 “I swear it has never been this cold before,” Fr. Paul said many times, as a surprisingly large group gathered in the lee of the Woodbine Beach Bathing Station to bless the waters of Lake of Ontario. A little bit earlier we had celebrated the liturgy in the church and although cold and blustery when we stepped out of our basement in Regent Park, we hadn't anticipated the gales that greeted us at Woodbine Beach. In hindsight, we should have picked a more sheltered spot, but the café’s proximity for a warm-up after the blessing was the deciding factor. In his homily that morning in the church, Father Paul told us that early Christians in Egypt would celebrate Theophany on the Nile. Tens of thousands of believers would line the hundreds of kilometers of the of the river on either side, to celebrate at the same time. After their conquest of Egypt, the Muslim Caliphate put an end to the practice, as it inspired many to convert to Christianity.  With nary a palm or crocodile in sight, Lake Ontario reminding no one of the Nile, nonetheless, the icy wind whipped up a sandstorm worthy of Egypt. When we finally left our shelter for the water’s edge, the skies did not part, the winds did not abate, but with reckless belief, foolish faith, we trekked the long trek (really a few hundred meters but it certainly felt a lot longer) to the waters. In March of the Penguin fashion, we huddled around Father Paul and Deacon Michael, to create a shifting, barely sheltering wind break. Nonetheless, the clergy almost lost the service book, while the troparion valiantly, barely, rose-up over the roar of surf. Rogue waves soaked all feet; Father Paul -- tangled in his vestments and the string attached to the cross -- almost tipped, to take a dip, in the angry drink; children delighted in the adventure of it all as a few bemused dog walkers and ecstatic labs looked on from a sensible distance. With the waters of Lake Ontario blessed, we hurriedly headed back to the café and promises of hot chocolate. “I swear it has never been anywhere near, this cold before..." Reader Maurice and Deacon Michael bantered versions of Psalm 93:4: “…Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!” Mighty, indeed.  Thank you to everyone for supporting our church. These first few years of striving to establish ourselves as an Orthodox Christian mission in downtown Toronto was an exciting but extremely challenging time. It is hard to believe that 2023 was our first full year of services, not limited by public health closures or relocation! Also worth noting was that the Canada Revenue Agency recognized our charitable status in April. Hence, we launched our first Christmas appeal, hoping to retire any debts remaining from the pandemic period and put us in a sound financial position for 2024. Thanks to the generosity of so many, our appeal has been a tremendous success!  Renovating in 2019. Without you, this would not have been possibleIt’s easy to forget that in 2019 we moved not once but twice! We searched for new premises, transferred our properties, incorporated, and redefined our position within the diocese. Finally, with the considered and invaluable contributions of the entire community, we carefully formulated a constitution and bylaws that reflected our aspirations. In April 2019, by the grace of God, we stepped foot into a big wide parish hall in St. Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Cathedral, and we set out to turn it into a church that could accommodate our mission. With the help of so many hands a basement hall was transformed into a place of mission: where we could cook, feed, teach, meet, worship and build and nurture an Orthodox church life. This meant not just services on Sundays, but also community outreach with open meals, catechesis, talks and other special community events and the Phos Sunday school program for children. We were a nebulous entity, a parish with no home, but with all our community’s hard work and tireless dedication, in a hectic few months, we took root as a church. And then there was COVID…. A Mission Renewed with Passion and VigourFrom 2020 to well into 2022 we postponed, scaled back, adapted and readapted. But as restrictions lifted, the community regrouped and we rededicated ourselves, with passion and vigour, to engage with our mission to build a full Orthodox church life in central Toronto. In January 2023, with a few posters we re-launched our Monday Community Hub nights which includes a free evening meal, homework help for children and a knitting