Archpriest Charles Daniel and Presbytera Vera Matheson
Archpriest Charles Daniel Matheson 1916-2014
and
Presbytera Vera Matheson (née/born "Ready") 1918-2010
Early life of Charles Daniel Matheson
Born on 6 January, 1916, on a Pictou County farm in Hopewell, Nova Scotia, Charles Daniel Matheson was the youngest of 4 children born to Charles and Annie Matheson (born/née "Sutherland"). The family into which he was born was of the Presbyterian tradition, and descended from immigrant families displaced by the Highland Clearances in Scotland. Although he later understood that he had been born on the Feast of the Epiphany (Theophany), he wrote that his family did not understand anything about this feast-day. Nevertheless, his mother always referred to this date as “Old Christmas”, as did others in those days. The term refers to the Old Calendar date which was still remembered by people (even though the change from the Old Calendar to the New Calendar had occurred in Britain in 1752). From his mother's perspective primarily of the 19th century, Christmas was indeed celeberated on the Old Calendar 6 January, and began to be kept on 7 January after 1900. He also paid attention to the fact that the church in which he had been baptised was named for Saint Columba. He reckoned that this had something to do with his life-long sense of the communion of saints.
Because he had a speech difficulty (stuttering), Daniel Matheson felt that he was not fit to pursue a path towards pastoral ministry (despite the encouragement of others to do so), and so he prepared to become an accountant. However, he was uncomfortable in this, and during the 1930s, he undertook a successful speech therapy of his own devising (much as did King George VI after him — although the king's therapy was developed by others). Such therapies were in their infancy in those days. Once he had managed to put this hurdle behind him, he prepared to obey what he felt was the direction of the Lord spoken through many others. He began to prepare himself for pastoral service.
Higher education
He entered Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he took concentrated studies in philosophy and in Classical Greek.
He received his B.A. in 1940.
This was followed by 3 years more of study at Pine Hill Divinity Hall (now merged with others into the Atlantic School of Theology), also in Halifax. There, the strongest emphasis was on Systematic Theology, Homiletics, Old Testament and New Testament. He admitted that Church History was not a priority in this school.
He received his M.Div. Degree (Master of Divinity) from Pine Hill Divinity Hall.
He wrote later that when he understood the need, he took post-graduate courses in Patristics and Sacramental Theology.
It was to Reston, Manitoba, that Daniel Matheson had been sent as a student minister, and it was there that he met Vera Ready. It was a true case of love at first sight.
Early life of Vera Ready
Vera May Ready had been born in Reston, Manitoba, in 1918. She was the daughter of Harold and Amelia (Cossar) Ready. This family was of Irish origin, unlike the larger numbers of originally Berwickshire Scots in that town.
Marriage, 1942
In 1942, Charles Daniel Matheson and Vera Ready were married.
Ordination, 1942
In 1942, the same year as their marriage, Charles Daniel Matheson was ordained to be a minister in the United Church of Canada (the result in 1925 of a union of Presbyterians, Methodists and Congregationalists).
Continuing pastoral ministry
Immediately after their marriage in 1942, and the subsequent ordination, the young couple was sent to a northern gold-mining town. This experience would prove to be a severe test. The living conditions were challenging. They lived in a small cabin which they described as “two rooms and a path” in an isolated region which had no roads. Vera was teaching the indigenous children in a 1-room school provided by the mining company for them. Access to the town was by air or by water, and periodically there was no access at all. These details were no obstacle for the young couple. There was considerable natural beauty in the area.
The miners were not generally approachable, nor were the indigenous people (a scattered population of Cree, Ojibwe and Salteaux). In fact, there were no church buildings, and it was during World War II. Father Daniel wrote that they were the 6th couple to serve there during 10 years.
One September, the death of a neglected aboriginal child was the catalyst of a “crisis of faith” for Daniel. He realised that somehow, during his studies, his faith had become over-intellectualised. Some spiritual fathers might say that the thoughts and theories of his mind overwhelmed his heart and numbed his sense of a lively, loving relationship with the Lord. He admitted that he had become confused about basics. Such a turn of events has happened to very many persons throughout all history. Isolation from any counsel did not help. However, Vera did find the way to help him. She talked to him until he began to pray and to ask for help. He persisted, and the help came after they had served for 4 years in Manitoba, and then returned to Nova Scotia. There, Vera introduced him to an Anglican missionary-evangelist who was visiting. By merely being in his presence, the light of love and faith and personal relationship with the Lord returned with power to his heart. He never ceased to be grateful.
