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The Deacon

Message from Father Anthony-Pascha 2023

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Dear and Faithful Orthodox Christians,

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

May the truth of Our Saviour’s victory over Hades, trampling down death by death, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead, be for all of us a wellspring of enlightenment and hope throughout the year ahead.

How blessed we were throughout Holy Week and Pascha to hear together the instructive readings, so many lessons from the holy Gospels, and the prayers and hymns of the Services. And then as we gathered together late in the night in anticipation outside the Church, we heard from the holy Evangelist Mark how the Myrrh-bearing women encountered the Angel in the sepulchre who said to them, ‘Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is Risen; He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him.’ And recall also the words in the Gospel of Matthew: ‘Christ is Risen, He is not here… go quickly and tell His disciples that He is Risen from the dead.’

English Orthodox Services TorontoIn the stillness of the night we chanted together in joy:

“Christ is Risen from the dead, by death hath He trampled down death,
and on those in the graves hath He bestowed life!”

Renewed in spirit and in faith, let us all rejoice and come together each Sunday and Feast day ahead to honour and worship Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I share with you the 2023 Paschal Encyclical of our Metropolitan Gregory, the Locum Tenens of the See of Toronto. I encourage you to read it through several times in the coming days as it outlines for us so clearly the magnificent and wondrous work of salvation wrought by Our Saviour.

To Him be glory and dominion unto the ages! Amen.

Father Anthony

Our Saviour has blessed our 10th Year at Saint Nicholas

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Dear and Faithful Orthodox Christians,

In these final days of the Fast, as we approach the Feast of the Nativity of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, we rejoice together in all the blessings we have received from the Lord over the last twelve months as we celebrated our Ten Year Anniversary of the founding of Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral.

And what a year of blessings it has been for us! Our beloved Metropolitan Gregory, our Father and Elder Isaac, Father Bohdan, and Father Sergey all joined in the Hierarchical celebration of our Ten Year Anniversary, during Great Lent, on the Sunday of the Holy Cross on March 27. In April, our brother Justinian was baptized into the Orthodox Faith and we celebrated together with him and his extended family following the Service. In June, my dear mother Patricia was baptized, and in August, Timothy and his family, Christine and Eva, were baptized the day before the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. During the year, we also received Elias and Peter as members of our Parish and Orthodox family.

We also ensured the improvement of the Cathedral replacing the entire, very large roof, in the fall. Six of our Parishioners joined the Metropolitan on a pilgrimage to the sacred places of Georgia. On that pilgrimage, through a number of donations, we commissioned and received a beautiful enamel Icon of the “Meeting in the Temple” made according to method of medieval Georgia enamel artists. And the Cathedral was further adorned with our Bishop’s throne hand-carved in Greece and received through the generosity of a few parishioners

Our Metropolitan Gregory celebrated with us again in May for the Feast of the Translation of the relics of Saint Nicholas during which he provided to Father Anthony a number of holy relics as most sacred treasures, including a relic of the Holy Chief Apostle Saint Paul. Father Protodeacon George and Father Anthony traveled to the Mother of God Church in Calgary as our brother in the Faith, Subdeacon Antony was ordained Deacon on October 16/29. Axios, Father Deacon Antony!

And just over a week ago, Metropolitan Gregory, Father Isaac, Father Sergey, and Father Deacon Antony served at the Cathedral on Sunday and Monday December 6/19 as we honoured our holy patron on the Feast of Saint Nicholas. We were all very excited as the servant of God, Nektarios, was ordained a Reader just before the Liturgy on Monday morning. All these blessings made our Luncheon together after Liturgy, and our spiritual talk with the Metropolitan even more special.

Strengthened and encouraged by all these blessings, dear Faithful, let us all prepare now to offer our Saviour our love and gratitude at the Feast of His holy Birth. And let us call to mind this wonderful hymn of the Forefeast of the Nativity:

“Behold, the time of our salvation is at hand. Prepare, O cave; the Virgin draweth nigh to give birth. Rejoice and be glad, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, for from thee our Lord is risen up as the sun….for Christ cometh.”

Glory to God for all things!

Father Anthony

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Russel, Manitoba: The Story of its Founder, Father John (Nicholas Dohie)

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“The Lord is my light, and my saviour; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

2010, Father John (Nicholas Dohie) and Father Bohdan

For a number of years a little humble chapel, dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the small town of Russell, Manitoba, existed within the Diocese of the Metropolis of Toronto. Older copies of the Diocesan Pocket Calendars made reference to St. Nicholas Chapel and its warden, Nicholas Dohie.

This, quite simply put, is a short memoir of a that little underground (catacomb-like) chapel, the man who built and prayed in it, where the Divine Services were once celebrated, its closure, and in time, how the faithful were blessed with the establishment of a beautiful cathedral dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The little chapel, like a tiny seed hidden in the ground, appeared to be dormant – forgotten; but by the grace of God, the seed sprouted and blossomed – a quiet marvel.

Who was this man? His name in the world was Nicholas Dohie. He was born on June 8, 1926 to Elias and Magdalena Dohie and raised on a homestead-farm a short distance from St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in the district known as Lenard, Manitoba.

For a good part of his adult life, Nicholas worked at the then, well-known Skinner Nursery and Tree Farm. Nicholas loved trees and knew a great deal about them – he had a profound respect for God’s creation – the land and what was grown in it. Later, he and his family moved and made Russell, Manitoba their home.

2002, in his chapel

As time passed, he and his family made their way through daily life in Russell. But in around 1976, Nicholas found himself quite alone in his desire to keep the “Faith of the Fathers” pure and unchanged. He was grieved by the numerous innovations he readily observed evolving in the local church communities along with changes in the mindset of people. Unpretentious, Nicholas was vocal in his objections to issues such as the Church calendar change, episcopal disregard for the Holy Traditions of the Church, the haphazardly executed translations, and last, but not least, the ever-growing embrace of ecumenism.

