Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York

Ottawa Chancery, 10820 Rue Laverdure, Montreal, QC, H3L 2L9, Canada

Welcome to the Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York, part of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America. The Diocese of Ottawa is led by His Grace Bishop Alexander and includes approximately 20 churches and missions in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and New York.

New Books Present Antiochian History

The Rev. Dn. Hans Elhayek, Manager of Publications for the Antiochian Archdiocese, announces the release of two new book titles.

The Ancient Church on New Shores: Antioch in North America, authored by Economos Antony Gabriel, is a comprehensive history of the Antiochian Archdiocese that emphasizes the virtues of perseverance, struggle, and determination. The announcement notes that Fr. Antony Gabriel offers "a lucid presentation of our history in simile to the strivings of Saints Peter and Paul, the Founders of the Holy See of Antioch."

The second book, Never Say You Can’t: Memoirs of a Lebanese-Syrian American Educator by Alice Cury Farkouh, is a record of a family's history through four generations. The author notes that she wanted to preserve her memories as a matter of record for her family, and also wanted to highlight the contributions of the Lebanese-Syrian American community to

American life and culture.

To order a copy of either book, contact the Department of Publications:

Publications Department
P.O. Box 5238
Englewood, NJ 07631-5238
Phone: 201-871-1355
Fax: 201-871-1709
Email: publications@antiochian.org

Download The Ancient Church on New Shores flyer.

Download Never Say You Can't flyer.

A Blessed Lent, Holy Week and Pascha at St. Nicholas Church + Montreal, QC

Interior of St. Nicholas ChurchSt. Nicholas Church was established by St. Raphael of Brooklyn and is the oldest Orthodox Community in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. To live an Orthodox life in Montreal is a big challenge, and to keep our churches full on Sundays is a bigger challenge for our Montreal clergy. By the grace of God, however, St. Nicholas Church is undergoing a new revival this year: our Church is full, our youth groups are active, new families are joining our parish and we are, as said by one of our parishioners at one of our recent luncheons, “alive and well.”

We received great blessings this Holy Week when, starting from the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, we were visited by His Grace Bishop Alexander, who brought with him an antique cross with a Relic of the Holy Cross embedded inside it to bless our parishioners following the Divine Liturgy.

The next Sunday was the Feast of the Annunciation and we had a fabulous Mid-Lenten luncheon hosted by our very active Antiochian Women. The Sunday after (St. Mary of Egypt), we were visited by His Grace Bishop Luka from our Patriarchate in Damascus. Bishop Luka asked that we pray for the Syrian people and reminded us about Syria’s rich Christian history.

Following the Divine Liturgy on St. Lazarus Saturday, our youth enjoyed weaving palm crosses for our parishioners to carry on Palm Sunday. And on Palm Sunday itself, we were visited again by His Grace Bishop Alexander and we had a police escort around the block for our parish procession. That day we also had our annual bake sale of Arabic sweets prepared by our Antiochian Women, plus we had a sale of handmade goods by the residents of Al-Kafaat (Lebanon).