Archdiocesan Assembly - 1968 - Shandro - 1968

One of the few economically feasible Archdiocesan Assemblies of the Archdiocese of Canada (ROGCCNA) up until this time took place at Shandro Alberta, Canada, in June, 1968. The sponsor of this assembly was the parish of the Dormition (Assumption) of the Theotokos at Shandro, Alberta (a rural Temple blessed by Saint Tikhon (Belavin) when he was the Archbishop of North America. This parish was supported by the numerous other rural parishes in the district northeast of Edmonton, Alberta.

Dormition of the Theotokos Temple, Shandro, Alberta

Archdiocesan assemblies

An archdiocesan assembly is a gathering of the assigned clergy, and the elected representatives from the parishes and institutions of the archdiocese, together with the ruling bishop of the diocese. Ordinarily, it is an annual meeting (such as occur in parishes) for the purpose of approving the financial activity of the previous period, approving a budget for the future, and making decisions about practical matters.

In Canada, because of the poverty of both parishes and the diocesan administration, such assemblies were seldom affordable up until (and after) 1968. This particular assembly was organised a few years after the arrival in Canada of Bishop Sylvester (Haruns) as the new bishop of the archdiocese. It was convoked to meet in the area of Canada where the history of the Orthodox Church in Canada began.

Shandro

In June, 1968, the parish of the Dormition of the Theotokos at Shandro was the host to an official assembly of the Archdiocese of Canada. This assembly was attended by Metropolitan Ireney (Bekish) of New York, and by the Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Dean of Saint Vladimir's Seminary in New York, New York, USA.

Members of the assembly

Archbishop Sylvester (Haruns) was able to pacify inflamed passions and to clarify numerous misunderstandings amongst the clergy and the Faithful regarding the meaning and implications of autocephaly. He considered that autocephaly was the correct canonical structure for Church life in North America. Autocephaly was granted to the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in North America (ROGCCNA) by a Tomos of the Russian Orthodox Church on 31 March, 1970. At that time, the name of the North American Church was changed to “The Orthodox Church in America”

Bishop Theodosius (Lazor) of Alaska receives the Tomos of Autocephaly from the Russian Orthodox Church, 1970

Archbishop Sylvester (Haruns) and Metropolitan Theodosius (Lazor), 1977

Summary of the assembly, written by Archpriest Svetislav Balevich

The Canadian Archdiocese met in Shandro, Alberta, on June 28, 29, and 30. His Eminence Most Reverend Metropolitan Ireney (Bekish) ; His Grace Most Reverend Sylvester (Haruns), Archbishop of Montreal and Canada ; His Grace Joasaph (Antoniuk), Bishop of Edmonton ; Rt. Rev. Fr. Alexander Schmemann, Dean of Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, clergy and lay delegates from 6 of Canada's 10 provinces were present.

This was the first meeting of such proportions in the Canadian diocese. The vastness of Canada, the long distances and conveniences for travelling for clergy and lay delegates contribute to the difficulties of planning even infrequent gatherings.

Shandro is in Northern Alberta. One reason for choosing this site was the number of Orthodox people living in that district. Although the people are scattered among large farms and small villages, nearly everyone in a thirty-mile radius is Orthodox. Also, the later Patriarch Tikhon himself, consecrated the church in Shandro, while he was bishop of the Americas. It was hoped that his vision of a united Orthodox Church on the American continent, embracing all national groups, might be an inspirational force upon the meeting held there.

At the opening session on Friday evening, June 28th, His Grace Archbishop Sylvester served a moleben assisted by the Very Rev. Fr. Theodore Giliavsky, Dean of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and the Very Rev. Fr. John Wasil, Dean of Alberta and British Columbia. Then Archbishop Sylvester welcomed the delegates. After the supper, prepared and served in the parish hall by the Ladies of Shandro, Fr. Schmemann spoke on the problems facing our Church today. These include establishing our identity as an extension of the Russian Mission church, but now independent of the Moscow Patriarchate and of Soviet influences, and also the problem of struggling to interest our own people in God's teachings in competition with the materialism of today's society.

On Saturday, June 29th, prior to the general meeting, Rt. Rev. Fr. John Diachina, Dean of Ontario, and Fr. Andrew Harrison, student at Saint Vladimir's Seminary, officiated at the Divine Liturgy. The attending clergy sang the responses very beautifully under the able direction of Fr. John Wasil. It was interesting to note how Rev. Fr. Andrew Harrison had captured the hearts of many of the delegates from parishes where there is no priest. Delegates and dignitaries throughout the convention tried to interest him in coming to serve in Canada where priests are so urgently needed.

At the general meeting, deans reported on the Church life in their respective deaneries. Priests and delegates spoke on the needs of their parishes. The main concern of the meeting was the acute shortage of priests in Western Canada. The meeting was informed that the Metropolia has two theological seminaries sufficient to meet the needs. They were reminded that in order to fill the vacancies in Canada, they must provide candidates for the seminaries. The juridical nature of the parishes was discussed. It was announced that in the official titles of the parishes the ethnic origin of the parish could be dropped, but the title of the Metropolia must remain as it is unless changed by the action of the Sobor. The meeting, because of the number of delegates and the desire of the majority of them to express their opinions, was extended beyond its scheduled time.

At the afternoon general sesssion, open to delegates and to guests, Fr. Diachina spoke in Ukrainian about the aims of our Church. Fr. Schmemann's topic was, "The Missionary Work in the Metropolia". He explained the services and materials available to local parishes from the headquarters in New York. He focussed the attention on the importance of each individual in each parish as part of the organisation of the Church. After supper, Fr. Schmemann served the all-night Vigil service with Protodeacon N Kuzmin-Polansky assisting. A meeting of the clergy followed.

His Eminence Metropolitan Ireney, Archbishop Sylvester, Bishop Joasaph, and the attending clergy concelebrated the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. The church was filled to capacity by delegates and local people who drove to Shandro for the service. A banquet in the Willingdon Community Hall brought the meeting to a close. For those who were not in a hurry to meet a train or air reservations, there were visits to the churches dotting the countryside. It was encouraging to see how well very small congregations maintained their churches and halls, but one could not help feeling sorrow that their spiritual needs must be neglected because of lack of priests.

— Canadian Orthodox Calendar for the year 1969 (Montreal-Toronto : Diocesan Council of the Russian-Greek Orthodox Church in Canada, 1969), pp. 45-47.