In light of these trends, Nicholas separated himself from these ‘church’ communities. Facing isolation and local community ostracizing and condemnation, he remained firm. He no longer, in good conscience, felt he could attend services at the local churches which had been such a great part of his life. (During his lifetime, he served as a Church School teacher, chanter; and out his love and respect for those who reposed, worked tirelessly in restoring and repairing the graveyard Crosses, fencing and maintaining general upkeep of the Romanian Orthodox Church cemeteries (St. John the Baptist, St. Elias the Thesbite and St. George Great Martyr.)

In his youth he would recollect, there were several people who had greatly impressed him. One such individual was an old priest who admonished the people a day would come where a right-believing man would have to travel for days to find the True Church. Amazed at hearing this and not fully understanding his meaning, the then young Nicholas went outdoors and looked around as he could clearly see the domes of St. John and of St. Elias Churches. Nicholas thought to himself, “what is he (the priest) talking about?”. However, in later years, Nicholas would find himself in just such a situation as he heard the old priest warn many years earlier.

The thought of building a home chapel grew and became a reality. His home was small and modest and spare room was non-existent; he therefore decided to dig, pail by pail, an area next to the root cellar in the basement. The room was no more the 8’ by 8’. One entered St. Nicholas Chapel via a sliding door located at the base of stairs. At first glance, your eyes were “treated” to icons and vigil lamps. The walls were painted in shades of blue — the “Voronets” blue predominating. A long counter lined the east and south walls and on the west wide was a couch. Above the couch, were shelves of books. The floor was covered with kilims and little carpets. St. Nicholas Chapel became a ‘must see’ in later years especially by clergy who heard of this wonderful, little gem

Nicholas made candle frames for the beeswax candles he routinely made. Closer to retirement, he enjoyed making icon frames and carving crosses, which he gave away, and was a source of joy for him. He also loved gardening, picking wild fruit/berries and mushrooms.

Father George Monk, Father John (Dohie) and Metropolitan Gregory

Eventually, Nicholas found himself having to leave his home and sanctuary of prayer in his chapel so that by 2010 (at the age of 84) he found himself having to reside in a seniors’ care home. It was just prior to this move he requested I come out to pick up some items of what remained from his little chapel; and at that time, he expressed his hope to be tonsured a monk.

Nicholas’ prayers were answered. He was tonsured and given the name John on April 11/24, 2013 (Sts. Antipas, bishop of Pergamum and Callinicus, Bishop of Rimnicu in Romania).

As a monastic, there was a quiet joy and peace in having (possessing) the knowledge of what was best for himself and his soul. He fell asleep in the Lord on Oct. 30/Nov. 12, 2014, (Holy Martyrs Zenobius and Zenobia), and was buried at the church where he was baptized — St. John the Baptist, Leonard, Manitoba. Throughout his life, Fr. John embodied the virtues of almsgiving, boldness for the True Faith and emulated that of Sts. Elias and John – a voice crying in the wilderness, cautioning and admonishing. Memory eternal.

P.S. Almost from the beginning of our married life, Nicholas (Fr. John in the monastic tonsure) became and continued to be part of our family over these decades. We have much joy and consolation from acknowledging a “link” between this small, humble chapel which closed its doors and in time, the emergence of a cathedral with St. Nicholas the Wonderworker as patron and protector.

There are more recollections/memories we have recorded for our family albums. Our purpose in sharing this small narrative of Fr. John (Nicholas) was intended for the edification of the faithful of St. Nicholas, the archives of the Metropolis of Toronto; and for the keeping in memory eternal of this pious person.

-Father Bohdan
Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Mission
Two Hills, Alberta, Canada

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary at Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral

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Opening Blessing of Water-St. Nicholas Orthodox Church English Language Orthodox Church Services Toronto in EnglishToday with gratitude and joy, we give thanks to Our Saviour as we begin to celebrate our ten year Anniversary of Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral. It was ten years ago, on January 23/February 5 (church/civil) that we served the very first Liturgy at Saint Nicholas after having read the special prayers for the opening of a new Church, blessed with holy water, and served the all-night Vigil on the evening before. That Sunday ten years ago, was also celebrated the Commemoration of all the new Martyrs of Russia which we kept in the Liturgy this morning. Through the intercessions of all the New Martyrs of Russia, we ask Our Saviour to bless our labours in His holy Church and to receive the humble hymns and prayers that we offer to Him.

This hymn from the Service of the Consecration of the Holy Sepulchre is a fitting prayer for us all to say today:

“Thou hast set Thy Church as a tower of strength, O Christ, Thou Word before the ages, for Thou has founded her upon the rock of faith….. Therefore, as we give thanks, we praise Thee with hymns, saying: Thou art He Who before the ages and beyond the ages art yet our King. Glory be to Thee.”

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Scarborough, English Language Orthodox Church Toronto, Orthodox Services in EnglishOver the coming months, we will mark the celebrations with an Anniversary Luncheon, a Molieben Service of Thanksgiving, and also share several brief “Recollections” of inspiring Orthodox faithful and events, that we are sure will provide uplifting reflections on Orthodox piety.

“O Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth. Alleluia.”

The Finding of the Canticle Hymn of St. Xenia of Petersburg

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It is most timely, in memory of our dear Father Rodion of Three Pillars Orthodox Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and the upcoming feast of St Xenia of Petersburg, that we share the story of how Father Rodion obtained the compunctionate hymn of the Canticle of St. Xenia, translated and sung by the nuns of Holy Nativity Convent, Brookline, MA, USA. (it is used with permission and is copyright).