Metropolitan Andrew
1943-2021
Metropolitan of Toronto
June 2019 – June 2021
Bishop of Markham, Suffragan Bishop of Toronto
March 2013 – May 2019
Metropolitan Andrew was born in 1943 in Washington D.C., USA where he and his younger brother grew up before spending some time in Arlington, Virginia. His father was from Washington D.C. as well, while his mother comes from Freeland, Pennsylvania – north of Philadelphia.
Metropolitan (Vladyka) Andrew is from a long-line of Herron Family descendants; his first ancestors immigrated to the United States in 1710 from Alsace-Lorraine, France. However, the generations that followed mostly included Irish and English lineage.
In 1963, at the age of 20, he became an Orthodox Christian and following this, he entered Seminary School at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York in 1965 where he studied for two years.
In July of 1968 he entered Holy Transfiguration Monastery where he lived for most of his life before he moved to Toronto.
As he continued to live the Liturgical life of the Church, he was ordained Deacon in November of 1972 by St. Philaret, Metropolitan of New York. By 1988, he was raised to Archdeacon (highest rank of monastic deacons) and continued to serve at the Monastery, Convents and Parishes, including visits to Toronto, until he was ordained to the priesthood in October 2012.
Along the way, he had been fortunate to meet many holy people, including Archbishop Tikhon of San Francisco in 1962 (who held the See before St. John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco).
In addition to his love to his patron-saint, Saint Andrew the First-Called, St. Xenia of St. Petersburg, and St. Patrick, Enlightener of Ireland all held a special place in his heart. He loved so much to celebrate all the Feast Days of our Church, and always said he especially enjoyed the Feast of Theophany. He loved the Orthodox Saints of every land, and when it comes to favourite hymns of the Church, he was always moved by the “Glory of Matins for Holy and Great Monday”.
He was buried on June 9, 2021, at Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA.
Eternal Memory for our beloved
Metropolitan Andrew
-June 6, 2021-
“We stand for the truth.
We say the truth…clearly.”
Said during his last sermon on Saturday June 5, 2021 (May 23. OS),
Saturday before Sunday of Blind Man
at
Holy Nativity Convent, Brookline, MA, USA
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
Today we gather to celebrate the birth in the flesh of the Son of God. Angels sang, shepherds came from their fields to worship and Magi journeyed a great distance to adore a Babe laid in a manger poor, cold and in swaddling bands, this tiny Babe Who is Lord of all creation. And what caused Him to empty Himself and take on our lowly human form? His inexhaustible love for His creatures. Man had disobeyed, had gone after false gods and rejected Him; and yet His love for us is so great that it causes Him to become incarnate and to labour and suffer all that He did, that He might bring us back to the Father. He has bestowed on us incalculable riches, which we can gain if we but strive to live in accordance with His commandments. The beauty and depth of our services are beyond compare. The means of acquiring grace are constantly with our reach. Every phase of our life has a blessing attached to it. And all this started in that humble cave and lowly manger. Let us hasten there in spirit to worship with the shepherds and with the Magi offer gifts to the new born King: a loving and humble heart, a grateful disposition and fervent prayer for one another.
