The Russian Orthodox Church in Canada has been a strong presence in Toronto since the late nineteenth century. It was established in response to the large immigration of Russian-speakers to Canada.
The church has a number of services that are held in Church Slavonic. They include Matins and Divine Liturgy. The church also offers a parish school.
The history of the parish
In Toronto, there are a number of Orthodox churches serving the Russian community. These include Saint Tikhon of Moscow Church, located in Wilson Heights (Clanton Park) near Allen Road, north of Highway 401.
Many of these Russian Orthodox churches feature the distinctive domes that are characteristic of the Eastern Orthodox church tradition. These domes can be shaped in different ways, and come in a variety of colors, with imperial purple, gold and green often used.
The Orthodox Church is a steadfast believer in the spirit of ecumenicity and participates in the movement for the restoration of Christian unity with other Churches. This movement, as she sees it, is based on her ecclesiastical consciousness and profound piety towards the Holy Trinity, as well as on her adherence to her historic tradition.
The services
Our parish services reflect a wide range of Orthodox traditions. For instance, we use Church Slavonic for our services.
We also follow the Old Calendar.
The priests and choir of our parish offer several traditional services in Russian.
These include a Sunday Theotokions, sedalions and psaltery readings.
They also sing the Great Doxology, a psalm, and the kathisma (psaltery) to the saint.
As well, there is a children’s choir that performs at the parish altar for feast-days and other events.
Our priests also teach in the Holy Trinity Russian School, which is situated at the monastery in a scenic area near New York City. This school is the highest theological school of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and is attended by students from all over the world, including Russia.
The parish community
Toronto is home to a vibrant community of Orthodox Churches. Not only are there many Russian-speaking parishes in the area (both the Orthodox Church of Canada and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia), but there are also Greek, Serbian, Romanian, Ukrainian and Coptic communities.
The Orthodox church is often the heart of a community and serves as a focal point where people can come together to share in the faith, learn about it, and celebrate its traditions and beauty. For some, it is the only church they have ever known.
The parish was formed by a group of Russian-speaking immigrants who felt that their community would be lost without a Temple served directly by the Moscow Patriarchate. They had experienced great upheavals and difficulties in their lives, and they wanted to maintain a strong connection to their homeland, its culture and its religion. They wanted to preserve their spiritual roots and the faith they had been taught in the Soviet Union.
The parish finances
The parish finances are an important matter. They determine the way in which the church operates and how it conducts its business. It is the responsibility of the parish governing body to ensure that the parish accounts are accurate and well-organized.
The financial situation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Canada is particularly vexing. The diocese’s two major churches in Montreal and Ottawa are suffering from serious financial problems.
As a result, the Church cannot neglect them without risking a crisis of vital importance to the spiritual development of the entire diocese. It is therefore a priority for the diocese to find solutions to this situation.
In order to accomplish this, there is a special group of parish leaders who meet regularly and discuss the parish finances. These people are the Treasurer, the Finance Committee and the Audit Committee. They are responsible for preparing financial reports and verifying them with the governing body. They also collect donations from the community and make sure that they are valid.
