The Great Canon Service at the Episcopal Cathedral in Saint-Hubert

On Monday evening, at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Great Martyr George and Sts. Epictetus and Astion in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Canada, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian celebrated the Service of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, a profoundly special service during this period of Great Lent. Concelebrating with the hierarch was Protos. Maxim Morariu. This year, the service was exceptionally moved to Monday evening due to the Feast of the Annunciation, which will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 25.

At the end of the service, the Romanian hierarch shared a few spiritually edifying reflections with those present about the importance of fasting and the spiritual journey toward the Resurrection of the Lord.

Speaking about the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, the hierarch explained that it is “a dialogue of the human soul with God”—a dialogue that does not follow each person’s imagination, but rather the luminous thread of revelation contained in the Holy Scriptures.

The hierarch emphasized that the references of the Canon extend from the examples of the righteous and the prophets of the Old Testament to the deeds of the Savior and the saints of the New Testament. “If we wish to make a sincere examination of our lives, we must view them through the light of the Word of God, through the inspired books that preserve the true history of humanity and reveal both its falls and its moments of rising and divine help,” the hierarch said.

The Church offers us, he added, “biblical lenses” through which we can learn to see our lives as they truly are from God’s perspective, discovering that our purpose can be fulfilled only through drawing near to Him. Thus, the Great Canon becomes both a personal prayer and one embraced by the entire community of the faithful—a prayer that unites the whole history of salvation.

“We find within ourselves all those mentioned in Holy Scripture,” said the Bishop of Canada. “We inherit the entire history of humanity, with its weaknesses and its power to believe. The Canon contemplates our own falls through the falls of those before us, and through the saints of our generation we can bear the weaknesses and disbelief of our times.”

As an example of holiness close to us, the hierarch mentioned the 16 male saints and 16 female saints canonized in the past two years, who, although they lived in societies lacking faith, firmly confessed their belief amid the storms of history.

“We have already passed the midpoint of the Great Lent, and the joy of the Annunciation enlightens our souls. The Akathist Hymn of the Annunciation is a foretelling of the Resurrection of the Lord, for through the conception of the Savior we see the beginning of the work of our salvation,” the Romanian hierarch added, encouraging the faithful to live this period with hope, trust, and prayer.

Concluding the evening of prayer, the faithful returned to their homes with their hearts turned toward God, carrying within them the conviction that each service of Great Lent brings them ever closer to the full joy of the Resurrection of the Lord.

(notes by Nun Ana Bulgariu)