Holy Trinity Church, Kitchener
Address: 700 Fischer-Hallman Road
Phone: 519 570 1230
Fr. Goran Gojkovic (dean)
Parish: West Kitchener Parish
Phone: 519 208 5689
Fr. Goran was born on January 16, 1978 in Gracanica (Bosnia) to father Vojo and mother Danica. He completed elementary school in Lukavac, near Tuzla. He graduated from the Holy Three Hierarchs Theological Seminary in 1998 in Srbinje (Foca). He graduated in philosophy in 2003 with a thesis on Nietzsche at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo. He received his master's degree in pure philosophy in 2005 with a thesis on Saint Justin Popovic and Martin Heidegger. He completed his doctoral studies at the same faculty. He was ordained a deacon on November 21, 2000 (the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael), and ordained a priest on November 16 of the same year, by Bishop Vasilije of Zvornik and Tuzla. He was awarded the right to wear the red sash by Bishop Vasilije of Zvornik and Tuzla, and the title of protonamesnik and the rank of protopresbyter by Bishop Georgije of Canada. He was awarded the right to wear the pectoral cross by Bishop Mitrofan of Canada on October 14, 2023. Before serving the West Kitchener parish, he served the parish of the Holy Great Martyr George in Waterloo. He is married to Jelena (née Jovanovic), with whom he has three children: Djordje, Tijana, and Ilija.
Fr. Jovan Marjanac
Parish: East Kitchener Parish
Fr. Jovan was born in Zenica on January 23, 1986 and grew up in Zavidovici and Split. He immigrated to Canada with his parents on May 12, 1995. He completed his primary and secondary education in Toronto. In 2007, he graduated from the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Toronto. He received a scholarship from the St. Archangel Michael Church in Toronto and graduated from the Theological Faculty of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York (ROCOR) in 2011. He completed his master's studies in the field of canon law at the Moscow Theological Academy at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in Sergiyev Posad, Moscow. He was ordained a deacon on November 21, 2013 (the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael) at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Milton by the Bishop of Canada Georgije and two days later he was ordained as a priest. He was appointed Secretary of the Diocese of Canada by the Administrator of the Diocese of Canada His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Irinej, in December 2015, which obedience he currently holds. He is vice-president of the Coptic-Orthodox Dialogue in Canada since 2015 and is a member of the Central Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America since 2013. He is the founder and spiritual director of the youth organization Tri prsta (Three Fingers). He served the missionary parishes of Sts. Peter and Paul in Sudbury, and Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Guelph. He served at the All Serbian Saints Church in Mississauga from 2017 to 2019. By the decision of His Grace Bishop of Canada Mitrofan, on October 1, 2019, he was appointed parish priest of East Kitchener at the Holy Trinity Church in Kitchener. He speaks Serbian, Russian, English and Italian. He is married to his wife Mirjana, née Radulovic, from Kitchener. They have two daughters: Danica and Sofija.
History
The Holy Trinity Church and School Congregation in Kitchener was founded in 1972. The parish property, measuring three acres in the western part of Kitchener, was consecrated in 1983. The foundations of the church were consecrated in 1986 by the first Bishop of Canada, Georgije, with the concelebration of a large number of priests. The construction of the church lasted until May 1989. The church was consecrated on May 13, 1989. That was a day that brought joy to the Serbs in Kitchener, when they received their church home, a place where they gather for prayer. The church frescoes were painted in the period from 2001 to 2009. Since 2010, the relics of St. John of Shanghai have rested in the church.
From the founding of the parish to the construction of the church, a lot of effort, sacrifice and love have been invested and are being invested in the further development of the parish. The heart of the parish, for all the years of its existence, is the Blaga Marija Circle of Serbian Sisters. The sisters have incorporated and are incorporating themselves and their work into everything that has been done and is being done in this parish. Words are not enough for their love and merits. The care for the young generation, for the preservation of the Serbian language and for their inclusion in Serbian church life, is demonstrated by the establishment of a Serbian school and folklore group in 1981. Today, it is the Serbian School of St. Sava, which, together with the Holy Great Martyr George Church and School Congregation in Waterloo, is one of the largest Serbian language schools in the diaspora. The Stevan Sindjelic folklore group has been successfully representing the parish throughout Canada and America for decades. For many years, the church has had a choir called Saint Romanos the Melodist, which also has a children's choir. The Bozuri singing group brings together young girls who sing original Serbian songs.
Numerous activities are held on the church property and in the church hall (consecrated in 1992) that contribute to the preservation and promotion of Serbian heritage. These include celebrations of church holidays, a Serbian food festival, concerts by the choir and the Bozuri singing group, folk dances, a hajduk and guslar festival, and more.
