ordained Deacon Greg, his wife Amanda, their children Kayla, William, and Hannah; and may the Lord grant many blessed years to the clergy and faithful of St Nicholas in their continued love and dedication to the Lord. 

    (Photo credits. Tina Wiebe photography, Igumen Vladimir (Lysak), Archpriest Gregory Scratch)