The Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada is a diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church that covers the territory of all of Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in terms of territory.
The Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada is divided into two deaneries: Eastern Canada and Western Canada. The diocese has a total of 33 parishes and missions in six provinces: Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. The northernmost parish is in Edmonton, and the easternmost is in Halifax.
The seat of the diocese (the monastery church and the bishop's palace) is located in Milton, and the cathedral (Saint Nicholas Church on Nash Road) is located in Hamilton.
History
The idea for establishing the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada was initiated, during his earthly life, by Saint Bishop Nikolaj (Velimirovic).
The first Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation on Canadian soil was founded in 1912 in Regina (Saskatchewan) by immigrants mostly from Banat. The church in Regina was completed and consecrated in honour of the Most Holy Trinity in 1916. Serbs in Hamilton (Ontario) founded their congregation in 1913, and the temple dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (on Beach Road) was consecrated on December 15, 1917. This temple was demolished when the local steel mill expanded its facilities and a beautiful new church was erected on Barton Street.
Church life for Serbs between the two World Wars was marred by great difficulty in finding a method for clergy to serve in our churches and reach all of our newcomers. These problems are described in a letter which the first Bishop of America and Canada Mardarije addressed to the Holy Synod of Bishops in 1934 stating:
“We sent missionaries and monks, but not one of them was able to last more than two or three months. Married priests even less. The Hamilton parish covers a territory much bigger than all of Yugoslavia. There are several small colonies of two or three Serbian families which are hundreds and thousands of kilometres apart. Our neighbouring parish, which is located as far away as Belgrade is to Stockholm, is in Regina, and is even more difficult to manage.”
The influx of Serbian immigrants after the Second World War gave birth to new communities in Windsor, Toronto and Niagara Falls (Ontario); Vancouver (British Columbia); Lethbridge (Alberta) and Montreal (Quebec). The year 1963 saw dramatic changes in the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the North American continent. For the first time in its history the Serbian Church is victim to a schism which lasts 29 years. The result of the schism is that a portion of the parishes separate themselves from the Mother Church, and under the leadership of Bishop Dionisije form the Free Serbian Orthodox Church (later known as the New Gracanica Metropolitanate). Administrative changes are implemented among the parishes which remain loyal to Belgrade as well. The former Diocese of America and Canada is divied into three new dioceses: the Diocese of Midwestern America, the Diocese of Western America, and the Diocese of Eastern America and Canada. The first Bishop of the Diocese of Eastern America and Canada was Bishop Stefan (Lastavica) who presided from 1963 to 1967. He was followed by Bishop Sava (Vukovic), and from 1978 Bishop Christopher (Kovacevich).
As a natural result of the growth of the Serbian population and the development of church life among Serbs in Canada, Serbian national representatives at various gatherings in this vast country in the post-war years often emphasized the need for the establishment of an independent diocese, which people often greeted with applause, but that was usually the end of it. The original petition for the establishment of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada, signed by priests and representatives of Church-School Congregations in Canada, was sent for further consideration to the Patriarchate in Belgrade through the Diocese of Eastern America and Canada, on March 10, 1981. It was then that this noble idea began to be taken more seriously.
At the proposal of the then Bishop of Eastern America and Canada Christopher (Kovacevich), the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada was founded by the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on May 26, 1983. The founding assembly was convened by Bishop Christopher in Hamilton on October 1, 1983. At that assembly, the first Diocesan Board for Canada was elected by decision of the Patriarchal Council. Bishop Christopher was also the first administrator of the Diocese of Canada, until the election of the first Bishop of Canada.
At its regular meeting on May 16, 1984, the Holy Assembly of Bishops elected syncellus Georgije (Djokic), the confessor of Tavna monastery, as the first Bishop of Canada. His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch German consecrated him to the rank of Bishop on July 8th of the same year in the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel in Belgrade. The dream of three generations of Serbs from Canada to have their own Canadian bishop became a reality on the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, October 14, 1984, when Bishop Georgije was enthroned in the Saint Nicholas Church on Nash Road in Hamilton.
Since its founding, specifically since the enthronement of the first Bishop of Canada in 1984, the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada has seen the consecrations of many churches as well as church halls, rectories, and one retirement home (in Windsor, Ontario). The crown of all building endeavours of Bishop Georgije and the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada is the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Milton. The cornerstone of the first Serbian Orthodox monastery in Canada was blessed by His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle on October 21, 1992. The monastery church was consecrated on June 12, 1994 while the episcopal palace (the new diocesan headquarters/living quarters) was completed in February 1995. It is also noteworthy to mention the former Saint Tsar Lazarus Benevolent Fund which was granted the Order of St. Sava in 1996 by the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church for its contribution to humanitarian relief directed mostly toward the war-torn regions of Republika Srpska and Serbian Krajina.
By the decision of the Holy Council of Bishops on May 21, 2009, all Serbian Orthodox parishes in Canada are under the omophorion of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. This includes the six parishes which until the full integration of the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America were numbered in the New Gracanica Metropolitanate. This event was solemnly celebrated with the Liturgy of Unity at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Milton on Diocesan Day, June 14, 2009. The God-pleasing unification has shown its fruits. All our churches in the country of Canada (except the St. Michael the Archangel Church on Delaware Street in Toronto) glorify the name of God with one heart and one soul.
By the decision of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on May 20, 2015, Bishop Georgije was permanently removed from his role as ruling hierarch and His Holiness Irinej, the Serbian Patriarch, was named as the administrator of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada with all rights and duties of a ruling bishop. He remained in this temporary position until the election of the then Bishop of Eastern America, Mitrofan, on May 25, 2016. Bishop Mitrofan was enthroned on September 18, 2016, in the All Serbian Saints Church in Mississauga.
