St. John the Divine Orthodox Church
Archdiocese of Canada -- Orthodox Church in America
1094 Drouillard Road, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
ST. NICHOLAS SUNDAY

St. Nicholas Sunday - 12/06/2015

In honour of the feast day of St. Nicholas the children of St. John the Divine recieved special gifts.

Fr. Constantine related to them the story of St. Nicholas and the importance of giving to the poor.

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DECORATING OUR CHURCH FOR THE NATIVITY

DECORATING THE CHURCH - 11/28/2015

The parishoners of St. John the Divine spent Saturday afternoon cleaning and decorating the church for the Nativity of our Lord.

Take a look at their results!

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CHRISMATION OF ESTHER

ESTHER'S CHRISMATION - 11/28/2015

On Sat. Nov. 28 Esther joined our church family through her Chrismation. Peggy was her sponser.

May she continue her journey into Orthodoxy.

Axia

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CELEBRATING ESTHER'S CHRISMATION

celebration - 11/28/2015

After the cleaning and decorating of our church, vesper service  and Esther's Chrismation, it was time to relax, and clelebrate.

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SAMARITAN'S PURSE

OPERATION SHOE BOX - 11/15/2015

Once again the faithful at St. John the Divine brought joy to needy 3rd world children through their act of kndness and generosity. For some children this will be the first present they have ever received! A small blessing for us to give a large blessing to those receiving. Thank you all who have contributed and made this year's donation a record one, filling  over 140 boxes!

 

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THE BAPTISM OF HAILEY ELISABETH ROSE

The Baptism and Chrismation of Hailey Elisabeth Rose - 11/07/2015

On Saturday, November 7, 2015, amongst family, church and personal friends, our dear little Hailey became the Newly-Illumined, with the Sacraments of Baptism, Chrismation, and on the following morning, Holy Communion.

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100th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEKEND

VESPERS - 09/25/2015

The weekend of September 25th and 26th, 2015 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the community of St. John the Divine.

His Eminence, Archbishop Irénée of Ottawa and Canada presided at the celebration of Great Vespers on Friday evening and the Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning.  Concelebrating were Priest Constantine Katsilas, Rector; Mitred Archpriest Anatoliy Melnyk of Montréal, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Canada, who attended with his Matushka Iryna; Deacon Nicolas P. Svetlovsky of Saint Seraphim Church, Rawdon, QC; and area clergy representing various jurisdictions.

The weekend began with Great Vespers on Friday evening.  

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100th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEKEND

Hierarchical Divine Liturgy - 09/26/2015

His Eminence, Archbishop Irénée of Ottawa and Canada presided at the celebration of Great Vespers on Friday evening and the Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning.  Concelebrating were Priest Constantine Katsilas, Rector; Mitred Archpriest Anatoliy Melnyk of Montréal, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Canada, who attended with his Matushka Iryna; Deacon Nicolas P. Svetlovsky of Saint Seraphim Church, Rawdon, QC; and area clergy representing various jurisdictions.

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100th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEKEND

The Procession - 09/26/2015

Following Divine Liturgy, the clergy and faithful proceeded around the church.   We celebrated our past and prayed for our future.

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100th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEKEND

Awards and Celebrations - 09/26/2015

After the procession, we returned into the temple.

Vldyka IRÉNÉE did a memorial blessing to remember our founders, and awarded a Gramata to each of our long-time faithful.   Nayda, John, Love, and Mary were all baptized at St. John the Divine as infants and continue to live out their faith as members of our community.

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A new catechumen-Esther Jean

A new Catechumen-Esther Jean - 09/06/2015

It was with great joy that we officially welcomed Esther Jean into our church family. Peggy Reimer was her sponsor.

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NEW FLOOR

NEW FLOOR

After much deliberation and planning the new floor for the altar  was finally installed, A big thank you to John Jacobs for doing the installation.

