Archpriest Alexander Kiziun

Archpriest Alexander Kiziun (1892-1953)

Alexander may be spelt Alexandr, Alexandre, Alksander, Aleksandr.

Kiziun may be spelt Kizyun, Kizioun, Kizhun.

Early life

On 27 September, 1892, Alexander Kiziun was born in the part of the Russian Empire now known as Ukraine. It is not at present known precisely where he was born, nor the names of his parents.

Despite the lack of documentary evidence, Alexander Kiziun must have been raised as an Orthodox Christian in an Orthodox Christian home, and that he completed theological studies within the Empire.

Marriage

It is known that Alexander Kiziun was married while he was still in Europe, but the name of his wife is not at present available.

Move to North America, before 1916

Sometime before 1916, Alexander Kiziun arrived in Montréal, Québec, Canada, where he engaged immediately in some missionary activities in Montréal. This was during World War I, which would have made the crossing by sea somewhat dangerous.

Ordinations, 1916

On 25 September, 1916, Alexander Kiziun was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in Montréal, Québec, by Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky), the administrator of the North American diocese and mission.

In December, 1916, in Buffalo, New York, USA, Deacon Alexander Kiziun was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky).

Pastoral service

Diocese of Canada, Prairie Provinces

Father Alexander Kiziun and his matushka were assigned to serve in the Diocese of Canada, in particular in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Some of the parishes were Romanian.

During the 1920s in particular, he was based in Edmonton, Alberta, and Saint Barbara's Church, from where he served various rural parishes. He served the parish of Holy Ascension in Calmar, Alberta, from its founding in 1927 until 1930.

Saint Barbara's Temple, Edmonton, Alberta

Holy Resurrection parish, Vancouver, British Columbia, 1931

Then, later in 1931, Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky) assigned Archpriest Alexander Kiziun, who had been serving at Edmonton, Alberta, to serve the parish as the rector of Holy Resurrection Church on 7th Avenue, near the Granville Street bridge.

Holy Resurrection Temple, 1928-1954

As Anatole E Portnoff recalled,

 Father Alexander was a good shepherd, energetic, kind, and helpful.  Sometimes, people who needed 
 to go to a hospital or to the SNDL – a trip of 25 miles – would call him at 7 p.m. or even 3 a.m., and he
 would always be prepared to drive them anywhere in his old Ford.  He always refused compensation. 
 Many Russians in that hard time of joblessness, with no work and no place to go to spend some quality
 time, would go to Father Alexander to share their thoughts and to find some spiritual support.  He would
 always receive them heartily.  He always had a pot of borshch stewing over a burner, and he treated 
 uninvited guests with joy.

Father Alexander’s labours were not only spiritual, but also physical : in the reconstruction of the parish house basement, he served as carpenter, painter and plumber. The basement was transformed into a big dining room, where hard-working ladies of the parish treated the audience after the shows. The gifted artist Camilla Albertovna Khorvat (Horvath), wife of the famous General D L Khorvat, Chief Manager of the Chinese Eastern Railway, painted Russian birch trees on all the walls, so that the diners got the impression of sitting in a birch grove in Russia. The other basement room contained the library, created by Konstantin Nikolayevich Mamontov, who started with 1 shelf of books, and from that he managed to put together a big collection with a fine selection. Russian people spent many fine evenings there, getting together and sharing their thoughts on current affairs.

Saints Peter and Paul Chapel, Abbotsford, British Columbia, 1934

In July, 1934, the idea arose to build a chapel for the spiritual needs of the small group of Orthodox people in the Abbotsford area east of Vancouver in the Fraser River Valley. A Brotherhood Society was created, which included

 Konstantin, Faina and Peter Pichugin ; Joseph, Alexandra and Nadezhda Okulitch ; 
 Andrei and Nadezhda Mitrofanov ; Maria Kuznetsov ; Sergei Laskavy ; Victor Kuritsin. 

Konstantin Trofimovich Pichugin donated a plot of land, 40 by 30 feet, for free use. Father Alexander Kiziun dedicated the plot of land, laid the cornerstone and helped energetically in the construction. The society members worked hard, and the Saints Peter and Paul Chapel was dedicated on 30 December, 1934. Icons and decorations were donated by the members.

Saints Peter and Paul Chapel, Abbotsford

Metropolitan Theophilus (Pashkovsky), 1934

On 20 April, 1934, Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky) fell asleep in the Lord ; and on 23 November, 1934, Archbishop Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of San Francisco was canonically elected to become the Primate and Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America.

Reconciliation between the ROGCCNA and the ROCOR, 1935

In 1935, Patriarch Varnava (Rosić) of Serbia invited representatives of Russian Orthodox dioceses and exiles not administered by the Patriarchate of Moscow, chiefly the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), and the dioceses in Western Europe and in North America. At this meeting, they signed an agreement that reconciled their sometimes conflicting relationships.

This agreement forged harmony and peace between the North American Metropolia and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) and unified their parallel jurisdictions and hierarchies in North America from 1935 until 1946.