This “turning a corner” produced good fruit. Having grown up in a tradition in which preaching is important, he now became determined to do his best for the sake of the souls entrusted to his leadership. He did his best to give each person in the congregation substantial spiritual food for living. It was gratefully received. Because of his reading and research, he had discovered the history and importance of liturgical worship (that is, worship services with a set structure and set prayers), and he began to introduce some elements from the prayers of the United Church’s “Book of Common Order”. Those of Presbyterian formation (more than those of Methodist formation) are wary of formal and printed prayers. They expect the prayer to be spontaneous and direct from the heart of the one who is praying, not the recitation of the prayer of someone else. For such a reason, Daniel found that he often received expressions of discomfort from parishioners. Indeed, they did not comprehend what he had long previously learnt : that "ex tempore" prayer quickly becomes rote anyway.
Nevertheless, since he was involved in dialogue with Anglicans, and his appreciation of liturgical worship was increasing, he tried to express this appreciation in his congregations by continuing to include some liturgical elements in Sunday worship. He did make some progress, and he participated in the development of the new United Church “Service Book”. It was at this time, in 1967, that the United Church, through the United Theological College of Montréal, Québec, conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity (“honoris causa”) because of his pastoral work.
Another expansion of his personal experience and ministry was related to his periodic appearance as an occasional speaker at the "Temple Pastures" Mission (50 acres of woods and meadows in the Gatineau Hills, 20 minutes from Ottawa). It was situated at RR #1, Pointe Gatineau, Québec (one of the municipalities which were amalgamated with Hull, Aylmer, etc., to become what is now called Gatineau) in Gatineau, Québec.
Dr Frank Uhlir at "Temple Pastures"
He gave some talks for a time after the death in 1980 of its founder, the Rev'd Dr. Frank Uhlir. After 1986, the retreat centre was an official Anglican entity in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, and operated as a meeting place for assorted groups until it was closed.
In his own congregation, Daniel introduced more liturgical worship, and he began to wear liturgical vestments. He continued to be considered by others as remarkable for his love for the Lord. They say that he showed it in his manner of living and preaching. He was highly respected by many people.
Expanding horizons
In the course of his work, he encountered many other sorts of Christians. However, it took a long time before he encountered the Orthodox Christians. He commented that he reckoned that the reason that it took so long for him in particular was related to a certain tendency towards cultural and linguistic stubbornness or insularity on the part of the Anglophones (himself included). However, the Orthodox Christians in Canada have not been very visible nor easy to contact during the last century (and especially after the Bolshevik Revolution), and it was only since about 1980 that the English language became more widely used in some of those communities. Nevertheless, the manner of worship in Orthodox Christian communities is quite different from what any Protestant would ever experience, and quite different even from more liturgically-minded Christians of the West such as Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans. People now often joke (along with Metropolitan Philip (Saliba)) that the Orthodox Christian Faith is the best-kept secret on the continent.
Even Daniel's first liturgical experience of the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom was not amongst the Orthodox Christians, but rather amongst the Melkite Christians who belong to the Roman Catholic communion.
His first real encounter was when he was in New York City with Vera, at the Metropolitan Museum, where he met some Russians who were Orthodox. They invited them to attend Vespers with them. Although all was in Slavonic, his heart sang in harmony with the service. This encounter was reinforced by his introduction to the book “The Way of a Pilgrim”, which he had borrowed in its French translation, “Le Pèlerin Russe”. From this, he began to learn inner prayer, and the book and the Jesus Prayer led him to other English-language Orthodox books.
Then, during an exhibition of Orthodox iconography in a Ukrainian hall in Ottawa, he met an icon of the Theotokos. At this meeting, he found that he had established a relationship with the Mother of God, so he bought and began to pray before this icon. Later, during a surprise encounter with a difficult person, he realised that he had reflexively made the sign of the Cross on himself. He naturally continued to do so in the correct manner.
All these events influenced the way in which he led the large congregation in his care. It became more and more liturgical. However, he also came to understand that although he loved the Orthodox Church, his relationship with that Church was still only academic. He also somehow felt that becoming Orthodox was unthinkable. He was in a difficult situation. However, the situation of the United Church by this time was so radically different from how it was when he began ministry (and so far from the Orthodox Way), that he understood that something had to change. That change had to be in him.
