Fredericton NB Saint Gregory Palamas Orthodox Church 2019

Fredericton, New Brunswick : Saint Gregory Palamas Orthodox Church, 2019

Gregory may be spelt Gregorios, Gregorius, Grégoire, Grigoriy, Gregor, Grigor.

Background information

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, is the capital city of the Province of New Brunswick. Despite its age and prominence (Fredericton and New Brunswick were part of the original Confederation of Canada in 1867), and despite several attempts, Fredericton did not have enough Orthodox Christians resident nor nearby until more recently. Saint John, being a major port and industrial city (at that time) was the first place to have an Orthodox Christian parish, namely Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. About 7 years before the beginnings in Fredericton, the Romanian Orthodox Church of Saint Varlaam of Moldavia was established in Moncton, New Brunswick.

From other writings elsewhere, it is evident that there had been previously a Greek Orthodox presence in Fredericton, and perhaps a Greek Community as such ; but it was only in Saint John that here had been enough Greeks to be able to establish and maintain a stable Greek Orthodox parish.

Foundation of the mission, 2019

The Orthodox Christian Mission of Gregory Palamas was established at Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, in December, 2019.

Since that time, the Divine Liturgy has been offered every week on Sundays. Worship in the parish expresses a melding of Slavic liturgical practice and “Byzantine” music (that is, singing in the Constantinopolitan-Greek style).

All services are conducted in English.

Chapel interior

Chapel narthex

The parish community is multi-ethnic, and it includes a mix of Canadian converts, Ukrainians, Latvians, Romanians, Russians, Greeks, Serbs, and others. In this way, the mission tries to uphold the best of these traditions, rooted in a Slavic expression of the Orthodox Christian Faith.

The parishioners are dedicated to their shared Orthodox Christian Faith in their Lord, God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Founding priest

The first priest of the Saint Gregory Palamas Mission is Priest Matthew Penney, whose wife is Presbytera Catherine Penney.

Matthew Penney grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick. He was raised a Roman Catholic ; and it was not until his time in university that he and his future wife Catherine first discovered, and finally converted to, Orthodox Christianity.

Higher education

In 2000, he began his studies towards a Bachelor’s degree at Saint Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Marriage, 2001

In 2001, Matthew and Catherine were married.

Graduation, 2004

They graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and in Great Books. During this time, Matthew completed 3 years of Ancient Greek language courses.

During 2004-2005, Matthew and Catherine studied Classics at the Master’s level at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Reception into the Orthodox Christian Church, 2006

Following these studies, Matthew and Catherine became Orthodox catechumens formally at Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Saint John, New Brunswick, under Priest Theodore Efthymiadis.

There, they were baptised, chrismated, and married in the Orthodox Church in early 2006.

Teaching in South Korea, 2006

After this, Matthew and Catherine travelled to South Korea, where they taught English from the summer of 2006 until 2008. They attended church services at Saint Nicholas Korean Orthodox Cathedral (Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Korea) in Seoul, and at the Annunciation Korean Orthodox Church in Busan.

Studies in Thessaloniki, Greece, 2009

In 2009, they moved to Thessaloniki, Greece. In their first year (2009-2010), they studied at the School of Modern Greek at Aristotle University. Then they proceeded to enter the School of Theology at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. From 2010-2013, they studied Dogmatic Theology under the supervision of the renowned Professor of Dogmatic Theology (1984-2016), Dr. Demetrios Tselengidis.

Matthew graduated with a Master of Arts in Theology after defending his thesis, “Academic Theology according to Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex”. Likewise, Catherine graduated with a Master of Arts in Theology, having defended her thesis, “The Prerequisites for Theologising in an Orthodox Manner according to Father John Romanides”.

In addition, Catherine studied iconography from 2009-2013, and she also studied Byzantine chant from 2010-2012.

Diaconal ordination, 2012

In 2012, Matthew Penney was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Archbishop Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Montréal and Canada (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia/ROCOR) at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, USA. Deacon Matthew returned to Thessaloniki, where he served as a deacon until he left Greece in July, 2013.

Presbyteral ordination, 2013

After having returned to Canada, Deacon Matthew Penney was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Archbishop Gabriel (Chemodakov).

For the next year, Priest Matthew Penney served at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Saint John, New Brunswick, along with Father Theodore Efthymiadis. During this year Presbytera Catherine began an on-line Bachelor of Social Work degree through the University of Victoria (British Columbia).

Studies at Queens University, and service in Kingston, Ontario

In September, 2014, Father Matthew and Presbytera Catherine moved to Kingston, Ontario, where Father Matthew began work towards a Ph.D. in Education.

