The Deacon

O Lord, bless the Crown of this year! – Message from Father Anthony

September 16, 2023 By The Deacon

Dear and faithful Orthodox Christians,

According to the Church Calendar on September 1st (September 14th on the Civil Calendar), Orthodox Christians celebrate the beginning of the New Year. And in the hymns for the day, we ask the Our Saviour to bless the crown of the year ahead. And it this time we pray also that He enlighten and help the children and young adults as they begin their new studies at school, as well as pray for the Teachers and those who assist in the education of others and in the furtherance of our own knowledge and faith in Christ.

O Lord, bless the Crown of this Year!

In the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapter 4, appointed for the New Year we hear how Our Saviour came into the Synagogue and stood up and read from the Book of Esaias,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

This scripture is reflected in today’s Dismissal hymn that we chant for September 1st:

O Master of all creation, Who hast established the times and the seasons in Thine own power:
Bless the crown of this year with Thy goodness, O Lord, and keep our rulers and Thy flock in peace,
by the intercessions of the Theotokos, and save us.

It is also a suitable time to offer prayers for those with challenging illnesses or who struggle in these complex times that are difficult for many. Let us also express our gratitude and thanks to God as we recall the many blessings He has bestowed upon us at Saint Nicholas in the preceding few months.

Thankful for the Blessings of Our Saviour

We were all inspired by the many Orthodox Faithful who came to worship and join in fellowship at the Saint Peter the Aleut Camp in August. Father Protodeacon George and his family together with other Parishioners of Saint Nicholas travelled to New Hampshire and joined with Metropolitan Gregory, our Elder Isaac and other clergy and faithful between July 30, 2023 and August 5, 2023. Our Canadian Orthodox contingent was joined by Orthodox brothers and sisters from the United States, Ukraine, the Republic of Georgia, Guatemala, and Mexico. It was a blessed week, filled with fellowship, spiritual talks, daily prayers, Divine Liturgies, and outdoor wilderness activities. The annual camp is confirmed to meet again next August. Plan now if you are able and save time in your summer 2024 calendar!

At Saint Nicholas Cathedral, we were blessed to welcome new parishioners including Michael, Mary, Helena and Julie, and we rejoiced together with them at the baptism of their son Martin. God’s blessing be upon them, and also upon the newly illumined servant of God Jason who was also baptized in August.

Supporting our local Community and Faithful abroad

Saint Nicholas continues to provide relief and spiritual support for members of our local community, and it has been an honour for me to serve on several occasions over the last months with our Deacon Antony at the Church of the Mother of God in Calgary. And I do look forward to celebrating the Liturgy with them this week on Saturday September 16.

God bless all of you who contributed towards the important donation of funds from our Parish to the Orthodox Mission in Uganda. They have just completed the building of another Church there through the labours of our MIssionary Society and with the blessing of our Metropolitan Paul of Nairobi and East Africa. The Church is dedicated to the great confessor, Saint Mark of Ephesus, and these funds will contribute towards the furnishings of the Church interior.

The Great Feasts of September

In the days ahead, as the Church begins her annual celebration of the Great Feasts of the Saviour and His holy Mother, note your schedules and plan to celebrate the Feast of the Birth of the Mother of God (Sept 8/21), and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Sept 14/27). You can find details for those Services and others in our September and October Calendars.

The Synaxis and elevation of a new Bishop

Father Protodeacon George and I, together with other clergy of the Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto will travel to the meeting of the Clergy at the Synaxis in Boston at the end of the month, when also God-willing the Priestmonk John (Zatonski) will be raised to the Episcopate on Sunday October 1st, 2023 as Bishop of Woodside. May God bless him and grant him and us to continue to stand fast in the true confession of Orthodoxy.

With love and prayers in Christ,
Father Anthony

In Memorium-The ever-memorable, Andrew, Metropolitan of Toronto

June 6, 2023 By The Deacon

The ever-memorable, Andrew, Metropolitan of Toronto
+ June 6, 2021

t. Nicholas Orthodox Church Scarborough, English Language Orthodox Church Toronto, Orthodox Services in English Dear and Faithful Orthodox Christians,
As we offer our humble prayers today for our ever-memorable Shepherd, Andrew, Metropolitan of Toronto on the second year anniversary of his repose, we ask Our Saviour to number him among the Just and give him rest in the bosom of Abraham!

Our beloved Andrew, Metropolitan of Toronto, served the Church for so many years , having become Orthodox as a young man at the age of 20, then studying at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, and becoming a monk at Holy Transfiguration Monastery at the age of 25, he was a man of Liturgy and a man of prayer. Serving as Archdeacon since 1988 and then as a Priest, he was consecrated Bishop in March 2013 and made his new home in Toronto serving at Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral and the Parishes of the Metropolis of Toronto. In 2019 he was raised to lead the Diocese as the Metropolitan of Toronto. We can only marvel at his deep knowledge of the Scriptures, Orthodox Church history, the Canons, the Typikon, and his great love for the Saints of God. In matters of the Faith he was strict and insightful, in matters of the heart he was gentle and compassionate.

We miss you dear Vladyka Andrew!

Eternal be his memory!

Father Anthony

The Coming of the Holy Spirit – it is the Day of Pentecost!