First retirement
As a consequence, both he and Vera understood that retirement was necessary. Even more, they understood that retirement from serving the congregation would also mean departing from the United Church as well. Together, they had faithfully served congregations in Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Ontario. They were as yet unsure of their destination. The double departure was a very painful experience, and it remained so in recollection. The pain came from the separation from hundreds of people whom they loved and whom they had both served for more than 40 years (including 2 decades in Westboro United Church in Ottawa). There followed later yet more pain. After having taken this step (he was now 69 years of age), they visited an Anglican church for a time while they tried to understand what to do. Regardless of the pain they felt, it must be understood that they never stopping loving and praying for persons they had known in every parish to which they had belonged or served.
Work in retirement : Bible-study, 1984
In 1984, Daniel initiated a Bible-study for a small group of people who, as he, were concerned about the direction being taken by the so-called main-line churches at that time (a direction which has not yet changed). It included some persons from his former parish of Westboro United Church, as well as some Anglicans. This study-group, which met in the Matheson sitting-room, was fruitful for all concerned. The main participants in this group during its existence were : Micheline B. ; Sutherland D. ; Karen E ; Dougald and Susan G. ; Donna H ; Glen M. ; Jane S ; Leslie S. ; Pat and Joanne T ; Eleanore Y.
At about this same time, there was an encounter with a leader of the Evangelical Orthodox Church which led to a visit by Daniel and Vera to a parish of this group in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and to a meeting in Chicago, Illinois. This engendered much soul-searching.
Then, when he was reading Saint Gregory of Sinai, the phrase “Become what you are” stood out to him, and his heart comprehended what had to be done. For this reason also, he described his journey to Orthodoxy as one of revelation. His heart longed for the Truth, and step by step it was revealed to him and to Vera. The unthinkable had become thinkable. He was received into the Evangelical Orthodox Church in November, 1985, and he was ordained.
A new mission, 1985
In 1985, Father Daniel created the Holy Epiphany Evangelical Orthodox Mission. He named it because of the nature of missionary work, and because his birthday was on this feast-day. As he wrote, through the naming, he had given the small mission his own birthday. During his time in the Evangelical Orthodox Church, Father Daniel and Presbytera Vera came to know Father Larry Reinheimer and Mother Myra, who became long-time friends thereafter.
However, their entrance into the Orthodox Church caused their children, relatives, and friends from before this to withdraw to a distance. It took some time before this began to be ameliorated to some extent.
Nevertheless the time of major changes was not yet ended. His entry into the EOC happened near the completion of the conversations between the EOC and the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. As he wrote in his reflection on his life, “They had laboured, and I had ‘entered into their labours’”. He remained profoundly grateful to the clergy and others of the EOC.
In 1986, Bishop Gregory of the EOC visited the mission and he spent a good amount of time with the community.
Father Daniel and Presbytera Vera during a lunch at the 1986 visit
Bishop Gregory at lunch during the 1986 visit
Then, in 1987, the greater part of the EOC (under the leadership of then-bishop Peter Gillquist) was received by chrismation into communion with the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, and it became the Antiochian Evangelical Orthodox Mission (AEOM), a distinctive group of parishes which has since been regularized into normal status within the archdiocese.
[In 2002, Bishop Job (Osacky), of Chicago received several EOC parishes into The Orthodox Church in America, and then Archbishop Dmitri (Royster) likewise received several other parishes.]
Closing lunch of the mission
Reception into the Orthodox Church ; ordinations, 1987
On 21 March, 1987, Daniel and Vera Matheson were chrismated into the Orthodox Christian Church, and Daniel was ordained both to the subdiaconate and to the Holy Diaconate in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese.
He immediately was impressed by the exhortation by Bishop Antoun (Khouri) (who received him and who ordained him) that he hold his orar high, since it represents the wings of the angels.
On 22 March, 1987, Deacon Daniel was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop Antoun (Khouri) of the Orthodox Church in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese.
On this occasion, the new priest was impressed by the exhortation (addressed to every ordinand) that he take the Eucharistic Lamb and "Hold this; you will have to answer to our Lord one day as to how you have guarded it".
All this was done in Indiana, USA.
