Priest Marek Kocon

Priest Marek Kocon (1954-1994)

— edited from an article by Archpriest George Pokrowsky, Matushka Teresa Kocon and Oleh Kutowy.

Marek may be spelt Mark, Marc, Markus, Markos.

Kocon may be spelt Kocoń.

Bukovina may be spelt Bukowina.

Early life

Marek Kocon was born in Głuchołazy, Poland, on 4 July, 1954. He was raised in a pious Polish Roman Catholic family.

There, he received his primary and secondary education.

Higher education

After he completed his preliminary education up to the level of "gymnasium", Marek entered and graduated from the Academy of Theological Studies in Kraców.

Eventually, Marek was ordained to the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church.

Roman Catholic pastoral activities

Father Marek held many responsible positions during his life. The latest of these came after he had emigrated to Canada and settled within the Roman Catholic Church there. He then served as a chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces. He primarily served in the naval branch, where his last assignment brought him to Victoria, British Columbia, and the Naval Base at Esquimalt.

Entering the Orthodox Church

During the course of his days, as he travelled as a chaplain, he had encountered the Orthodox Christian Faith, and he had been received by Metropolitan Gabriel (da Rocha) of Lisbon, Portugal. The Portuguese Orthodox Church was at that time a “province” of the Polish Orthodox Church.

When Father Marek became resident in Victoria, British Columbia, he was given “on loan” to the Archdiocese of Canada, and it became possible for him to take up the responsibility of the Holy Trinity (Bukovinian) Sobor in Ottawa, Ontario.

Assignment to Ottawa, 1993

Thus, in January of 1993, Father Marek arrived by car in Ottawa after having driven across the country alone. He had left his family in Victoria, and they joined him in Ottawa in April, just before the Feast of Pascha that year. He arrived just in time for the blessing of the waters at the Feast of Theophany, and in turn the blessing of the homes of the parishioners. Because of this, each of the parishioners immediately had an opportunity to meet Father Marek on a one-to-one basis. They embraced him with open arms from the moment he arrived, and a genuine feeling of love was immediately experienced. He arrived at a time when the parish had already for several years lacked adequate spiritual guidance. Father George Pokrowsky had become quite enfeebled in age, and he was very limited in his physical abilities. Therefore, the arrival of Father Marek raised many hopes amongst the parishioners. By 3 February, 1993, he had received the blessing to serve the parish pastorally.

  Archpriest George Pokrowsky   Holy Trinity Sobor, Ottawa

The hopes of the parishioners quickly found fulfilment in Father Marek, because of his personal, God-given gifts. His gentleness, compassion, humour, love and understanding attracted people to return to regular church-attendance. Moreover, his homilies attracted others who were not yet Orthodox Christians. His preaching opened up to the people the truths of the Holy Scriptures as they pertain to their lives today. Because he was multilingual, well-educated and well-experienced, he was able to grasp the exact meaning of a text and explain it to the flock. He often brought contemporary examples to bear, to help to clarify the meaning of a text.

As a result of his oratorical ability and because of his exemplary life, the numbers of the Faithful attending and participating in services began to increase for the first time in many years. He enthusiastically helped new immigrants to become integrated into the parish through blessing marriages and baptising, and by making home visits. Those whose lives he touched in this way tended very much to remain a living part of this parish. Because of his broad education and his wide practical experience in missionary activities (all rooted in Christ), he was able to approach people closely, and on their own level. The faithful people soon found that they could truly express themselves to him, and this greatly helped them not only in the Mystery of Confession, but also in the way of repentance.

Father Marek’s way of serving liturgically was distinctive, again because of his linguistic ability. He would blend Slavonic with other contemporary languages at appropriate moments. The use of both Church Slavonic and English helped to give satisfaction to the diverse ethnic and age backgrounds of the parishioners of Holy Trinity Sobor. As a result, controversies about language which had previously been a source of dispute disappeared. Father Marek understood the Bukovinian customs and traditions, and he was able to integrate them in a loving harmony, without alienating anyone.

Father Marek also participated in educational activities. He not only worked to re-establish a church school, but he also edited a work (which was later published locally) about various ecclesiastical Bukovinian customs. He often spoke of his gratitude to the Archpriest George Pokrowsky, who was the Rector emeritus of the parish, and who had served the parish for several decades. Father George had given his guidance to Father Marek in all aspects of church life. Father Marek’s wife and children were of great help to his service in the parish. Two sons served competently in the Altar. His wife Teresa organised the beautification of the basement of the Temple, so that the clergy and parishioners could meet regularly in a social setting, after the manner of the ancient agape meal.

On 15 January, 1994, the Priest Marek Kocon was assigned (on loan) to serve the Holy Trinity parish in Ottawa as priest-in-charge.

