Installation of the New Parish Priest at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Montreal

on the Sunday of the Expulsion of Adam from Paradise

On the Sunday of the Expulsion of Adam from Paradise, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada, served amid the faithful of St. John the Baptist and St. Hierarch Calinic of Cernica Cathedral in Montreal, on the occasion of the installation of the new parish priest, Fr. Traian Petre Constantin.

Concelebrating with the hierarch were Fr. Traian Petre Constantin, Fr. George Drăgan, and Deacons Valentin Boțu and Marius Constantin Popa. The liturgical responses were offered by the cathedral’s choral group under the direction of Marius Grosuliac.

In his homily at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the hierarch spoke about the liturgical period in which the Church entered, about fasting, and its importance on the journey toward encountering God.

Referring to the common perception of fasting and the Church’s liturgical invitation to be luminous, the hierarch said:

“Generally, when we think of fasting, we associate it with abstaining from food, with bodily asceticism. It is often linked to a sense of severity, sadness, pain, or darkness. People tend to see fasting as a time of restriction and suffering. However, if you carefully read the liturgical texts of Forgiveness Vespers—which in fact opens the Lenten season—you will discover a surprising invitation: to begin the fast in light. It is a call to light, to joy, to the awareness of God. The sticheron of St. Theodore, sung at Vespers, urges us to undertake the ascetic struggle of both body and soul. But for what purpose? Because through this struggle, which at first glance appears to be a deprivation of things considered natural, one receives in return the gifts of the Spirit. As we reduce material things and increase prayer, we begin to discover another dimension.

Fasting involves the full engagement of the human person. During this period, prayer is intensified; at Matins, three kathismata from the Psalter are read; the services are more frequent and longer. Those who attend church more often, in a certain sense, deprive themselves of time dedicated to personal concerns in order to offer it to God. This is the spiritual dimension of fasting.

At the same time, we are invited to read more from Holy Scripture. At Vespers and at the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, several readings from the Old Testament are appointed. The Word of God penetrates our lives more intensely than during the ordinary time of the liturgical year.”

Continuing, the hierarch spoke of fasting as a spiritual exercise: “If we truly desire to encounter God, we must reduce the ‘thickness’ of the world that has settled over us. We cannot perceive the reality of God without a certain preparation. Just as understanding an artistic movement or becoming a specialist in a field requires training and dedication, so too the spiritual life requires exercise, perseverance, and discipline. Fasting is this exercise.”

Referring to the Gospel reading of the day, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian noted: “The Gospel of this Sunday clearly sets forth our priorities. It begins with the call to forgiveness: ‘For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.’ Forgiveness is the foundation. It restores harmony between us and our neighbor and reflects, as far as humanly possible, the divine harmony of the Holy Trinity.

Fasting is not abolished; the Gospel clearly says: ‘When you fast…’ Therefore, fasting remains. But it must be lived without hypocrisy, without self-praise, without ostentation. Not to show others our asceticism, but to labor in secret, knowing that God sees and rewards in secret.

God does not need our fasting. He is perfect. We need fasting, because through it we are healed, purified, and brought closer to life. The world was created out of love, not necessity. God did not need us, but He desired us in order to make us partakers of His love.

The greatest drama of humanity is death, which entered the world through sin. Christ comes to heal this wound. The dynamic of fasting introduces us precisely into this work of healing.

‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,’ the Gospel says, but in heaven. We are not forbidden from using material goods—we need homes, food, education for our children—but we are called to give them meaning. Not to accumulate out of love for accumulation, but to use our goods in such a way that they help us and those around us grow spiritually. Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.”

In conclusion, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian emphasized that “fasting represents an invitation to an integral way of life: bodily fasting and spiritual fasting, more frequent prayer, forgiveness, almsgiving, introspection. It brings sorrow for sin, but not a depressive sorrow—rather, a life-giving sorrow that opens the heart to repentance and healing.

We live in a society that offers unprecedented entertainment and communication yet experiences high levels of depression. This shows that what the world offers is not the substance of life. True joy comes from the presence of God in our lives.

This is the calling of the liturgical period we are beginning: to enter the fast with light, with the joy that comes from ascetic struggle, with forgiveness and a sincere desire to be healed.”

According to the established tradition at the installation of a new parish priest, the Bishop of Canada entrusted Fr. Traian Petre Constantin with the Gospel Book, the Holy Cross, and the key to the church as symbols of his mission and of the spiritual, pastoral, and administrative responsibility he now bears as shepherd of the community.

The hierach also awarded Mrs. Maria Chișcă the Medal of Merit of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada in recognition of her role alongside Fr. George Chișcă, Protopresbyter Emeritus and founder of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and St. Hierarch Calinic of Cernica, who has reposed in the Lord.

Following the final blessing, a traditional agape meal prepared by the parish Ladies’ Committee took place, followed by the proceedings of the parish General Assembly.

(contribution by Nun Ana Bulagriu)