Pastoral service
As Father Daniel himself related, the words said to him were most significant and moving : “Welcome home”. Soon after Pascha, members of the Holy Epiphany Evangelical Orthodox Mission began to be received by Father Daniel into the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese. This process was hastened when people understood that until they did so, they would not be any longer in communion with their beloved pastor.
Father Daniel continued to nurture, to serve, and to lead this community for the following years. Not long after their return to Ottawa, the Roman Catholic nun Clotilde (who had heard about their reception) invited the mission to use the chapel at “La Maison Jeanne d’Arc” at 360, Kenwood Avenue (near Melbourne Avenue and Churchill Avenue in Ottawa). Sister Clotilde (of les Soeurs de l'Institut Jeanne d'Arc) had been Father Daniel’s French-language teacher. Thus, the community moved from a tiny living room on Tweedsmuir Avenue to a chapel in the convent. As has happened with other missions, they had to wait for the nuns to finish their service. However, the nuns were very hospitably generous in their provision of fellowship space afterwards.
Presbytera Vera (as she was now called) was the leader of the singing throughout the life of the mission. She had to learn everything from the beginning. She and her husband were always working complementarily as a team. It is written of Presbytera Vera :
Vera was a tower of strength to Fr Dan and a huge support for all of us who knew and loved them. We tended to take for granted all that she did in the early days : preparing the music, giving us meals, organising things !
The main participants in the mission were : Bob D. (who also went to the Holy Transfiguration Mission) ; Sutherland D. ; Dougald and Susan G. ; Glen M. ; Jane S. ; Leslie S. In addition, Karen Y., a parishioner in Montréal, was moved to support the mission, to which she sometimes travelled for worship. Another form of support came from parishioners of the Annunciation Cathedral on Clarey Avenue, who gave spiritual support and other sorts of coaching (particularly with regard to the singing).
Official retirement, 1991
In January, 1991, Father Daniel officially retired (at age 75). Because he had been received by the Antiochian Archdiocese, he then began his years of service in Saint Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Ottawa. However, he blessed the parishioners of Holy Epiphany to go where they might feel more comfortable, given that Arabic was the main language of worship at Saint Elias. Nevertheless, he continued to be a spiritual father to his former parishioners for some years. Father Daniel was appointed to serve as the second priest at Saint Elijah’s (as it was then called). As always, Vera was with him all the time. Now, she had to get used to being called “Khouria” (the Arabic word for “priest’s wife”), and she was glad not to have any more leadership responsibility. From time to time over the years, he and Presbytera Vera would visit the Annunciation Cathedral in a neighbourly fashion. This was the destination of many of the members of the Epiphany Mission, which had closed in 1990, on the eve of Father Daniel’s retirement.
On 1 January, 1992, Father Daniel was assigned by Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) to be the Priest-in-charge (a priest who serves temporarily in the place of rector of a community) of Saint Elijah Church. This was a major undertaking for him, since this parish was much larger than even his final, quite large pastoral responsibility in the United Church.
On 11 June, 1992, Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) announced that the Archpriest Ghattas Hajal would assume the pastorate of Saint Elijah Church, effective 1 July. This allowed Father Daniel to step back again from major pastoral responsibilities. It is also perhaps not insignificant that the meaning of Father Ghattas’ name is “epiphany” (and he, too, was born on 6 January, the Feast of the Epiphany).
Father Dan and Vera at Annunciation Cathedral on Clarey Avenue
In about 1998, Presbytera Vera suffered from a stroke, after which she became limited but still mobile and able to be at home. Father Daniel had to learn to cook, and to care for his wife (who tried to help him as a supervisor).
However, in 2001, she suffered from another stroke, from which she did not actually recover, and she had to be cared for in the New Orchard Lodge nursing home (much to the grief of her husband). Presbytera Vera was a very competent and strong person. She always supported her husband, and they always worked together as a team of equals. This was so, even in her weakened state. Nevertheless, when she became incapacitated, Father Daniel’s whole world and “modus operandi” had to change suddenly. He was a constant and attentive visitor.
