The Patriarchal Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church in Canada is a ''canonical unit'' of the

Moscow Patriarchate , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

in Canada. The headquarters of the church is in Edmonton; home to St. Barbara Cathedral. From Edmonton, two traveling priests serve a number of rural churches. Other parishes are located in Toronto and

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

History

Orthodox believers first came to Canada in large numbers from the Austro-Hungarian province of

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

in the 1890s, and they settled mostly in the prairie provinces. Most self-identified as Ruthenians or Ukrainians but some were Russophiles; all of them were without any Orthodox priests. The Russian Church had prior claim to all of North America because of its missionary activity in Alaska and California. The first Orthodox service in Canada was held in 1897 by the Reverend Dimitri Kamnev and Deacon Vladimir Alexandrov. They had been dispatched by Bishop Nicholas of the Russian Orthodox Church Mission in San Francisco, USA to the tiny settlement of

Wostok Wostok (russian: Восток) is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Lamont County. It is located on Range Road 173, approximately south of Highway 45 and north of Highway 29. Lamont is approximately southwest of Wostok. History Wostok ...

near Edmonton. After the Russian Revolution, many Orthodox believers in Western Canada defected to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church or the new Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada. Those Orthodox churches in Canada that stayed with the Moscow Patriarchate, primarily in Alberta, combined with later churches built in Eastern Canada, formed the basis for what is now known as the Patriarchal Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church in Canada.

Cathedral

St. Barbara Church in Edmonton was founded in 1902. The original building, sitting on the same site as the present on top of Grierson Hill, was a converted two-story residence. It was replaced by a wooden church that was used until 1958. The third and present building was opened officially opened August 8, 1959, and was consecrated as a cathedral. In 2010, the

iconostas In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be plac ...

was replaced with icons from Russia attached to a screen carved by a parishioner who is also a master woodworker.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Orthodox Church In Canada Eastern Orthodox dioceses in Canada Canada Ukrainian Canadian religion Christian organizations based in Canada Religious sees in Edmonton Russian-Canadian culture Rusyn Canadian