Feast Day of St. Nicholas in Montreal

This year the feast day of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Montreal was especially ceremonial. Despite the fact that the Winter St. Nicholas Day fell on a workday this year, the church was full of parishioners and visitors from all over Canada. As is the tradition, a significant portion of the guests came from the Canadian capital, from the parish of the St. Xenia Church in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa.

Over the last year, the number of parishioners of St. Nicholas Cathedral grew significantly, but the senior parishioners said, they did not recall such a multitude of worshipers at vigil. A combined choir sang under the direction of G.A. Skok and N.E. Androsoff.

On the feast day itself, His Grace Bishop Gabriel of Manhattan officiated at Divine liturgy, along with the rector of the Cathedral, Priest George Lagodich, Priest Michael Metni and Deacon Dimitri Temidis; the latter came to Montreal, where he has many childhood friends, together with Bishop Gabriel. During the reading of the hours, Bishop Gabriel ordained the Cathedral's choir director, Nicholas Androsoff, as reader, and ordained reader Peter Pavlovich Paganuzzi, Secretary of the Parish Council of St. Nicholas Cathedral, as subdeacon, and ordained as reader Basil Mikhailovich Milonov of St. Xenia Parish in Kanata. Reader Y.G. Miloslavsky, administrator of the Canadian Diocese, received blessing to wear the orarion as subdeacon.

That evening there was a solemn moleben to St. Nicholas, after which all those present were invited to a trapeza feast prepared by the Sisterhood of the Cathedral. During the trapeza, Bishop Gabriel gave the treasurer of the Cathedral, G.V. Borovik, a check for US $50,000.00: seeing the selfless efforts of the Montreal faithful to continue the renovation of their Cathedral, which was ruined by fire in 1998, no matter the cost, the Synod of Bishops decided to aid St. Nicholas Parish. [photo caption:] Priest Mark Burachek, Bishop Gabriel, Priest George Lagodich, Deacon Dimitri Temidis.