Our Russian Orthodox church is situated in Montreal, one of the oldest cities of the province of Quebec. It is the oldest Orthodox church in the city, and is a parish of the Canadian archdiocese of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). The archdiocese is is one of 13 archdioceses of the OCA and is governed by the Most Reverend Irinée, Bishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada. The primate of the OCA is His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon whose residence is in New York.
The origins of the OCA date back to the Russian Orthodox Mission in Alaska that was established at the end of the XVIII century. The Mission was created with the prayers, tears and labour of the “enlighteners” of America: St. Innocent, metropolitan of Moscow, St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, St. Herman of Alaska, and other holy missionaries.
Until 1970 the church in North America was a part of the Russian Orthodox Church and had the status of a “metropoliya”. In that year the church received from the Moscow Pariarchate the gift of a “tomos” (deed) in which it is stated that the church has the maturity and strength to exist henceforth separately from the Moscow Patriarchate, as its “sister-church” rather than a “daughter-church”. Thus the Metropoliya became a “church” headed by a Metropolitan and the Holy Synod.
The OCA, as all National Orthodox Churches, consists of archdioceses that are governed by a bishop, which in turn are separated into parishes with priests as rectors. It has over 700 parishes in Canada, USA, Mexico, South America and Australia, that belong to one of 13 archdioceses, as well as 5 monasteries and 3 seminaries. Its official organ is the newspaper “Orthodox Church”. The over one million parishioners of the OCA represent many ethnic groups. The Church is governed by the “catholic” rules established by St Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, when he headed the Russian Orthodox Mission in North America in the years 1898-1907.
We always welcome new parishioners.
Read also about the history of our church:
Parish Life. By Olga Lawes Melikoff (2007)