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Fr. Constantine's Youngest Helpers
2015 Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School/Aug 4-8 - 08/03/2015

This years theme for Vacation Bible School  was angels.The children learned about the different orders of the angels, through activities, crafts, songs, lessons and even snacks. Take a look and see the fun they had!

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Hailey's Churching

Hailey's Churching - 06/28/2015

It was a great joy for St. John's to welcome Maddie & introduce her new daughter Haily into our community for her 40 day blessing.

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Then & Now
Fr. and Giovanni (circa 2008)
Fr. and Giovanni (circa 2008)
Fr. and Giovanni (circa 2008)
Fr. and Giovanni (June 2015)
Fr. and Giovanni (June 2015)
Fr. and Giovanni (June 2015)
The Churching and 40 Day Blessing of Katie and Zoe

Katie Returns to Church after the Birth of her Daughter, Zoe - 05/31/2015

It was with great joy that Katie returned to church after the birth of her & Zak's daughter, Zoe.   Zoe was born on April 18, 2015.   The family felt it was a special blessing for Zoe & Katie to have their Churching on the Feast of Pentecost.   All were happy to meet Baby Zoe, and to have Katie with them at church once more.

 

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PENTECOST 2015

Celebrating the Feast of Pentecost at St. John the Divine - 05/31/2015

The Feast of Pentecost is such a happy feast for Christianity --- it is the Birthday of the Church.    At. St. John the Divine, we did the Kneeling Prayers of Pentecost, asking for foregiveness.   We also prayed for the Holy Spirit to be present in our lives, offering us guidance.

Kneeling Prayers were followed by the Churching and 40 Day Blessing of the Mother and Child, Katie and Zoe.   Many years!

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Holy Week 2015

Pictures from Great and Holy Saturday - 04/11/2015

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Holy Week 2015

Great and Holy Friday Evening - 04/10/2015

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Holy Week 2015

Decorating the Funeral Bier - 04/10/2015

Arriving early, before Holy Friday Services, our own group of Myrrh-Bearing Women decorated the Funeral Bier which would later carry the Epitaphion, the Body of Christ.

Many thanks to Flora & Earl, who always bring flowers for decorating.   Also, we are thankful to Windsor Chapel.  They gave us many flower arrangements, left from a recent funeral.  The flowers were beautiful.  We had enough to be able to give a rose to each person who came to worship on Friday night.

Our Martha shared a story.   She said, at home (Greece), early on Good Friday, the boys go throught the town, saying, "Flowers for the Epitaphion."   The people would go into their gardens and cut whatever flowers were in bloom. It made for a very colorful Funeral Bier.

Take a look at our pictures.  Does it remind you of the bier that Martha described?   

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Holy Week 2015

Holy Thursday Evening - 04/09/2015

"We worship thy Passion, O Christ ......."

We continue on our Journey to Pascha with Holy Thursday Evening and the reading of the Twelve Passion Gospels.  This service actually begins the Services of Great & Holy Friday.  We commerate the solemn events of the Passion of Christ.

(As our group-appointed official photographer is in the final days of carrying her first child, she was unable to attend services, and thus, the quality of our photographs show our amatuer efforts.   We try our best!)

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Holy Week 2015

Eggs Is Eggs - 04/09/2015

We have a family joke about a wife & mother who is not so good at cooking eggs. Sunny-Side Up, Over Easy, Scrambled -- they never look the way they do at the restaurant.   But, the diners always say, "Eggs Is Eggs", meaning no matter what they look like, they taste good and were made with love.   And, we all laugh.

When I looked throught these pictures, I thought, "Eggs is eggs."  Why?   Because, obviously, these folks had A LOT of fun making our eggs for Pascha.   Even with the high emotion, many church services, and lots of work that is part of Holy Week, our church family still finds time to laugh and enjoy one another's company.   Eggs is eggs?  Take a look and see what you think.

