Who we are
Visitors Information
Many visitors to St. Elias are Orthodox Christians who are already familiar with the way we worship in our church. However, we often get visitors who have never been in an Orthodox church before, and we are always very happy to welcome these guests! If you are preparing for your first visit to St. Elias, there are some things that you would probably like to know. This article is designed to cover those basics.
About St. Elias Cathedral
St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral is a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. We began as a small church of a few Middle-Eastern immigrant families who arrived in Canada from Lebanon in the early 1900’s. Today we have around 1000 families that call St. Elias Cathedral their spiritual home. The majority of our members are second, third, and fourth generation Canadians of Middle Eastern descent. We also have a mix of converts from other religious traditions as well as faithful people raised in other traditions of the Orthodox Church (Greek, Slavic, etc.).
Our worship services are sung with an equal mix of English and Arabic by our Choirs with congregational participation. Our Preaching is in English. Service books are available for those who are interested in following the order of service (in addition, most services can be found on this link: https://www.antiochian.org/liturgicday). Children are welcome. At the end of Divine Liturgy on Sunday, coffee is provided for all, and Church School based on Scripture and Tradition is held for children from kindergarten (ages 4-5) to high school. Concurrently, adults enjoy a time of fellowship with one another.
Our dedication to the Orthodox formation of our young people is demonstrated by the several components of our youth and young adult ministry. We believe that our young people, struggling to live wholesome Christian lives in an anti-Christian culture, require and deserve such a support system.
St. Elias Cathedral is strongly committed to the belief that the Holy Orthodox Church is the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles. We are equally committed to the implications of that belief: that the Orthodox Faith requires a unity of faith and a unity of life, nourished through worship in the Divine Services, strengthened through prayer, fasting, and alms-giving, sustained by the intercessions of the Holy Saints, and lived every day of the week in the homes, schools, and workplaces of our people.
Our Faith
The Orthodox Church is the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, founded by Jesus Christ and His apostles. It is organically and historically the same Church that came fully into being at Pentecost (Acts 2). To read more about the faith we profess, visit this page: https://steliascathedral.com/the-orthodox-faith.
About Orthodoxy
Today, the Orthodox constitute the second largest Christian body in the world. Some 200 million people identify themselves as “Orthodox,” most of whom live in Russia, Greece, Romania and other eastern European countries, as well as throughout the Middle East. Approximately 4 million Orthodox live in the United States, and around 500 thousand to a million living in Canada. Our parish is within the jurisdiction (not denomination) of the Antiochian Archdiocese— the ancient church of Antioch, where the disciples were for the first time called Christians (Acts 11:26). Though there are several Eastern Orthodox Archdioceses in Canada and the US, these are not different denominations, but rather different Archdiocese that profess the same faith and are in unity and communion with each other.
Learn More