During 2014-2017, Father Matthew served at 3 Temples : Protection of the Holy Virgin Memorial Church (ROCOR) in Ottawa ; Koimisis tis Theotokou Greek Orthodox Church (Greek Archdiocese) in Kingston ; and Saint Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church (OCA), in Kingston, Ontario.

From 2014-2019, Father Matthew was the spiritual director for the Orthodox Christian Fellowship group (OCF) at Queen’s University in Kingston, which met weekly during the fall and winter semesters.

Presbytera Catherine finished her Bachelor of Social Work degree in 2015. In August, 2017, she began studies towards a Master of Social Work degree through the University of Waterloo (distance) in Waterloo, Ontario, and she graduated in August, 2019. Then she began work as a social worker specialising in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

In 2015, Father Matthew also became an on-line instructor for the Certificate in Theological Studies (CTS) programme through Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville, New York, USA. He teaches 2 courses : Introduction to the Old Testament I, and Introduction to the Old Testament II. As of the Spring of 2017, Father Matthew was appointed as Faculty Director for the programme.

In September, 2017, at the request of Metropolitan Sotirios (Athanassoulas) of Toronto, Father Matthew accepted the position of parish priest at Koimisis tis Theotokou (Dormition of the Theotokos) Greek Orthodox Church in Kingston, Ontario, while continuing his studies towards a Ph.D. (on-loan from his own diocese). This was followed up in September, 2018, when he was assigned as Parish Priest at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Saint John, New Brunswick. He continued in this responsibility until November, 2019.

Priest Matthew, Presbytera Catherine Penney

Founding the mission of Saint Gregory Palamas ; services in Fredericton, 2019

In December, 2019, Father Matthew began serving in Fredericton, New Brunswick, at the newly-established Saint Gregory Palamas Orthodox Mission under the omophor (blessing and protection) of Archbishop Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Montréal and Canada (ROCOR).

In addition, in December, 2019, Father Matthew made a successful defence of his Ph.D. dissertation, "Perennial Educational Tensions : Saint Gregory Palamas’s Approach to Byzantium’s Exothen and Kath’imas Educational Traditions and its Consequences for Thinking with Byzantium in a Contemporary Context". On completion of his doctorate, he began teaching in the Professional Master of Education programme (on-line) of the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario).

Statement of purpose of the Saint Gregory Palamas Mission

The Mission of Saint Gregory Palamas at Fredericton, New Brunswick, is an English-language mission of the Canonical Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. The community is dedicated to striving to live an authentic Christian life that places the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Body (the Church) at the centre of worship and spiritual formation as it has been preserved and passed down through the Orthodox Christian experience over more than 2,000 years.

The parish, diocese, and Metropolitanate are part of the Trinitarian Orthodox Christian Church, part of the Orthodox Christian community of canonical Eastern Orthodox Churches spread around the globe.

Particular parish information

Saint Gregory Palamas Orthodox Mission is an Orthodox Christian community of the Diocese of Montréal and Canada of the Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in the Patriarchate of Moscow. The bishop is Archbishop Gabriel (Chemodakov).

This parish follows the Old (Julian) Calendar.

The Altar Feast-day of the parish is the Feast of Saint Gregory Palamas, 14/27 November.

The pastor is Priest Matthew Penney.

Address :

Saint Gregory Palamas Orthodox Church

Temporary Location :

2405, Royal Road (NB-#620)

Fredericton, New Brunswick

E3G 6B4

Telephone : 506-300-4244

Web-site : https://stgregorypalamas.wixsite.com/fredericton

Facebook

Directions :

From central Fredericton :

From Regent Street and Aberdeen Street, drive eastwards to Saint John Street. Turn left onto Saint John Street. Drive northwards 6 blocks until Queen Street. Turn left on Queen Street. Drive about 1 block until Sainte Anne's Point Drive. Turn right onto Sainte Anne's Point Drive. Keep right, and follow the exit towards Route #105. Cross the Saint John (Wolastoq) River, and continue on Route #105 N. At the round-about, take the second exit in order to continue straight on, on the same route. After .7 km, turn right at Royal Road (#620) towards Stanley. Continue straight on without turning, past a school on the right. The site is on the right. The travel time is approximately 10 minutes.

Fredericton is accessible by road, by railway, by bus, and by air.

By road, drive on Trans-Canada Highway #2 towards Fredericton.

Arriving from the west, take exit #280 onto #8 to Fredericton/Mirimachi.

Arriving from south and east on Highway #2, take the exit for Highway #7 towards Fredericton.

Railway service is available by VIARail.

Bus service within the Maritime Provinces is available by Maritime Bus.

Airline service is available at Fredericton International Airport

Priest Matthew Penney

E-mail : frmp.stgregoryp@gmail.com

Telephone : 506-300-4244