Assyrian Patriarch Visits Canada

Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV (Khananya) of the Assyrian Church of the East has begun a pastoral visit to the Church of the East in Toronto, concelebrating the Divine Liturgy at the city's Cathedral of St. Mary with Bishop Mar Ammanuel (Yosip) of Toronto and afterwards exhorting the cathedral's parishioners to remain strong in their faith and their Assyrian culture. Patriarch Mar Dinkha will also be visiting several other Assyrian parishes in Ontario while in Canada. More here.

"Growth and Attendance in Orthodox Parishes in Canada"

An interesting survey of the state of the Orthodox Churches in Canada by Fr. Geoffrey Korz, rector of All Saints of North America Church in Hamilton, Ontario, has been posted here. Hat tip to Byzantine Texas for posting this first!

UOCC Priest Charged in Alberta Work Scam

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada has removed Fr. John Lipinski from his duties at two parishes northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, after his charging by Canadian police for his involvement in a scam that lured foreign workers to Alberta with false promises of work and fake student visas. The scam netted its organizers more than $1 million in profits. More here.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Endorses Ottawa Shevchenko Monument

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada has issued an appeal to its clergy and faithful to financially support the erection of a monument to renowned Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in the Canadian capital. The Shevchenko Monument is to be unveiled this summer in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Ukraine's independence from the USSR, the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Canada, and the 150th anniversary of Shevchenko's death.

Construction of the Shevchenko Monument, which is to be situated on the grounds of Ottawa's Ukrainian Catholic shrine Church of St. John the Baptist (pictured with what with Monument), is already underway and should be completed by June. More here. The official website for the project as a whoel can be found here.

Canadian Conference of Orthodox Bishops Meets in Toronto

This past Monday the members of the Canadian Conference of Orthodox Bishops met in Toronto, Ontario, to discuss the life of the Local Orthodox Churches present in Canada and the status of the Canadian Orthodox appeal to have a separate Episcopal Assembly of Canada established as part of the Chambesy process. Hierarchs of the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America (which has one mission in Canada), the American Orthodox Church (OCA), the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto, the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Two Americas, the synodal Russian Orthodox Eparchy of Montreal, the patriarchal Russian Orthodox exarchate in Canada, the Serbian Orthodox Church in Canada, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada participated in the meeting. More here.

"No Longer a Prisoner in Tehran"

An interesting article about Russian-Canadian Marina Nemat, her books about life in post-revolutionary Iran, and her experiences since then can be found here.

Al Qaeda-Affiliated Website Threatens Copts

An Al Qaeda-affiliated website has listed the names of more than a hundred Coptic Orthodox Christians in Canada, together with their addresses and phone numbers, whom it claims have sought to convert Muslims to Orthodoxy. On the website's forum participants spoke of forcing those named to 'return to Islam' (a foreign faith to Egypt and especially to its native Copts) and of beheading them if they refused to do so.

Nearly a hundred other Copts living in other parts of the world were also listed on the website. Copts living in Canada said they had no one to fear save God and have already begun talking with the Canadian police, but also stated that they were concerned for those Copts named on the website who live in Egypt, where the government's commitment to their security is nominal at best. More here.

Pictured is a Coptic Orthodox church in Canada.

Vladyka Seraphim Charged

I don't like to post on scandals, especially ones that have yet to be proven true or untrue, but I do ask your prayers for Archbishop Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa of the American Orthodox Church's Diocese of Canada as the sexual assault charges against him prepare to go to court.

I don't know whether the allegations are true or false, but I do know that it's difficult to hear them against a man who is so widely loved and respected. On the other hand, if the allegations are true, then it must be so hard to be the poor men who've brought these charges against him so long after what they claim to have happened :-(. God be with Vladyka Seraphim and his accusers in all of this! Kyrie eleison...