Father Daniel at Saint Elias Cathedral
Repose of Presbytera Vera, 2010
On 1 August, 2010, Father Daniel’s wife of 68 years, Presbytera Vera, fell asleep in the Lord in her 92nd year. Together with her husband, she had served Christ in various parishes for 68 years. She was a devout Christian woman and, in her physically handicapped last years, she lived a life of prayer and devotion. She was a loyal and loving member of the parish of Saint Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral. This parting was grievous, but it also was tempered by Christian joy and hope. Trusting and depending on Christ her Saviour, she reposed on a Sunday, which in this year was also the Feast of the Procession of the Life-giving Cross. She was survived by her husband Father C Daniel Matheson, their daughter Mary Sharp (Crawford) ; their sons Neil and Peter ; their grandchildren Rawni Sharp (Matthew Young), David Sharp (Lucie), Heather Matheson and Danielle Matheson ; and their great-grandchildren Katherine and Samuel Young. She was also survived by her brother John Ready (Rubie), in Brandon, Manitoba.
On 4 August, 2010, there were prayers in the McEvoy-Shields Funeral Home at 7:00 p.m.
On 5 August, 2010, at 10:00 a.m., in Saint Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Lay-person was offered.
Afterwards, her body was interred in the Annunciation-Saint Nicholas Cathedral's section of the Pinecrest Cemetery.
Father Daniel spent the last years of his life living in Valley Stream Manor in Ottawa.
Father Daniel continued as ever with his particular sense of humour and his loving compassion. He was a "gold mine" of wisdom gained through his long pastoral life and his life of prayer. Christ was certainly present in him, along with ready reference to many a Scriptural passage.
Characteristic of his personality is this remark by the staff of the residence in which he lived : “In his last months he might not always have remembered what he had for breakfast but he always remembered the name of the person who served it to him”.
Repose of Father Daniel, 2014
On 5 July, 2014, the Archpriest Daniel Matheson fell asleep in the Lord.
On 9 July, 2014, there were prayer services for him in the McEvoy-Shields Funeral Home at 7:00 p.m.
On 10 July, 2014, there was a prayer service for him at Saint Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral at 7:00 p.m.
On 11 July, 2014, the Funeral Service for “The Burial of a Priest” was offered at Saint Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral at 11:00 a.m.
Afterwards, Father Daniel's body was interred in the Annunciation-Saint Nicholas Section of the Pinecrest Cemetery in Ottawa, next to the grave of his wife.
Headstone
Reflections
Father Daniel Matheson was a sincere, Christ-loving pastor throughout his life, and Presbytera Vera lived and worked together with him on the same foundation of faith and love. They were greatly loved and highly respected. The Lord brought considerable good fruit from their labours offered during the course of their lives. Many people were strengthened, encouraged, and nourished through their prayers and their efforts.
Despite the fact that their last missionary effort faded away as an entity at the time of their entry into the Canonical Orthodox Church, the people who had been part of it were not abandoned, but rather, most of them found their way into other, existing, Orthodox Christian communities.
Those who remember Father Daniel may well recall that he spoke about his own vivid memory of the "Halifax Explosion" on 6 December, 1917. Of course, he was very young (almost 2), but he had a gift for remembering, and such a catastrophic event would leave a memorable impression.
The Archpriest James Griggs recalled a conversation with Father Daniel, the subject of which had been shared with several other people. It was about a conversation with his mother, when he was a young boy :
He told me that one day he asked his mother whether Saint Columba had been Presbyterian. His mother answered, 'No, he was before that'. 'So Saint Columba was a Catholic then ?' 'No, he was before that'. Father Dan said that it certainly puzzled him, but that when he found Orthodox Christianity, he found 'what was before that !'
Many friends and parishioners of both the cathedral and the Saint Elias parish in Ottawa visited Father Daniel almost to time of his repose. They all recount how these visits were occasions of significant blessing for them.
Father Daniel Matheson
References
Matheson, Father Daniel, ‘The Mirage Becomes a Pool’ in “Toward an Authentic Church”, Thomas Doulis, ed. (Minneapolis : Light and Life, 1996), pp. 131-171. ISBN : 1-880971-10-0.
Archpriest Daniel Matheson obituary
Presbytera Vera Matheson obituary
"Memory Eternal" at antiochian.org
Additional information :
Gillquist, Archpriest Peter, “Becoming Orthodox : A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith” (Chesterton, IN : Conciliar Press, revised edition, 1992). ISBN 10 : 0962271330, ISBN 13 : 978-0962271335.
Holy Epiphany Evangelical Orthodox Mission
Saint Elias Antiochian Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Orthodoxwiki article about the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
The Rev'd Frank Uhler ("Temple Pastures")