June 2, 2023 By The Deacon

Dear and Faithful Orthodox Christians,

Last Sunday God blessed us to celebrate the Feast of the holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council together with our beloved Metropolitan Gregory the locum tenens of the Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto. The Hierarchical Liturgy including concelebrants Father Protopresbyter Anthony, Father Sergei, and Father Protodeacon George and the occasion was made especially joyous as the Servants of God, Justinian and Gabriel were blessed to be Taper Bearers and to serve in the Sanctuary. The Metropolitan’s Sermon included an explanation of the type of the First Council seen in the calling of the 318 men who came together at the call of Abraham to recover his brother Lot. And that we today, hold the Faith of the 318 Fathers of the First Council of Nicea, the Orthodox Faith, the Faith which has established the whole world! All the faithful came together for after Liturgy for a luncheon with the Metropolitan, and were edified by his spiritual insights during a Question and Answer discussion after the lunch.

Metropolitan Gregory, having served at Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral on Sunday May 28, and the Saint Seraphim of Sarov Russian Parish in Toronto, will now continue his pastoral visits to the other Parishes of the Metropolis of Toronto and join the faithful at the Churches in Calgary, Ispas Alberta, and Saskatoon later in June.

English Orthodox Services Toronto And now as we come to the celebration of Pentecost, hear the wonder that Saint Luke records in the Acts of the Apostles:

‘When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place… And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like unto fire and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance…. Now when this sound came about, the multitude came together and were confounded, because each and every man heard them speak in his own language… we do hear them speak in our tongue the great works of God.’

As we come to the celebrate Pentecost, let us all approach the day with anticipation and with joy, asking Our Saviour to bless our Holy Church, our Hierarchs, and to fortify and enlighten us all with the grace of the Holy Spirit, the heavenly King, and Comforter. Amen.

Father Anthony

Message from Father Anthony-Pascha 2023

April 17, 2023 By The Deacon

Dear and Faithful Orthodox Christians,

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

May the truth of Our Saviour’s victory over Hades, trampling down death by death, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead, be for all of us a wellspring of enlightenment and hope throughout the year ahead.

How blessed we were throughout Holy Week and Pascha to hear together the instructive readings, so many lessons from the holy Gospels, and the prayers and hymns of the Services. And then as we gathered together late in the night in anticipation outside the Church, we heard from the holy Evangelist Mark how the Myrrh-bearing women encountered the Angel in the sepulchre who said to them, ‘Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is Risen; He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him.’ And recall also the words in the Gospel of Matthew: ‘Christ is Risen, He is not here… go quickly and tell His disciples that He is Risen from the dead.’

English Orthodox Services Toronto In the stillness of the night we chanted together in joy:

“Christ is Risen from the dead, by death hath He trampled down death,
and on those in the graves hath He bestowed life!”

Renewed in spirit and in faith, let us all rejoice and come together each Sunday and Feast day ahead to honour and worship Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I share with you the 2023 Paschal Encyclical of our Metropolitan Gregory, the Locum Tenens of the See of Toronto. I encourage you to read it through several times in the coming days as it outlines for us so clearly the magnificent and wondrous work of salvation wrought by Our Saviour.

To Him be glory and dominion unto the ages! Amen.

Father Anthony

Our Saviour has blessed our 10th Year at Saint Nicholas

December 31, 2022 By The Deacon

Dear and Faithful Orthodox Christians,

In these final days of the Fast, as we approach the Feast of the Nativity of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, we rejoice together in all the blessings we have received from the Lord over the last twelve months as we celebrated our Ten Year Anniversary of the founding of Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral.

And what a year of blessings it has been for us! Our beloved Metropolitan Gregory, our Father and Elder Isaac, Father Bohdan, and Father Sergey all joined in the Hierarchical celebration of our Ten Year Anniversary, during Great Lent, on the Sunday of the Holy Cross on March 27. In April, our brother Justinian was baptized into the Orthodox Faith and we celebrated together with him and his extended family following the Service. In June, my dear mother Patricia was baptized, and in August, Timothy and his family, Christine and Eva, were baptized the day before the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. During the year, we also received Elias and Peter as members of our Parish and Orthodox family.

We also ensured the improvement of the Cathedral replacing the entire, very large roof, in the fall. Six of our Parishioners joined the Metropolitan on a pilgrimage to the sacred places of Georgia. On that pilgrimage, through a number of donations, we commissioned and received a beautiful enamel Icon of the “Meeting in the Temple” made according to method of medieval Georgia enamel artists. And the Cathedral was further adorned with our Bishop’s throne hand-carved in Greece and received through the generosity of a few parishioners

Our Metropolitan Gregory celebrated with us again in May for the Feast of the Translation of the relics of Saint Nicholas during which he provided to Father Anthony a number of holy relics as most sacred treasures, including a relic of the Holy Chief Apostle Saint Paul. Father Protodeacon George and Father Anthony traveled to the Mother of God Church in Calgary as our brother in the Faith, Subdeacon Antony was ordained Deacon on October 16/29. Axios, Father Deacon Antony!

And just over a week ago, Metropolitan Gregory, Father Isaac, Father Sergey, and Father Deacon Antony served at the Cathedral on Sunday and Monday December 6/19 as we honoured our holy patron on the Feast of Saint Nicholas. We were all very excited as the servant of God, Nektarios, was ordained a Reader just before the Liturgy on Monday morning. All these blessings made our Luncheon together after Liturgy, and our spiritual talk with the Metropolitan even more special.

Strengthened and encouraged by all these blessings, dear Faithful, let us all prepare now to offer our Saviour our love and gratitude at the Feast of His holy Birth. And let us call to mind this wonderful hymn of the Forefeast of the Nativity:

“Behold, the time of our salvation is at hand. Prepare, O cave; the Virgin draweth nigh to give birth. Rejoice and be glad, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, for from thee our Lord is risen up as the sun….for Christ cometh.”

Glory to God for all things!

Father Anthony