Social and cultural activities at Holy Resurrection Church

In 1935, the world-renowned Don Cossack Choir of Sergei Aleksandrovitch Zharoff visited Vancouver for the first time. It was a great event for the “Russian colony”. The Russian people went to all 3 concerts of the choir, and then Sergei A Zharoff and the choir honoured the Temple and parish hall with their visit. In the course of the dinner, the choir performed many secular and spiritual songs, and there were many solo numbers by its famous singers. The great festivity continued until long after midnight. Words cannot describe the deep spiritual satisfaction felt by those who attended as they went home afterwards.

It is necessary to single out the great labours of Valentin Yakovlevich Podlegayev, the Warden of Holy Resurrection Church for many years, and formerly the Railway Station Chief in Harbin, Manchuria, China. He had arrived with his family in 1924, and he was blessed to find employment with a sawmill, where he worked until his death. In all the years of his wardenship, he never once missed a church service, despite his hard physical labour all week long. Often, after the services on Saturday, there were shows at the church hall and entertainment until long after midnight. Valentin Yakovlevich would check that everything was in order and he would always be the last to go home. The next day, on Sunday at 9 a.m., he would be there, greeting the parishioners at the Temple.

Russian Orthodox Society, 1935

In 1935, the Holy Resurrection parish was experiencing a financial crisis. In his memoirs, Anatole E Portnoff explained that universal joblessness was the main cause of that ; the Sunday collection sometimes brought in as little as $1.50-$2.00. At the same time, while the debt incurred in building the Temple was tremendous ($4,500.00), the monthly mortgage payments were in arrears. Father Rector could not expect any salary at that time. Once in a while some of the more concerned parishioners would chip in with 2 or 3 dollars apiece to collect $15 and donate it to the priest for monthly living expenses. Finally, the day came when the parish failed to make the due payment of principal. The creditors then foreclosed, locked the church and decided to sell it in an auction.

As it happens at times of special crises in the life of a country or society, always the Lord sends a man with the ability to save the situation and inspire people to sacrifice and hard work. In this case it was Vassily Alekseyevich Mironov, a resident of New Westminster, who saw that not only the House of God, but also Russian dignity needed to be saved. He knocked on the door of every Russian in the area, as he collected donations and promoted the idea of creating a Russian Orthodox Society for the sole purpose of maintaining the church. Soon, the needed minimum sum was collected, the Russian Orthodox Society (ROS) was established and registered with the Provincial legislature.

The next step was negotiating with the creditors in order to buy the Temple from them as cheaply as possible. The creditors knew full well that they would have difficulty selling the Temple, since the building had an unusual appearance and was not suited to house a factory, and the plot of land itself was worth $200.00 at most. After lengthy negotiations they agreed to sell for $2,800.00 with payment in installments. The Russian Orthodox Society now had the sacred duty to preserve the Russian Orthodox Temple, and its members got down to work in order to pay off the mortgage as soon as possible.

The entire Russian colony was invigorated, zealous to help the holy cause. Numerous fundraising events were held : shows, concerts, bazaars. Very soon, the debt was paid in full. Afterwards, the neighbouring house was bought for the priest’s residence. As a result, effectively, the ROS replaced the parish council in administering the parish. It met a pressing need, but it was not itself without certain difficulties with the passage of time. Right at that time, there arose differences between the ROS and Father Alexander about the operation of the parish, and Father Alexander was forced to leave.

Release from Holy Resurrection parish, 1937

In 1937, the Archpriest Alexander Kiziun was released from his responsibilities at Holy Resurrection Church.

A new congregation, Holy Trinity Temple, 1937

In 1937, Father Alexander and his wife did not leave Vancouver, in part because there were people who were sympathetic to him and who implored him to remain. Because of his personal formation, he was able to galvanise the Faithful with him to acquire a property on Campbell Avenue in the Strathcona district of Vancouver. At that time, many immigrant Slavs lived in that district.

Between 1938-1940, together with those who were with him, Father Alexander led the building of a new Temple in a traditional Russian Style. Being from Ukraine, Father Alexander had learnt many practical skills which helped him in this situation. He salvaged materials from a variety of sources which makes the building unique in its construction and character.

Once the Temple was completed enough to be blessed, and services began to be offered regularly, not only did other Russian-speakers find the community, but also Serbs and Greeks. Later, non-Orthodox began to become Orthodox as well within this family. Because the Serbs in Vancouver did not yet have their own place of worship, they became numerous enough that the parish was described as Russian-Serbian, or even as Russian-Greek-Serbian.

The Temple, dedicated to the All-Holy Trinity, was constructed in a cruciform shape, that is, with a floor-plan in the shape of the Cross. At the western end, it has a white, wooden, single-dome, and a slender bell-house above it, which is adjacent to the Temple along the axis. This type of church is called a "ship", and it appeared in Rus' in the 17th century. The absence of external decor and ornaments indicates the orientation of the building's architecture towards Pskov-Novgorod architectural style, inherent in the beginning of the 20th century and throughout the immigrant period. At the same time, above the crossing of the transepts with the nave, there is an octagonal dome (cupola) over it. The style is reminiscent of Ukrainian baroque forms. "Pure eclecticism" was the term used by one art critic in Vancouver to describe it (although taste cannot be debated). Because of subsequent events regarding a required move for Holy Resurrection Church, this Temple remained as the oldest Orthodox Christian structure in Vancouver.

