Protocol No. 33/2020 Glory to Jesus Christ! August 27th, 2020 Dear Reverend Clergy and Faithful of our God-Protected Diocese, Today I am writing to express my concerns about the importance of religious education especially in this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. First, let me say that the most important time and place for the religious education of our youth, but also the adults, is while we are participating in the Divine Liturgy of the Church. When and where is there a better time and place to see, hear, touch, smell and taste our Orthodox Faith? All five of our senses are fully engaged. This is when we most experience the Faith as a family. It is an imperative to be in the Divine Liturgy on a weekly basis. This is the time and place where we will see the icons and hear the hymns commemorating the Saints and /or Feasts of the day. In addition we hear the Epistle and Gospel Readings for the day. This is the time and place where we normally venerate items of the Faith. This is the time and place where we smell the fragrance of the incense offered to God. This is the time and place where we receive and taste God’s gift to us, the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of His Son Jesus Christ. This is the time and place where together as the Christian family we offer praises and prayers to God, thanking Him for His gifts and asking for His help with our needs. Our participation is crucial to our lives. Second, let me say that the next most important time and place for religious education of our youth is in Sunday School. This is the time and place where our beloved teachers offer additional information about our Orthodox Faith, its practices and traditions. The lives of Saints and their icons are examined. Feast days of the Church are studied for their importance and relevance in our lives. Life issues are presented and morals are reinforced by presenting them in the context of the Orthodox Faith. This time is very important in the Orthodox understanding and the spiritual development of our children. It must take priority in their lives Sunday morning. As we enter the Ecclesiastical New Year on September 1/September 14 we must renew our efforts to educate our young people. In this time of the Coronavirus it might seem easier to delay things until things get better, whatever that means, but we cannot afford this delay. Our children are most important to us. Let us do whatever is necessary not only for their spiritual development, but also their physical protection. Each Priest and those responsible for religious education should get together to discuss ways of “making it happen”, in other words making sure that Sunday School begins as soon as possible. Each local area within our Diocese has various directives connected to the Coronavirus, try to interpret them and move forward as safely as possible. Already some of our parishes have made their plans including for the use of masks, social distancing, on-line classes, out-door classes as long as the weather cooperates, etc. Everyone should figure out what works best for your community and then implement your local plan. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to write or call me. Looking forward to the Ecclesiastical New Year with much love, +Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa To download and read the letter click DOWNLOAD FILE:
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Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, Last week our parish celebrated three Divine Liturgies - and it would appear as though this weekly sign-up for Wednesday and Sunday Liturgies is good working model. The registration form now has all of the liturgies for the month. So please click the link below to reserve your place for any Wednesday or Sunday liturgies in July. CLICK to Register for July Liturgies Joachim's BaptismThe newly illumined Joachim! May God grant him and his Godparents Florence and Ted many blessed years!
With our blessing of our Bishop and the recent changes in Ontario's health directives we are now able to begin a phased re-opening and resumption of in-person service. Please find some information about this planned re-opening.
Frequency of Services The directives allow us to have a maximum of 30% of capacity in the church. As a result of these capacity restrictions, we will not all be able to gather on the same day. In these first weeks, therefore, households will be invited to attend services on an equitable rotating basis. As such we will be increasing our number of liturgies in order to accommodate all who would like to attend (based on your responses to our survey). You will be contacted to come to church on a rotating basis in regular groups at specific times. Please do not attend if you have not been invited to a particular service. If you have not been contacted, need a different time, or you would like to visit our parish please reach out Father or the Parish council. Schedule Due to the ever changing requirements and developments we may have to cancel parish events or services to accommodate the evolving schedule of services. Please bear with us and check our schedule and newsletter regularly. Social Distancing In order to minimize risks and to ensure we are allowed to continue to meet, a number of protocols have been developed for attending services. This includes spacing, masks, singing, communion, fellowship etc.. Please see the email sent to parish members or ask us and we can send to you. An usher will be available at each service to direct people. As per usual, if you have been scheduled to come to the church but are feeling unwell or experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home. If you are unable or uncomfortable with coming to the service, this is an honorable reason of an absence. We would invite you to contact Father who will be happy to work with you on any needs you may have. We are excited and hope to see you soon! Please find a humble offering of our Parish Choir. Christ is Risen (Serbian melody in Slavonic) JOHNSTOWN, PA [Diocesan Chancery] - With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Gregory, a booklet entitled “Holy Week From Home” has been created by Frs. William Bennett and Jonathan Bannon as an aid for all of our people who will be celebrating the services at home this year instead of in their churches. This family friendly booklet even has icons at the back that can be cut out and used during the week. All Diocesan families young and old are encouraged to download and print up a copy of this excellent resource for use in their homes.