circle. In less than a year, it has grown from 5-10 guests, to 40-50 and more a night. Not long ago, our quieter Wednesday evening services saw just two or three gathered but now regularly 15 or more people come, including those who first visited our church on Mondays. Catechesis is also on Wednesday evenings before the liturgy. Phos (our Sunday school program) now has 2 classes with over a dozen children. Beginning during the pandemic, a team of volunteers has been painting icons to continue the beautification of our church. We have celebrated marriages, ordinations, baptism of children and adults (a beautiful wood baptismal font was designed and built specifically to accommodate adults) and the welcoming of catechumens into the church. We have also accompanied dear brothers and sisters through illness, trials, tragedies, and death. For some, our parish was their family and otherwise these individuals would have faced their final days, alone. Looking out at the congregation on a Sunday you see so many cultures -- not just those that are historically associated with Orthodox Christianity. New arrivals and multi-generational Canadians; young adults, families, seniors and people living all manner of economic realities… in short what you see on any given Sunday is an Orthodox congregation that truly looks like Toronto. So many of our endeavours, from food for the Monday meals, to materials for Phos, to yarn for the Knitting Circle, are directly supported by these parishioners, without submitting receipts to seek reimbursement. We are extremely grateful for these many acts and gifts that give sinew and breath to our church and connect us as a community. With you, we can continue and do more
We had a goal to raise an additional $10,000 before the end of 2023. It is with tremendous gratitude that we can confirm that in just a few weeks, we more than doubled our goal. The donations, energy, efforts, and prayers when there was no certainty we’d survive another year, were deep acts of faith in our church. Thanks to the hard work of our community and the support of our friends near and far, we have not only survived but thrived and have much to look forward to in 2024! Thank you again and all the blessings of the Christmas season to you and all those you love. Fr. Paul Tadros Parish Priest Bogdan Pospielovsky Board Chair  We are delighted to invite our community to our annual St. Nicholas Day! All are welcome to join in on the festivities of this exciting feast! WHEN? Saturday, December 16th Festivities begin at 4pm Vespers at 6pm WHEN? In the church, of course: St. Silouan Orthodox Church! Featuring:
• A pageant of the nativity of our Lord • Caroling by our little ones • A visit from an obscure and holy 4th century bishop who bears gifts • Snacks,hot apple cider, and more! Please RSVP if you are bringing children so we can let St. Nicholas know ASAP! Contact Suzi ([email protected]) or Vanessa ([email protected]). Bringing food to share is encouraged! (Advent fast friendly if possible) This year marked our fifth Parish Slava since the re-founding of our beautiful community. To celebrate this milestone, with the leadership of Theda, Kathy, Anna and Alexei it seemed like the entire parish community helped put together our best parish Slava ever! The celebration really began Saturday evening with Vespers and artoklasia. We were honoured to be joined by Fr. Policarp of Holy Cross Romanian Orthodox Monastery in Mono Ontario. On Sunday, we were blessed with a lovely sunny day. We did have a back up plan: Sts. Cyril and Methody Cathedral had kindly offered their hall in case of rain. But other than a minor plague of hungry but ultimately harmless bees, the park was as much a delight for the adults as it was for the children. The herculean effort of organizing, cleaning, cooking, donating, setting up, and cleaning seemed almost effortless because of the many hands that participated in the celebration. A big thank you to the servants known to God who welcomed the many strangers from the highways and byways of Regent Park to join us. It was tremendously heartwarming to see our community joined by so many visitors. May the Lord continue to bless and multiply our simple offerings, just as He once blessed the five loaves and two fish. Blessed and happy feast of our patron, St. Silouan the Athonite to all and everyone! Vespers: Saturday, September 23 & Orthros Divine Liturgy and Parish Slava: Sunday, September 24 This year marks our fifth Parish Slava since the re-founding of our beautiful community. To celebrate this milestone, we want to put together our best parish slava ever! Several committees of the Ministry Council are arranging preparations to bring things together and make the celebration extra special. Rain or shine, if the weather cooperates then we’ll be outside. But with kind support of St. Cyril and St. Methody Cathedral, we’re covered if it doesn’t. