Welcome
The Church’s doors are open to everyone. Anyone may come and pray with us, celebrate with us, and participate in our parish family’s events and activities.
First-time visitors are welcome to come for any of the services listed on the church calendar and are invited to contact Fr. Christopher if they have any questions before or after services.
9th Wednesday After Pentecost
Abstain from meat, fish, dairy, eggs, wine, olive oil
Saints
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Martyr Callinicus of Gangra in Asia Minor
The Holy Martyr Callinicus, a native of Cilicia, was raised from childhood in the Christian Faith. Grieving that many misguided people would perish for eternity because they worshiped idols, he went through the cities and villages to proclaim Jesus Christ and His teachings to the pagans, and with…
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Venerable Constantine and Cosmas, Abbots of Kosinsk
Saints Constantine and Cosmas were monastic followers of Saint Barlaam of Khutyn (November 6) and his successor, Saint Anthony of Dymsk (January 17). About the year 1220, they left the Khutyn monastery and settled upon a wilderness peninsula, situated 3 versts from the city of Staraya Rus, between…
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Virgin Martyr Seraphima (Serapia) of Antioch
The Holy Virgin Martyr Seraphima, a native of Antioch, lived in Rome in the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138). She resided with Sabina, a woman from a prominent senatorial family, whom the saint had converted to Christianity. During the persecution against Christians ordered by the Emperor, the…
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Martyr Theodota and her three sons in Bithynia
The Holy martyr Theodota and her three young children lived during the reign of the emperor Diocletian (284-305). She was a Christian, a native of the city of Nicea, Bithynia. After being widowed, Saint Theodota led a pious life and raised her sons in the Christian Faith. She had a spiritual…
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Martyr Eustathius of Mtskheta in Georgia
Saint Eustathius, a Persian by descent, was a fire-worshipper named Gvirobandak prior to his baptism into the Christian Faith. When he arrived in Georgia and settled in Mtskheta, he was deeply drawn to the morals and traditions of the Georgian people, and he resolved to convert to Christianity.…
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Martyr Bessarion, Bishop of Smolyan
No information available at this time.
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Child Schemamonk Bogolep
The Child Schemamonk Bogolep was the son of a Moscow nobleman Iakov Lukich Ushakov and his wife Katherine. He was born in 1660 at Moscow. At Baptism they gave him the name Boris, in honor of the holy Passion-Bearer Boris (July 24). Ushakov was appointed voevoda (military-commander) in the city of…
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Saint Roman of Kirzhachsk
Saint Roman of Kirzhachsk was a co-ascetic and student of Saint Sergius, Igumen of Radonezh (September 25 and July 5). Saints Sergius and Roman built a church in the forests of Vladimir governia at the River Kirzhach in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, and established a new…
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Martyr Michael “the Black-Robed” of Saint Savva Monastery
The Venerable Michael lived in the ninth century, and was from the city of Edessa in Mesopotamia, the son of Christian parents. After their death he distributed his inheritance to the poor, then went to Jerusalem to venerate the Holy Places. The Holy Land at that time was under Moslem rule.…
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Nativity of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
On July 29, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Nativity of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Bishop of Myra in Lycia, who is one of the most revered saints in Russia. In addition to the two main holidays dedicated to Saint Nicholas, celebrated on December 6 (the saint's blessed repose)…
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Martyr Michael
The Hosiomartyr Michael, a disciple of Saint Theodore of Edessa (July 9), was beheaded during the ninth century for his confession of faith in Christ. His memory is celebrated also on May 23.
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Emperor Theodosios the Younger
The Emperor Theodosios II began his reign in the year 408 at the age of seven, succeeding his father, Arkadios. He was called “the younger” in order to distinguish him from his grandfather Theodosios the Great. His sister Pulcheria instructed him in Christian piety, and so he had a…
Readings
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ST. PAUL'S FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS 13:4-13; 14:1-5
Brethren, love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, he who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some one interprets, so that the church may be edified. -
MATTHEW 20:1-16
The Lord said this parable, "The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or is your eye evil because I am good?' So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen."
The Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church (often called The Eastern Orthodox Church) is the earliest Christian Church, the Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and described in the pages of the New Testament. Her history can be traced in unbroken continuity all the way back to Christ and His Twelve Apostles. For twenty centuries, she has continued in her undiminished and unaltered faith and practice. Today her apostolic doctrine, worship and structure remain intact.
Read the "Discover Orthodox Christianity" section on the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese webpage, and the Nicene Creed, to learn more about Orthodoxy.
Address & Services
Our services are currently being held at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, 300 Simeon St., Kitchener.
What To Expect
Visitors will notice that the congregation actively participates in services by crossing themselves, standing, bowing, kneeling, reciting traditional prayers together, and singing. Don’t be intimidated – no one expects you to know what these acts and symbols mean or when you should do them. There are spiral-bound service books in the hallway (the narthex) leading into the main part of the church (the nave) that will guide you through the service.
Regular Services
Sunday
Divine Liturgy 11 a.m.
Saturday
Vigil 6 p.m.
Get In Touch
Send us a message or reach out to us directly.
Contact
Father Christopher Rigden-Briscall, Pastor
Phone: 519-807-2986
"This, then, is the aim of the Liturgy: that we should return to the world with the doors of our perceptions cleansed. We should return to the world after the Liturgy, seeing Christ in every human person, especially in those who suffer. In the words of Father Alexander Schmemann, the Christian is the one who wherever he or she looks, everywhere sees Christ and rejoices in Him. We are to go out, then, from the Liturgy and see Christ everywhere."