In obedience to our Bishop , the health authorities and to the weakest among us we must suspend public services for the time being. But this doesnt mean that we have ceased to be the church of Christ in the world.
We have prepared a page that includes information on how to we plan to stay connected during our closure along with resources for living in the desert of our homes. Information about streaming services will be included there as well. Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have a need, want us to pray for you, or just need to talk. All church services are suspended immediately until the end of March. The services scheduled for Friday and Sunday are cancelled, as per the directive from our Metropolitan Gregory, below. There will be no services at St. Silouan Orthodox Church in Toronto until further notice. This decision will be reassessed on March 31st. Urgent Update From Metropolitan Gregory Regarding The Coronavirus or Covid-19 Pandemic March 18, 2020 Protocol No. 8/2020 God is with us! Dear Reverend Clergy and Faithful Laity of the Diocese, I am writing you with a very heavy heart as the Coronavirus pandemic continues to affect all of us here in the United States and around the world. Earlier today the Chief Secretariat the Holy and Sacred Synod following a meeting of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Hierarchs in Constantinople issued a statement concerning the pandemic. The announcement follows below: As this Coronavirus crisis continues to spread and intensify on a global scale, the Ecumenical Patriarchate is monitoring the situation with an urgent sense of responsibility towards the faithful and all people without exception, and, following the Communique of 11 March 2020, upon deliberation of its Hierarchs in the City announces the following:
From the Chief Secretariat of the Holy and Sacred Synod Phanar, 18 March 2020 All parishes of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese are to follow the instructions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. All divine services, events, and rites are to cease for the time being, except that the Churches are to remain open at normal times in order for parishioners to enter and offer their private prayers and maybe light a candle or vigil lamp. If the Priest and/or Parish leadership sees that the number of people is above the local limit, whatever it might be, the people should enter in smaller numbers. If there are any questions please email me or call at the Chancery. Hopefully this situation with our prayers and God’s help will improve quickly. “But the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you: do not be afraid, nor terrified.” (Deut. 31:8) Working in His Vineyard with much love, +METROPOLITAN GREGORY OF NYSSA
From Father Paul Tadros, St. Silouan Parish Priest
As we await updated directives from the Diocese, ministry volunteers, parish council, and myself have agreed to stop all meals and hospitality hours effective immediately. Specifically, until further notice:
In addition, our parish will only be open during services. However, in accordance with provincial directives, no service will exceed the maximum number of 50 persons. This will be controlled through an electronic registration process and a count at the door. Please keep an eye on your emails for an invitation to register. If you have not already done so, please sign up to our email bulletins on our CONTACT US page . Please note that e-registration for liturgy attendance will have to be strictly limited and priority will be given to clergy, servers and choir. In the coming days, parish council will work with myself, and all updated directives from the Diocese to manage how best to be in church while practicing social distancing. Stay tuned. March 12, 2020 Protocol No. 7/2020 God is with us! Dear Reverend Clergy and Faithful Laity of the Diocese, I am writing to you today with a sense of urgency, as we confront the new Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic that is potentially affecting not only our physical and spiritual health but also our way of life in the United States of America. If you have turned on the television, listened to the radio, or followed the announcements on your phones for the last three weeks or so, you would think that the world is coming to an end. Local public and private schools are shutting down for several weeks. Professional sports leagues are suspending their schedules. Colleges and universities are closing down their on campus activities and doing everything on-line for the remainder of the spring semester. Even the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball March Madness Tournaments have been cancelled. What will we do for the next three weeks without our madness? How about going to Church and observing Great Lent in a more meaningful way. Several Priests and lay people have contacted the Chancery and/or me personally asking for some guidance/directives on what to do as we deal with this current health issue. Some have even offered their own suggestions. Various Christian Churches, Roman Catholic and Protestants, have made pronouncements concerning the Coronavirus. Some of the Orthodox jurisdictions here in the United States and others around the world have made pronouncements encouraging their faithful. Here are my thoughts and directives concerning this issue:
“But the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you: do not be afraid, nor be terrified.” (Deut. 31:8) Working in His Vineyard with much love, +METROPOLITAN GREGORY OF NYSSA
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