Interior of the Temple

Illness, 1994

Later in January, 1994, physicians made a diagnosis of a grave illness from which Father Marek was suffering, and which had made him feel very ill. It was later determined that it was a terminal aggressive intestinal cancer. Because of his deep love for Christ, to the end of his days, he never allowed pain and hardship to triumph over him. He served at the Altar and performed all his pastoral duties almost to the end. Sometimes, he was released from the hospital for several hours so that he could serve the Divine Liturgy for the parishioners of Holy Trinity Sobor. He was gratified to see evidence of the fruit of his labours, since 2 chalices were required to administer Holy Communion to the parishioners on Palm Sunday. The parish had never before had so many faithful, especially children, participate in the Divine Liturgy. On his last day in the Temple, Bright Monday, Father Marek performed a baptism and he blessed a marriage.

One of Father Marek’s significant traits was always his special veneration of the Mother of God. This could be seen particularly during the services, in that during the litanies, at the mention of the Theotokos, he would deeply bow before her icon. When he became aware of his illness, he decided to have a gift made for the parish, not only in remembrance of him, but more, to bring the parish closer in prayer, as he had always striven to do. He decided to sell all his uniforms from his chaplaincy days, in order to purchase a very special icon of the Theotokos, made specifically for the parish. During the early months of his illness, with this money he enabled the monks at an Orthodox monastery in Poland to make a replica of the original form of an historical icon, one which had been brought long ago from Ukraine to Poland. This icon was gilded with 24K gold, and painted on wood, in the manner in which the original had been prepared 400-500 years ago, and using the same techniques. The monks also prepared it in the traditional way, accompanying the work with fasting and prayer. Throughout the course of his illness, Father Marek eagerly awaited the arrival of this icon.

Shortly before his repose, he spent some time with Father George Pokrowsky, who was himself being treated in the same hospital at the same time. Father George recounted many of the details about the last days of Father Marek’s life. He noted that although Father Marek knew that the end was near, he never brought the subject up, and he always said that what will happen will be the will of God.

However, he was always concerned about the question of when the icon which he had ordered from Poland would arrive. He would mention it many times, and he spoke about how it would be placed in the Temple for all to venerate. As the time drew near for the arrival of the icon, his concern increased, because he was also getting weaker each day.

Then, one day, Father Marek entered Father Pokrowsky’s hospital room with a joyous face. He took Father George by the hand, and pulled him along to his own room, saying : “Guess what joy has come to me !” They entered Father Marek’s room, and at the window, amidst flowers, was the 4 ft by 3 ft (1.2 m by 91 cm) icon that Father Marek had been so anxiously awaiting. In front of Peter Warchow, Matushka Teresa and other patients in the room, Father Marek fell to his knees, and wept as he prayed before the icon. When Father Marek had regained his composure, the 2 priests sang the hymn "It is truly meet to bless you, O Theotokos".

Now, Father Marek was concerned about the placement of the icon, and he wanted to write down a short history of the original. He stated that even if he had to come to the Temple in a wheelchair, he promised that he would come on the Altar Feast-day, the Holy Trinity (Pentecost), to present it to the parish. He did not live to see his beloved icon placed near to the Altar, but instead it was brought into the Temple by his two elder sons, along with his body.

Repose, 1994

The Priest Marek Kocon fell asleep in the Lord on Tuesday, 24 May, 1994, at the age of 39.

There were prayers offered in the presence of his body in the hospital, in the funeral-home, and in the Holy Trinity Sobor on Somerset Avenue in Ottawa.

On Thursday, 26 May, 1994, at 8:00 p.m. a panikhida (memorial service) was served at Holy Trinity Sobor, in the presence of Father Marek's body. People were present and visiting between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

After the panikhida in the Temple, Father Marek’s body remained on the bier in the Temple, and both priests and parishioners remained with him all night long, as they took turns reading the Holy Gospels (from beginning to end, and then repeating, as is the custom).

On Friday, 27 May, 1994, at 10:00 a.m., the Memorial Divine Liturgy for the Departed and the Order for the Burial of a Priest were served. There were present and participating 8 priests, 1 deacon and a multitude of people.

Following the Divine Liturgy, Father Marek’s body was taken to the Holy Trinity Bukovinian Cemetery for interment.

After the singing of the final prayers for the burial of a priest, and the final farewell with a litany, his body was returned to the earth. In grief, the people then left for the church-hall, where a memorial dinner was served by the sisterhood of the parish.

Father Marek Kocon left behind his wife, Matushka Teresa, his sons Leonard, Philippe and Gabriel, his mother Maria, and his brothers Janusz and Andrzej.

Grave-marker

Reflections

After Father Marek's repose, during the eulogy after the panikhida (memorial service), Father George said that he had never before seen a man have such a profoundly positive effect on a church community in such a short time ; for Father Marek had accomplished in a year-and-a-half what would have taken most priests a lifetime to do. Father Marek elicited from the hearts of the parishioners the charity and love that had been lacking. He also energised others to stretch their hearts and to donate more, and to be generally more active.

Father Marek was a catalyst around whom things happened because of Grace. He was also an example shown to us for a short time so that we could continue in the same way.

It is noteworthy that the 3 sons of Father Marek (and especially Gabriel) continued serving for a long time with Father Marek's successor (Father Nikolai Nikolaev), simply for the love of Christ and for the love of this parish family. They remained active in another parish.