Toronto ON Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission 2016

Toronto, Ontario, Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission, 2016

Toronto, Ontario, Master of Arts in Orthodox Studies, U of T, 2000

Toronto, Ontario, The Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, 2006

Myrrhbearers may be spelt Myrrh-bearers.

Prehistory of the faculty of theology

Up until 2000, the first attempts had been made (most particularly by Professor Richard Schneider) to develop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a programme for educating Orthodox Christian students in Canada at a higher level. The purpose was two-fold : first, to provide accessible education about the Orthodox Christian Faith in the largest metropolitan region in Canada ; second to provide some alternative means by which Canadians might receive sufficient education towards potential pastoral service, should they be ordained.

In 2000, the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto began to offer a Master of Arts Degree in Orthodox Studies. The development of the offering of courses and of the teaching staff continued over the succeeding years.

The Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, 2006

The Orthodox School of Theology began in 2006 as the Orthodox and Eastern Christian Studies programme at Trinity College. It offered 14 courses (15 credits) leading to a Certificate or Diploma or, with further credits, a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree.

In 2015, this programme was extended to include a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree, and the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College was created.

Aerial view of Trinity College

Prehistory of the Holy Myrrh-bearers Orthodox Mission

Nowhere in Canada has it been either quick or easy to establish an English-language or French-language Orthodox Christian Mission.

Toronto was long in need of an Orthodox Christian parish which worships in the English language. Serious attempts did not begin before the 1980s. Many attempts were subsequently made, and these include :

 the Hart House Missionary Chaplaincy (1981-1985) ; 
 the University of Toronto University Chaplaincy of Saint Gabriel (2003-2005) ; 
 the Mission of Saint Innocent (in more than 1 language 2003-2005, 2013-2015) ; 
 the Mission of Saint Nicholas of Myra (2006-2013).

Until 2016, only 2 communities had each been able to establish a small but stable English-language witness in Toronto.

The first was the Parish of Saint Joseph of Arimathea (1985), which grew out of the Hart House Chaplaincy and began a parish under the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. In 1989, it entered the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece, a splinter from the canonical Greek Orthodox Church.

The second was the Mission to the Poor of Saint John the Compassionate (Saint John the Compassionate Mission), which was established in 1987 within the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese (under the Patriarchate of Constantinople), and it has continued faithfully in its witness ever since.

Holy Myrrh-bearers Orthodox Mission, 2016

Formation of the community, 2014-2016

For 2 years from about 2014, another English-language community began to form at Christ the Saviour Russian Orthodox Sobor in Toronto under the leadership of the Priest Geoffrey Ready, who had recently returned to Canada from Northern Ireland, where he had been serving as an Orthodox Christian missionary pastor. The services quickly became quite popular amongst English- and Russian-speakers alike, and the sermons of Father Geoffrey were especially appreciated for their content and presentation.

Establishment of the mission, 2016

Then, in May, 2016, the Holy Myrrh-bearers Orthodox Mission was established at the University of Toronto, where it has continued to offer services in the chapel of Trinity College. As frequently is the case in missionary situations, at every service, adjustments are made which facilitate the serving of Orthodox Christian worship services. Afterwards, the chapel is returned to its Anglican format.

Trinity College Anglican Chapel

From that time, the mission has been integrated with the “Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College”. This school of theology is the only institution in Canada which provides Orthodox Christian theological programmes that are accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). This accreditation includes the MTS and MDiv degrees which prepare clergy and lay leaders for the Orthodox Church.

The Myrrh-bearers Mission is a vibrant and apostolic community, which warmly welcomes Orthodox Christians and enquirers from all backgrounds to join in the services and activities. Their mission is pan-Orthodox in scope, and the community seeks to support and further the work of all Orthodox parishes in the Greater Toronto Area. Their desire is to help to equip the people of God for apostolic labour and the service of His Kingdom. The community has plans for many outreach projects, and the prayerful support and commitment of all is greatly appreciated.

Visit of Bishop Ilia (Katre), 2017

On 18 June, 2017, Bishop Ilia (Katre) visited the Holy Myrrh-bearers Mission. Bishop Ilia was the presiding bishop of the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese of America within the Ecumenical Patriarchate in North America. He was a member of the Episcopal Assemblies in both the USA and Canada, and he was in Toronto for the annual meeting of Canadian bishops (hosted by Metropolitan-Archbishop Sotirios (Athanassoulas) on Thursday, 15 June).