Two views of the Temple from the south

7th All-American Sobor at Cleveland, Ohio ; separation again between the ROGCCNA and the ROCOR, 1946

On 26-29 November, 1946, the Seventh All-American Sobor was convened at Saint Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio.

Regardless of the events of the previous year's visit, the Metropolia continued its pursuit of ecclesial peace and unity under the leadership of Metropolitan Theophilus (Pashkovsky). A decision of the 7th All-American Sobor sought reconciliation with the Church of Russia by recognising the spiritual authority of the Patriarch of Moscow while maintaining a broad autonomy in the governance of the Metropolia. Metropolitan Theophilus conveyed the information to Patriarch Alexei I (Simansky) by telegramme.

This overture towards relations with the Patriarchate in Russia caused a relapse in the relationship between the Metropolia and ROCOR, since the ROCOR hierarchs, clergy and parishes would not accept any relationship whatsoever with the Patriarchate. As a consequence, the ROCOR reconstituted itself as a separate jurisdiction in North America.

However, the Metropolia’s subsequent negotiations with the Moscow Patriarchate towards reconciliation were unsuccessful, as the Metropolia could not accept the Patriarchate’s insistence on its prerogative of confirming the Metropolitan’s election, including the right of naming another hierarch should the Patriarchal Holy Synod in Moscow deem unsuitable the candidate nominated by the All-American Council. Because of the failure of these negotiations, caused in part by the adamant avoidance by Metropolitan Theophilus of meeting with Patriarchal representatives sent to America to conduct talks, the Patriarchate reactivated a previously imposed, but briefly provisionally lifted, ecclesiastical suspension of the Metropolia’s hierarchs. Thus, in accordance with Metropolitan Theophilus’ own position and vision, the Metropolia’s autonomous governance continued unfettered. The Metropolia continued its pursuit of ecclesial peace and unity under the leadership of Metropolitan Theophilus.

Until this time, both parishes (Holy Trinity, and Holy Resurrection) had remained part of the ROGCCNA.

Father Alexander considered himself always to be a Russian, or at least a Russian-speaker.

He served in the Temple he constructed until the end of his life. Although the construction was incomplete, it was in adequate condition for offering worship services.

Repose, 1953

On 3 June, 1953, Archpriest Alexander Kiziun fell asleep in the Lord in Vancouver.

The funeral services were offered in Holy Trinity Church.

After the funeral obsequies, the body of Archpriest Alexander Kiziun was interred at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.

Grave-marker

Father Alexander Kiziun was survived by his wife.

After the funeral of the founder of the Temple, Matushka Kiziun put the building up for sale. Together with the land, it was bought by the parishioners who were by then led by Priest Filimon Gorelik (1893-1968), and with whom they became a part of the ROCOR.

Holy Trinity Temple

References :

Russian Religious Workers Abroad biography

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia archive

Additional information :

Archdiocese of Canada — Orthodox Church in America, “The Orthodox Church in Canada : A Chronology” (Ottawa : Archdiocese of Canada, 1988).

Bugea, Eleanor, “Romanians in Canada” (Michigan : Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, 2009). ISBN : 978-1-929200-14-6.

Kishkovsky, Archpriest Leonid & Stokoe, Mark, “Orthodox Christians in North America (1794-1994)”

Lazarus, Eve, Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church : a Heritage building in Vancouver

Tarasar, Constance J, ed., "Orthodox America 1794-1976 : Development of The Orthodox Church in America" (Syosset, NY : The Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975). ASIN : B000ZLZAUE.

Russian Orthodox Church web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about the Russian Orthodox Church

Orthodox Church in America web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about The Orthodox Church in America

Archdiocese of Canada (OCA) web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about the Archdiocese of Canada

The Russian Mission in North America

Archbishop (Saint) Tikhon (Belavin)

Saint Raphael (Hawaweeny)

Archbishop (Saint) Arseny (Chahovtsov)

Saint Alexander Hotovitzky

Archbishop Evdokim (Meschersky)

Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky)

Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky)

Metropolitan Theophilus (Pashkovsky)

History of Saint Barbara Russo Orthodox Cathedral Church, Edmonton, Alberta

History of Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Sobor, Vancouver

Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Sobor Chronology

Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Sobor web-site (English and Russian)

Holy Trinity Church, Vancouver, parish history

Saint Nicholas Church, Vancouver, parish history

History of Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Vancouver

History of Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church, Vancouver

Vancouver Heritage Foundation

Findagrave reference to Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver, British Columbia

Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Vancouver web-site news

Mountain View Cemetery, City of Vancouver grave details

Holy Trinity 60th anniversary (May, 2014)