Dormition of the Mother of God Parish in Timmins, ON vested in festive clothes

For the faithful of the Dormition of the Mother of God Parish in the city of Timmins, Ontario, Tuesday and Wednesday, August 15-16, 2023, was an occasion of great spiritual joy, as the church celebrated its protector saint.

The religious manifestations dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God began with the celebration of the Paraklesis of the Blessed Mother of God transmitted virtually because the distances are too great for a priest from another parish to be present.

On the patron day, with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian, the Hieromonk Polycarp Athenagoras was delegated to perform the Paraklesis of the Blessed Mother of God followed on Wednesday, August 16, by the Holy and Divine Liturgy.

During the day, the memorial services were held at the Romanian cemetery in Timmins where priests, chanters, founders, members, benefactors, and all those who rest in this cemetery and in other cemeteries in the city were commemorated. The houses were blessed and the members of the parish who could not travel to the Holy Church to receive the Holy Communion were visited.

In the sermon, the hieromonk Polycarp spoke about the great faith and prayer that the Mother of God had combined with humility and obedience that turned into deeds. That is why God gave her the great gift of being the Mother of God. At the same time, he urged those present to call on our Mother of all who prays with a mother's prayer to her Son and our God in moments of joy but also in trials. He also conveyed the episcopal blessing of the diocesan hierarch, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian.

For the spiritual joy of the faithful, the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God "Abbess" (Gherontissa), brought from the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and St. Ephrem the New Monastery in Mono, and a copy of the icon of the Mother of God from Hawaii were placed for worship at which one can still smell the beautiful scent of myrrh emanating from the original one which visited this monastery.

From His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian, all those present received icons and other spiritual gifts on the patron saint day.

Holy Mother of God, have mercy on us!

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"The Dormition of the Mother of God Parish in Timmins is one of the oldest within the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. It was originally established before the First World War in the mining area of Sudbury (Ontario). The first certified bells were manufactured in 1918. From the beginning, the parish was open to the participation of various ethnic groups of the Orthodox faith: Romanians, Greeks, Syrians, Ukrainians, Serbs, Canadians, etc.). After 1930 the parish moved to the Timmins (Ontario) area where it has remained until today. It is only Orthodox parish in the city of Timmins" https://www.episcopia.ca/index.php/ro/263-preasfintitul-ioan-casian-in-mijlocul-parohiei-adormirea-maicii-donnului-din-timmins-on