In both the USA and Canada, Bishop Ilia had been given the task of chairing the theological education committees of the Episcopal Assemblies, so he made use of his time in Toronto to visit the Holy Myrrh-bearers Mission, which is integrated with the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, and part of the Toronto School of Theology and the University of Toronto.

In a talk after the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Ilia (Katre) emphasised the importance of having an Orthodox theological school at the university, which engages with the world in both mind and heart through teaching and worship. Bishop Ilia was a theologian and scholar, and a long-time participant in bilateral theological dialogues including the worldwide Anglican-Orthodox dialogue.

After the service, Bishop Ilia met with the parishioners of Holy Myrrh-bearers Mission, and he also took the opportunity to speak with several of the teaching faculty of the Orthodox School of Theology.

Visit of Archpriest (Professor) John Behr, 2017

On Sunday 10 December, 2017, the renowned theologian and patristics professor from Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, the Archpriest John Behr, visited Holy Myrrh-bearers Orthodox Mission in Toronto. He concelebrated the services of Mattins and the Divine Liturgy with the mission's rector, the Archpriest Geoffrey Ready, and he also delivered the homily. Afterwards, he enjoyed fellowship with the faithful of the mission.

On the previous day, he had been the main speaker (with several others) at a day-long theological conference on “St Athanasius and the Incarnation”, which had attracted nearly 120 people to the George Ignatieff Theatre at Trinity College (named for George Pavlovich Ignatieff (former Provost of the University of Trinity College, and former President of the University of Toronto). The conference had been organised by the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College and Saint Mark’s Orthodox Fellowship.

Archpastoral visit of Archbishop Irénée (Rochon), Sunday of Orthodoxy, 2018

On 25 February, 2018, Archbishop Irénée (Rochon) visited the Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission in Toronto for the First Sunday of Great Lent, also called “Sunday of Orthodoxy”. The Archpriest Geoffrey Ready concelebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with Vladyka Irénée, and with the Archpriest Stelian Liabotis, who was visiting from the cathedral in Ottawa, Ontario. His Matushka Elena joined the choir for the day, and his son Nicholas served in the Altar. Following the Divine Liturgy, a procession of Holy Icons took place around the chapel. It stopped at each of the 4 corners of the chapel to pray for the Church, for the world, for the departed faithful, and to read the Synodikon of Orthodoxy.

Sunday of Orthodoxy Divine Liturgy 2018

In the evening, at the invitation of the Orthodox Clergy Fellowship of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Archbishop Irénée (Rochon) presided at the annual Toronto Pan-Orthodox Vespers for the Feast of Orthodoxy in the chapel of Trinity College at the University of Toronto. It was hosted this year by the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College.

Joining the school's co-director, the Archpriest Geoffrey Ready, were 23 priests and 2 deacons from across the GTA. Four choirs (from the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada and cantors from the Greek and Romanian Orthodox Churches) sang the responses. More than 220 people were in attendance, and the chapel was filled to capacity.

Following the service, Father Geoffrey spoke about the work of the Orthodox School of Theology, as well as Orthodox campus ministry and Orthodox Christian Fellowship at the University of Toronto. A collection was taken to support the work of the Toronto Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF).

Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers 2018

Visit of Archpriest (Professor) Andrew Louth, 2018

On Sunday, 6 May, 2018, Archpriest Andrew Louth, the distinguished patristics scholar and Orthodox theologian, visited the Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission in Toronto. There, he concelebrated and preached at the Divine Liturgy. A presbyter of the Russian Orthodox Patriarchal Diocese of Sourozh in the United Kingdom, the Archpriest Andrew Louth serves the parish of Saint Cuthbert and Saint Bede in Durham, England. He has been Professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies at Durham University since 1996. The parishioners and visitors enjoyed the opportunity to speak with him after the Divine Liturgy. Archpriest Andrew Louth spoke also at the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College on Wednesday, 9 May.