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for volunteers for both food and clean-up. Friends and family of St. Silouan are enthusiastically invited to come and celebrate the feast with us. Let's revel in the joy of our Holy Father's feast day. How many prayers and petitions have been laid before St. Silouan for the needs of individuals and our parish family as a whole? Too many, and our Holy Father has remained faithful throughout. Let's come and show our gratitude for this undeserved bounty!  Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! Хрїстóсъ воскрéсе! Воистину воскресе! Hristos a înviat! Adevărat a înviat! !المسيح قام! حقا قام Kristus nousi kuolleista! Totisesti nousi! Si Kristo ay nabuhay! Siya nga ay nabuhay! 基督復活了 他確實復活了 ⲠⲓⲬⲣⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ ⲁϥⲧⲱⲛϥ! Ϧⲉⲛ ⲟⲩⲙⲉⲑⲙⲏⲓ ⲁϥⲧⲱⲛϥ! Some photos from our journey Good Friday to Pascha. Many years to the newly illumined Annete and Timothy!  We were blessed with a beautiful crisp sunny Palm Sunday to begin Holy Week 2023.  One of our younger parishioners, carried by youthful zeal, no doubt, missed the right turn but his brother convinced him not to proceed to process around the block by himself.   There are services every day this week. Even if you have waited till the 11th hour, please join us and don’t miss out on this beautiful journey of faith. Orthodox Christianity curious? This is an opportunity for you to slow down, quiet your world and get a taste of our rich liturgical life. Check out the calendar or download our full schedule here.  We were delighted and grateful that Father Ephraim was able to join us for Sunday liturgy and talk on April 2nd. As it so happens Father Paul fell ill, (he’s fully recovered, since, by the way), so we were fortunate that Fr. Ephraim was able to step in and serve the liturgy too! After, Father Ephraim gave a talk on the subject of the sacrament of confession. So generous, with his time, Father Ephraim fielded a variety of questions from the profound to the practical. Such as preparing for confession, balancing forgiveness with self-care with those who have abused you, to how to fast before the communion. In his answers Father Ephraim mixed a rich knowledge of the history and traditions of various Orthodox churches and deep and loving insight in how we can live in faith today. A profound thank you to Father Ephraim for visiting us. We so look forward to many more visits in the future.  We invite you to join us for Holy Week as we walk with our Lord to his Passion to witness Christ's resurrection and the celebration of Pascha (Easter).
We welcome all to join us in our journey towards renewal, forgiveness, and hope; to come and experience the transformative power of Christ's love through the Holy Week services in our Orthodox Mission Church. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AS A PDF Raising of Lazarus Matins and Liturgy Saturday, April 8 8:30am-11:00am Palm Sunday Sunday, April 9 9:00am Matins 10 am -12 pm Divine Liturgy Bridegroom Matins Sunday, April 9 7:00pm-8:30pm Bridegroom Matins Monday, April 10 7:00pm-8:30pm Bridegroom Matins Tuesday, April 11 7:00pm-8:30pm Holy Unction Wednesday, April 12 6:30pm Vesperal Liturgy of St Basil's for the Last Supper Thursday, April 13 4:00pm 12 Gospels (Passion Matins) Thursday, April 13 6:30pm Royal Hours Friday, April 14 9:00am – 11:00am Crucifixion Vespers Friday, April 14 3:00pm - 4:15pm Burial Service for Christ (Jerusalem Matins) Friday, April 14 6:30pm - 11pm Holy Saturday Vesperal Liturgy of St Basil Saturday, April 15 1:00pm -4:00pm PASCHA: Midnight Office, Matins and Divine Liturgy(Agape meal following) Saturday, April 15 10:00pm - 2:30am  This Sunday, April 2nd, we will be blessed by a visit of Father Ephraim, the spiritual father of St. Nilus Skete in Alaska. He will join us for Divine Liturgy and our Agape meal, then host a discussion afterward.
Father Ephraim became a monk on the Holy Mountain in Greece, and he was the cell-attendant of Elder Ephraim in Arizona for 20 years. Come join us for liturgy and meet Papa Ephraim! |
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