Boian between past and future

- visit of HG Bishop Bishop Ioan Casian –

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday June 12, 13 and 14, the Romanian hierarch of Canada His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian visited the province of Alberta. The hierarch visited the historical parish in Boian. The visit was made in the context of the recent fire that the church suffered on Tuesday, June 6.

Dormition of the Mother of God Parish is the oldest church in the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. Boian is the place where the first Romanian immigrants from Bucovina and Ukraine came. It is the place where they built a house for God and then they built their own house. It is the place where they worked the land by clearing it first.

The fire consumed the church completely. It was probably caused by an electrical short-circuit that then spread to the entire building. Although believers like Mr. David Bezovie - president of the Parish Council - and other people close to him noticed this incident, it was too late when they arrived to be stopped. All those who participated trying to limit the fire and the damage spent two days at the site to succeed with the firefighters in stopping the fire.

On Sunday, June 11, although the situation was sad, the community celebrated the retirement of Rev. Mircea Panciuk - parish priest and archpriest after 54 years of pastoral work there.

On Sunday evening, HG Bishop Ioan Casian, Rev. Fr. Mircea Panciuk and Rev. Fr. Gheorghe Ioan Petrovan went to Boian to meet with the affected community to ascertain the situation and see the perspectives of the next steps to be taken together. After visiting the site and the hearing of the description of the fire situation by the president of the Parish Council, Mr. David Bezovie, several members of the Parish Council and of the community present moved to the social hall at the bottom of the hill, where an ad hoc meeting was held to discuss about the next steps to be taken. Until the clean-up of the site for future works starts, the results of the investigations into the source of the fire and the health of the materials used for the construction are still awaited.

The most extraordinary feeling was when the community expressed their desire and determination to rebuild the church for future generations. The burnt church meant the fruit of the work of previous generations. Now "it's the moment of our generation" you could guess on the faces and in the eyes of those present. Moreover, the motto they will have on the banner they will display on the protective premises of the burnt church is: We will rebuild. The thoughts of all were saying: it is our generation's time. We have thus far enjoyed the work of the generation or generations of pioneers before us. Now is the moment of our generation. It is time for us to build a fortress of faith - a new church - which will contribute to the strengthening of our faith.

Various proposals and ideas were discussed, and it was decided that all of them should gradually be put on paper and organized and structured in such a way that when the work will have to start, the steps that will have to be taken will be known very well and clearly. Everyone present spoke and helped with their skill, word and opinion to clarify some of the first steps for strategizing the next steps.

The next day around 5:00 pm, the faithful gathered together with HG Bishop Ioan Casian and Fr. Mircea Panciuk - archpriest to pray the Akathist of the Mother of God protector of the place and pronounce the rain-bringing prayers near the site of the burnt church.

Before departing, the hierarch encouraged those present, talked about the possibilities of help that will be tried and expressed his desire to keep in touch with the believers in Boian to see how things could evolve further.