St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral is an

Antiochian Eastern-Orthodox The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Ottawa, Ontario 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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is located at 2975 Riverside Drive just east of Mooney's Bay, south of the

Hog's Back Falls The Hog's Back Falls, officially known as the Prince of Wales Falls, but rarely referred to by this name, are a series of artificial waterfalls on the Rideau River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The falls are located just north of Mooney's Bay and ...

. The pastor of the cathedral is Fr. Nektarios Najjar.

History

The congregation was founded in 1929 by immigrants from Kfar Mechki,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. They originally worshiped in a church downtown, that is today St. Elijah's Housing. In part due to the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

the Antiochian Eastern-Orthodox population of Ottawa increased dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s and the congregation began to look for a larger home. The land was purchased in 1975, and the church was built from 1990 to 1992. In 2000 it was consecrated as a cathedral. The Diocese of Ottawa today covers

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

and

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

. Vesper services is usually held on Saturday evenings. Sunday morning consists of

matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by ...

at 8:45 AM, followed by the

divine liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

. The annual Ottawa Lebanese

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

is held on the Cathedral Grounds every July and draws Lebanese and non-Lebanese alike from all over Ottawa. The cathedral has many active groups including the Sunday School, Teen SOYO youth group, Young Adults Ministry, the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, and the Antiochian Women.

External links

Official site of the Cathedral

Official site of the Archdiocese

References

{{coord, 45.367197, N, 75.688612, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Churches in Ottawa Cathedrals in Ontario

Elias Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ‎ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy ...

Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Lebanese-Canadian culture Churches completed in 1992 1992 establishments in Ontario Christian organizations established in 1929 1929 establishments in Ontario 20th-century religious buildings and structures in Canada