Roots of community - Conclusion
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We embrace the words invoked upon this land by St. Tikhon, while he was its ruling hierarch, that the Lord would bring -
"abundance of the fruits of the earth, healthful seasons, seasonable showers and winds, and that He will deliver it from earthquake, flood, fire, the sword, invasion of enemies and civil war. May this land be blessed…and may on all of you abide the blessing of the Lord, through His grace and love for mankind, always, now and ever and unto ages of ages." Amen. |
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The study of history involves analysis and evaluation as much as it involves the gathering of facts and the creation of timelines. Yet, this walk through our archives has not been so much a study of history as it is an encounter with our larger, older church family. We cannot analyze or evaluate so much as we can honor, remember and love. These are ongoing processes evident in so many concrete ways already: in remembering and marking the place of the first liturgy in rural Alberta, in celebrating parish anniversaries and honoring the elderly in our midst.
We are grateful for our land of Canada that has fostered the Orthodox faith with its principles of religious tolerance. Canada has given us that faithful and free "Orthodox" example, the wild goose, from which we can observe a sense of community, the holding of its place with dignity, its cooperation in flight and its care for weaker members. That is innate Orthodoxy for all of us. New ethnic peoples would enter the church, broadening its base still more, bringing it closer to a Canadian fullness and adding talents and energies to its life. Through intermarriage, reading, exchanges with neighbours, interest in the customs of the Orthodox or simply attracted by the beauty of its icons, many have come through the open doors. Their story remains to be told, for over the course of a century, Canadian Orthodoxy has taken root and grown. |