 

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Holy Week 2015

Holy Wednesday Unction Service - 04/08/2015

"Is any sick among you?  Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."  (James 5:14-15)


The Unction Service, as celebrated on Wednesday of Holy Week, is an ancient service in the Orthodox Church, as recorded in the Epistle of James (5:14-15).  It is a service of healing and foregiveness that becomes a integral part of our lives as we grow in our relationship to God through Jesus Christ.  Seven gospels are read, prayers for healing are said, and finally, we are anointed, praying for healing both physically and spiritually.

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Holy Week 2015

The Bridegroom Service - 04/07/2015

"Behold, the Bridegroom comes at Midnight, and blessed is the servant He finds watching."

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Holy Week 2015

Lazarus Saturday & Palm Sunday - 04/05/2015

We begin our preparation for Holy Week.   Saturday started with Divine Liturgy in celebration of St. Lazarus.  After a pot-luck Lenten lunch, work began.   Cleaning, making palm crosses, and adorning the church for the upcoming week.   On Palm Sunday,  we saw the blessing and disbursement of pussy willows and palms in conjunction with the celebration of Divine Liturgy.   As our parish celebrates people of varying ethnic backgrounds, we use both pussy willows and palms to celebrate, "Hosanna!".  The day finished with a traditional fish dinner for the holiday.

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Pysanky 2015

Making Ukrainian Easter Eggs - 03/25/2015

As is our tradition, on Wednesday evening, March 25, 2015, we did Pysanky, coloring and writing traditional folk designs on eggs.  Twenty-one participants tried their best and increased their knowlege and skill.   Many thanks, to our dear Nayda, who each year teaches us and imparts her knowledge of the craft, honed through years and years of practice.   We also thank Leslie, who also has done Pysanky for years and helped to teach us along with Nayda.   All in all, a wonderful evening was had by all!

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Veneration of the Holy Cross

Veneration of the Holy Cross - 03/15/2015

There is a unique feature to the Cross that we use for this service.  Embedded inside the cross is a sliver of the True Cross.  It was a gift made to Fr. Constantine's grandfather.  The cross now has its home at St. John the Divine.

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Sunday of Orthodoxy

Sunday of Orthodoxy - 03/01/2015

On the first Sunday of Great Lent, we commemorate the "Triumph of Orthodoxy", the restoration of the holy icons in the reign of the holy Empress Theodora. 

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Godparent Sunday

Godparent Sunday - 02/01/2015

On February 1, St. John the Divine held our annual Godparent Sunday.  Godparents and their Godchildren reconfirmed their baptismal vows and received communion together.  

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Installation of the New Icons

Gligor Installs the New Icons - 01/30/2015

A wonderful day for St. John the Divine!   Gligor Stefanov, iconographer and owner of Artsome Iconographic Studio has completed the new icons for our Iconostasis and installs them.

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Holy Theophany -- 2015

Celebrating the Feast of Theophany at St. John the Divine - 01/11/2015

On Sunday, January 11th, we celebrated the Feast of Theophany with the blessing of the waters.

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2015 - Vasilopita

2015 - Vasilopita - 01/04/2015

This age old tradition commenced in the fourth century, when St. Basil the Great, the father of philanthropy, wanted to distribute money to the poor in his Diocese. He commissioned women to bake sweetened bread, in which he arranged to place gold coins.  Thus the family in cutting the bread to nourish themselves were pleasantly surprised to find the coin.

This tradition is very much alive in our Orthodox homes and churches.  The one who finds the coin is considered to be blessed especially for the New Year.

 

This year  one of our youngest parishoners  found the coin.  May God grant her many years!

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40 Day Memorial for Sub-Deacon John (Ray)

We remember our dear Sub-Deacon - 01/04/2015

After Liturgy on Sunday, January 4th, we celebrated a 40 day memorial service for our dear Sub-Deacon John (Ray Reimer).   May His Memory Be Eternal!

 

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