Orthodox Christians of various nationalities from the Greater Toronto Area gathered this year in the Greek Orthodox St. Nicholas Church to celebrate the Feast of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of Great Lent.
His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios of Toronto performed the Holy Liturgy that was attended by more than thirty priests, one deacon and dozens of altar boys. The wonderful St. Nicholas Church choir sang hymns along with the chanters.
Priests and members of the Orthodox community performed a procession, carrying the saints’ icons to commemorate the great triumph of Orthodoxy against heresy.
The Orthodox Vesper was attended by significant people, mainly from Orthodox countries, such as the Ambassador of Serbia Mihailo Papazoglu, the Consul General of Serbia Spasoje Milicevic, the Consul General of Greece Alexandros Ioannidis, the Consul General of Cyprus Constantinos Christofides and hundreds of believers of various Orthodox nationalities.
In his speech, Metropolitan Sotirios stressed how important it is for people to preserve their Christian Orthodox faith and religious traditions in today’s society. “When we are close to Christ, we become confessors of Orthodoxy during these difficult times,” he said.
After the Vesper, which was performed in many languages, St. Nicholas community offered free Lenten meal to everyone present at the Metropolitan Centre, which is adjacent to the church.
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