Feast day of All Saints Parish - Toronto
and the reopening of Churches in Ontario Province
All Saints Parish in Toronto celebrated its feast day on the first Sunday after Pentecost, June 14, 2020. In a very emotional atmosphere, with tears in their eyes, the priest and the faithful celebrated the Divine Liturgy after almost three months in which it was served with maximum five people in attendance.
Although the services were broadcast directly through media platforms, the excitement made by meeting at the place of worship exceeded expectations.
The Parish council took all legal and sanitary measures to receive the faithful in conditions of maximum safety. Everyone's hope was that this would be the first step towards the complete reopening of the churches and that from this situation everyone will emerge strengthened spiritually.
In his sermon, Father Vasile Aileni spoke about the fact that from the history of Christianity it is clear that after suffering hardships, injustices and persecutions, Christians have come out stronger in their faith and thus, through their faith and sacrifice and that of all the saints, faith and truth have reached us.
“All Saints' Sunday this year remains a historic day for our parish, even if we did not manage to celebrate it as in other years, having in our midst His Grace Ioan Casian, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada. This time we partook only in the heavenly mysteries because we were really hungry and thirsty for this divine food. The Christians prayed with great power as if they wanted to recover the Divine Liturgies in which they did not take part” - said Father Vasile.
In conclusion, Father Vasile addressed the faithful an exhortation to patience and prayer, to the observance of the rules in force. He also thanked all those who, during this difficult period, helped and supported the parish and said that the parish will broadcast live the religious services for those who still can not reach the church, due to the reception capacity which is currently limited to 30% with respect for physical and social distance.
The religious services can be watched at:
All Saints Church website - Toronto: http://totisfintii.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/totisfintii
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/
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