Archpriest (Professor) Andrew Louth

2020 Coronavirus-19 closure of parishes

Very early in 2020, the Covid-19 virus epidemic was declared to be a pandemic. Because of the rules governing gatherings that were laid down by the provincial and city governments, the mission stopped any further services after 8 March, 2020. Including the rules regarding social distancing, the decreasing numbers permitted for any gathering, the considerations regarding the health of all concerned, and the directions of Archbishop Irénée (Rochon) that the civilian rules be obeyed, this parish was unable to have any more of the usual services in the Temple until the lifting of the restrictions. These measures are similar to those that were taken in the past, in various parts of the Orthodox world, during the time of a plague.

During the time that the University of Toronto and Trinity College were closed to public assembly in the context of the pandemic, the Myrrhbearers Mission returned to Christ the Saviour Sobor, where the community led the English-speaking Divine Liturgy on Sundays at 8:00 a.m. as previously.

Once the university re-opened, the Myrrh-bearing Women parish returned to the university, where the community resumed its regular cycle of services.

Annual Altar-feast Day Exchange

It became the custom that every year, on the Feast-day of Saint Maria of Paris, that the Parish of the Myrrh-bearing Women travels to Hamilton, to the Parish of Saint Maria of Paris, its "daughter" parish, for its Altar-Feast Day (parish name-day). That parish returns the favour on the Feast-Day of Holy Myrhh-bearing Women, the Third Sunday of Pascha, for its Altar-Feast Day (parish name-day).

Vladyka Irénée Visits Holy Myrrh-bearers, Toronto, 2025

On Saturday and Sunday, 17-18 May, 2025, Archbishop Irénée (Rochon) visited the Holy Myrrh-bearers Orthodox Mission, at its place of worship in the chapel of Trinity College, University of Toronto, Ontario. He presided at the Vigil service on Saturday evening, and at the Hierarchical Festal Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. This service was one of the annual services combined with the mission parish of Saint Maria of Paris in Hamilton, Ontario.

Vigil Gospel reading

Gospel Entrance, Divine Liturgy

On the Feast-day

Particular parish information

This mission is a part of the Archdiocese of Canada, of The Orthodox Church in America. The dean is the Archpriest Geoffrey Korz. The bishop is Archbishop Irénée (Rochon)

This mission follows the New (Revised Julian) Calendar.

The Altar Feast-day of the parish is the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, the Third Sunday of the Feast of Pascha.

In 2025, the pastor of the mission is the Archpriest Geoffrey Ready, the Priest-in-charge.

Trinity College

Place of worship :

Holy Myrrh-bearers Orthodox Mission

Chapel of Trinity College, University of Toronto

6, Hoskin Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

M5S 1H8

E-mail : frgeoffrey@myrrhbearers.ca

Telephone : 647-567-8955

Web-site : https://www.myrrhbearers.ca

Facebook

Schedule of services :

Sundays : 9:00 a.m. Mattins ; 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy.

Thursdays : 6:15 pm. Daily Vespers

Homilies are published on the parish's Facebook page

Directions :

The Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission meets at the Chapel of Trinity College of the University of Toronto. The college is situated on the north side of Hoskin Avenue, between St George's Street and Queen's Park Crescent East (University Avenue).

From the exterior, the chapel is visible to the left of the main entrance. To find the chapel, enter the main entrance at the front of Trinity College ; and then turn left, and walk to the end of the corridor. If the main doors are locked, then enter by the Porter’s Lodge door to the left of the main entrance.

By car :

Trinity College is found on the north side of Hoskin Avenue, just west of Queen’s Park Crescent West. Queen’s Park Crescent is south of the junction of Bloor Street and Avenue Road. Just to the west of the college is Saint George Street, which also intersects with Bloor Street.

Both Hoskin Avenue and Devonshire Place both offer street parking. There are parking metres, but they only function after 1 p.m. on Sundays.

By public transit :

Consult the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

Trinity College is easily accessible by the TTC. There are 3 subway stations within a 5-10 minute walk of the college : Saint George, Museum, Queen’s Park. There is also bus service on Bloor Street, on Avenue Road, on Hoskin Avenue, and on Spadina Avenue.

By rail or air :

Toronto is accessible from eastern or western Canada, and from the USA by VIARail.

Toronto is accessible from most places in the world by air, and the flights arrive at the Pearson International Airport in the northwest part of the Greater Toronto Area.

Some few flights arrive at the Toronto Island Billy Bishop Airport.

Mailing address :

Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission

c/o Father Geoffrey Ready

348, Deloraine Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

M5M 2B6

E-mail : frgeoffrey@myrrhbearers.ca

Telephone : 647-567-8955