Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Dormition of the Mother of God Parish in Boian

On the 7th Sunday after Pascha, dedicated to the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian celebrated the Divine Liturgy among the faithful of the historic parish “Dormition of the Mother of God (St. Mary)” in Boian, Alberta, during a pastoral visit to the region that took place between May 29 and June 2. The main purpose of this visit was the blessing of the land where the future Saint Metropolitan Dosoftei Center will be built — a center intended to support and ensure the continuity of the religious, historical, and cultural heritage of the Boian area. Its role will be to assist the mission and religious, cultural, and youth activities in the province of Alberta, as well as in western and central Canada.

Among the clergy who served alongside the hierarch were: Fr. Calin Marincas, Dean of the Western Canada, Fr. Mircea Panciuk, Dean Emeritus, and Fr. Gheorghe Petrovan, parish priest of this church.

In his homily, delivered in English at the end of the service, the Romanian hierarch explained to those present the significance and role of the First Ecumenical Council, as well as the importance of the sense of responsibility assumed by the Holy Fathers who participated in it in fulfilling their duty within the society they lived in — a decision that impacted all future generations. The method for calculating the date of Holy Pascha, Sunday as a day of rest and public worship, and First Ecumenical Council as foundation of our Orthodox faith are just some of the things that have endured for 1,700 years, inherited from St. Constantine the Great and the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.

Furthermore, His Grace Ioan Casian reminded the faithful of the major anniversaries celebrated this year by the Romanian Orthodox Church: 1,700 years since the First Ecumenical Council, 140 years of autocephaly, and 100 years since the elevation of the Romanian Orthodox Church to the rank of Patriarchate.

The hierarch also emphasized the importance of paying attention to the teachings of the Church and Holy Scripture: “The exhortations of St. Paul the Apostle from today’s Epistle are not only valid for the clergy — bishops, priests, deacons — but for each of us who are baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity and have the duty to be witnesses the orthodox faith. The Church does not belong to bishops, priests, deacons, or laypeople, but to Christ. If we do not choose to follow in Christ’s footsteps, then we cannot be sure that we will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as a bishop is entrusted with the care of a diocese by the Holy Synod on behalf of the whole Church, so too, when a bishop entrusts a priest with the responsibility of a parish, it is the whole Synod, the entire Church that entrusts him with this duty. He has to accomplish what the Church has entrusted him to do. (...) If we truly want to understand what the Church means, we must read the Bible, the New Testament, and the lives of the saints of the Church. The Holy Spirit works among us, and we (whether clergy or laypeople) must carry out the mission entrusted to us. The Church was redeemed through the blood of Christ, which is given to us through the work of the Holy Spirit at every Divine Liturgy for eternal life.”

At the end of the service, the hierarch thanked the priests present and the members of the parish for their help in organizing the event in Hairy Hill and congratulated Mr. Clayton Hutscal on the occasion of his birthday, also acknowledging his work and dedication in preserving and promoting the heritage of the first Romanian immigrants from Bukovina who came to the province of Alberta, Canada. Mr. Clayton is serving also as curator of the Romanian Pioneer Museum in Boian.

(notes by Nun Ana Bulgariu)