St. Stefan Serbian Orthodox Church (Ottawa)
| St. Stefan Serbian Orthodox Church | |
|---|---|
 St. Stefan Serbian Orthodox Church in 2016 | |
 | |
| 45°20′47″N 75°42′02″W / 45.346484°N 75.700531°W | |
| Location | 1993 Prince of Wales Drive Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3J7 |
| Denomination | Serbian Orthodox Church |
| Website | svetistefan |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada |
| Clergy | |
| Priest(s) | Aleksandar Gujanicic |
The St. Stefan Serbian Orthodox Church,[1] is a Serbian Orthodox church, located in Nepean (Ottawa) Canada. It is part of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada, and it is located at 1989 Prince of Wales Drive, the home of the Ottawa Serbian Church School Congregation and Community centre.[2]
Today there are 2,000 families that call St. Stefan Serbian Orthodox Church their spiritual home.[3] In 2021, a second Serbian Orthodox Church was inaugurated—The Meeting of the Lord—situated on Holland Avenue in Ottawa.
History
[edit]The church's founding began with the initiatives of the late Russian interpreter for the Federal government, and activist Nikola Bogdanović, who was elected as President of a new parish in Ottawa. The founders included Vida and Pero Senković (formerly of Montreal), Milan Budimirović, Sava Budimirović, Pera Petrović, Kole Porubić, and Miša Tričković.[3]
On the day of St. Stefan, 9 January 1976, after the consecration of the new Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church (Montreal) Bishop Sava (Vuković) visited the Serbs in Ottawa. He celebrated the Holy Liturgy for the faithful in the area of Ottawa-Gatineau.[citation needed] Following Holy Liturgy, an organizational assembly was held, and a new Church Council was elected with Nikola Bogdanović as President and Dušan Savić, Ranko Ignatović, and Radoš Trišić as members of the board.[citation needed] Bishop Sava, with his official act, approved the Church School Congregation of St. Stefan in Ottawa. He appointed Rev. Krsto Rikić of Montreal as an administrator.[4]
More than a decade went by until the Church School Congregation, headed by a new board president Savo Budimirović, vice-president Stevan Tomić, treasurer Ana Vandusen, financial secretary Radmila Parojćić, auditors Radoš Trišić, Dane Dozet, and Josef Divić, purchased a house at 361 Dominion Avenue in Ottawa, where the facilities were adapted into a church parish. The chapel was blessed in April 1990 by Bishop Georgije Đokić, the first bishop of the Eparchy of Canada who immigrated from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1984.
Many roadblocks occurred during 1992 with the city restrictions forcing the chapel at 361 Dominion Avenue to be closed for two years where Serbs could only hold services at All Saints Anglican Church at 347 Richmond Road.[3] In June 1990, Father Vasa Pejović arrived as the priest in Ottawa, and he served in the chapel on Dominion Avenue. In December 1991, Father Milutin Veljko replaced him. Father Milutin left the parish in September 1993, and then the parish was again served by Father Krsto Rikić.[4] Then in 1995 at the time when Protopresbyter Žarko Mirković was assigned in Ottawa the church board members decided to sell the Dominion Avenue property with all its zoning problems and purchase a building at 3662 Albion Road which was converted a year later to a temple and a community centre.[3]
With the Yugoslav Wars, the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and the Overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic that followed, the Serbs of Ottawa and the area increased exponentially and dramatically in numbers from the 1990s and the 2000s. In 2008 the Serbian congregation and community, composed of old settlers and newcomers, began to search for an appropriate location for their future home. They found the land (two adjacent parcels) and built a community centre (2011) and a temple (2013) in the architectural style of the Old Country at 1989 Prince of Wales Drive in Nepean (Ottawa).[5]
Since 2005 the St. Stefan Serbian Orthodox Church has held an Ottawa Serbian Festival on Canadian Labour Day weekend.[6]
In October 2024, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije visited Canada to celebrate liturgies with the Serbian diaspora.[7][8][9]
See also
[edit]- Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada
- Holy Transfiguration Monastery
- Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church (Montreal)
- Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto)
- Saint Petka Serbian Orthodox Church (Lakeshore, Ontario)
- Saint Arsenije Sremac Serbian Orthodox Church
- All Serbian Saints Serbian Orthodox Church (Mississauga)
- Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church (Regina)
- Saint Michael the Archangel Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto)
- Saint Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Cathedral (Hamilton, Ontario)
- Serbian Canadians
References
[edit]- ^ Institute, M. V. Dimić Research (2004). Diaspora Serbs: A Cultural Analysis. M.V. Dimic Research Institute, University of Alberta. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-921490-15-9.
- ^ "14th Annual Ottawa Serbian Festival | St. Stefan Serbian Orthodox Church and Community, 1989 Prince of Wales Drive, Nepean". To Do Canada.
- ^ a b c d "Ottawa ON Saint Stefan the Archdeacon Serbian Orthodox Church 1976 - Canadian Orthodox History Project". orthodoxcanada.ca.
- ^ a b "St. Stefan - Serbian Orthodox Church". svetistefan.ca (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 31 July 2015.
- ^ "People". N45 Architecture.
- ^ "Ottawa Serbian Festival, 1989 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, ON (2021)". www.eventyas.com.
- ^ "Serbian Patriarch celebrates Divine Liturgy at St. Sava Church in Toronto". orthodoxtimes.com. 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Patriarch Porfirije visits Montreal". bibliotekamontreal.ca. Library "Stevan Jorgović".
- ^ "Romanian Bishop of Canada meets with Serbian Patriarch Porfirije in Montreal". basilica.ro. 9 October 2024.
