St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Scarborough, Toronto, English Language Orthodox Church Toronto,Orthodox Services English

English Orthodox Church in Toronto, English Language Christian Orthdox Services

Community Event

Holy Pentecost 2025 – Hierarchical Liturgy with Metropolitan Gregory

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Dear and Faithful Orthodox Christians,

How joyous that we celebrated the great Feast of Pentecost on June 7 & 8, 2025 with our blessed and faithful Hierarch and steadfast follower of the Holy Apostles, Gregory, Metropolitan of Boston and Toronto!

‘Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, who hast shown forth the fisherman as supremely wise, by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit!’

Metropolitan Gregory blesses the Five loaves on the Eve of Pentecost

Saint John Chrysostom says in his homily for this day, ‘This Holy Spirit also ordains priests, consecrates churches, purifies altars, perfects sacrifices and cleanses people of their sins.   This Holy Spirit abides with the godly, refines the righteous and guides Kings… This Holy Spirit enlightens souls and sanctifies bodies. It is the same Holy Spirit Who descended upon the Apostles and filled them with divine wisdom.’  And it is this same Holy Spirit, our God, who consecrated the successors of the Apostles and our Metropolitan Gregory as Bishop and Hierarch of our holy Church.

 

 

Divine Liturgy of Pentecost amongst the trees in the Cathedral

As the Metropolitan said in his sermon, ‘the Holy Spirit comes so that we should have access and be connected to the redeemed nature of Man that Our Saviour has and through which He defeated Death.  (And) when the Holy Spirit came visibly upon the heads of the Apostles…at that moment, the Apostles were ordained as High Priests of the Church after Our Saviour, the True High Priest…. It is through this gift of Priesthood that allows us to celebrate all the Divine Mysteries.’  This holy Mystery of the Hierarchical Liturgy was celebrated by the Metropolitan together with Father Anthony, Father Sergey, and Father Protodeacon George.

After the Divine Liturgy, we celebrated Vespers of Pentecost and as a congregation, we knelt together for the first time since Holy Week as the Metropolitan read over us the great Kneeling Prayers asking for the rich mercies of God upon us.   The Chanters magnified the Holy Trinity saying, ‘The Holy Spirit hath ever been, and is, and shall be, neither beginning nor ending; but He is ever ranked and numbered together with the Father and the Son.’

 

Metropolitan Gregory with Clergy and Servers on Pentecost

After the conclusion of the Kneeling Prayers, we continued our celebrations with a festive luncheon outside on the Church grounds, having the opportunity to socialize, and also to receive some further instruction from the Metropolitan who answered questions on prayer and the spiritual life.  It was an edifying and happy day!  God bless everyone who contributed toward the celebration with donations, food preparation, flower arranging, chanting, bell-ringing, serving, hosting guests, cleaning the Church and grounds, the clean up afterwards, and all the other detail work that with Our Saviour’s blessing brought us such a grace-filled Pentecost.

Enjoying time together on Holy Pentecost

Through the prayers of the Holy Apostles, O Saviour, save us!
Father Anthony

The Feast of the Nativity of Our Saviour 2018

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Schedule of Celebrations at Saint Nicholas English Parish Chapel

Please join us in the St Nicholas Chapel for the grace-filled Services of the Nativity of Our Saviour Jesus Christ.

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Scarborough, English Language Orthodox Church Toronto, Orthodox Services in English

“The Virgin cometh to the Cave to give birth”

We will celebrate all the Services of the Feast beginning with:

  • Friday January 4 / December 22 – Royal Hours 7pm
  • Saturday January 5 / December 23 – Vespers 3:30pm
  • Sunday January 6 / December 24 – Divine Liturgy 9am
  • Sunday January 6 / December 24 – Vigil of Nativity 6pm
  • Monday January 7 / December 25 – Divine Liturgy of Nativity 9:30am

Parish Luncheon to Follow Divine Liturgy

Following the Liturgy on Monday morning January 7th / December 25, we will celebrate the Feast together as a parish with a catered Luncheon and Nativity Carol singing.

We request a donation of $25 per adult for the luncheon to assist us to cover the costs; any remaining funds will contribute towards the development of our English Parish.

To help us plan, please advise Father Deacon George or Sarah Tsagarakis if you will be joining us for the lunch; you can also email us at the following address – hello@stnicholasorthodoxchurch.ca

Bells of Peace Initiative

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Remembrance Day-St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Scarborough, English Language Orthodox Church Toronto, Orthodox Services in EnglishOn November 11, 2018 at the setting of the sun, St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral will join communities across Canada marking the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War and all the pious Orthodox Christians that reposed in battle.  The City of Toronto and the Royal Canadian Legion’s “Bells of Peace” initiative invites churches across the country to ring their bells 100 times at sunset.

The ringing of bells emulates the moment in 1918 when church bells across Europe tolled as four years of war had come to an end.

All parishioners are welcome to participate.  We will meet at the Cathedral at 4:30pm and ring the bell 100 times starting at 4:56pm.

#100Bells

[Excerpt from the Great Litany commemorating reposed soldiers.]

Again we pray for this country, those in authority, all those in public services, and for our Christ-loving armed forces on land, sea and air, and that the Lord our God would continue to assist and accompany them in all things.

Again we pray for the repose, tranquility and blessed memory of the ever-memorable servants of God, the Orthodox soldiers who have courageously struggled, and for all that have laid down their life in battle for the Faith and the homeland.

‎Again we pray for the blessed memory and eternal rest of the souls of all who renownedly contested for the Faith and our Homeland and who have gloriously fallen in the sacred national struggles, those of old and of late and for the forgiveness of all their sins and transgressions, both voluntary and involuntary.