Church Address:
8080 Ave Christophe-Columb,
Montreal, QC H2R 2S9
Office: 514-274-2181
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Founded in 1913
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Parish Contacts
Rev.
Liviu Alexandrescu, Pastor
Home: 514-274-2181
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Lay Leadership
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Directions
General Location
Annunciation Romanian Orthodox Church is located in Montreal, the largest city of the province of Quebec, in eastern Canada. The church is located in the east side of Montreal, about 35 miles from the USA/Canada border.
From the South
Take Highway 15 north to Hightway 40 east and exit at Christophe Columb south, to the corner of Jarry.
From the north
Take Highway 15 south to Hightway 40 east and exit at Christophe Columb south, to the corner of Jarry.
From the west
Take Hightway 40 east and exit at Christophe Columb south, to the corner of Jarry.
From the east
Take Hightway 40 wast and exit at Christophe Columb south, to the corner of Jarry.
By Subway
Get on at any Montreal metro station and get off at the JARRY station. Walk east along Jarry for a few streets until you reach the intersection of Christophe Columb.
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Schedule of Services
Sunday Morning
10:00 AM Divine Liturgy, Church School, Fellowship Hour.
Sunday Morning
9:00 AM Matins and Confessions.
Friday Evening
6:00 PM Akathistos, Litiya and Confessions. Holy Unction is served on the last Friday of the Month.
Saturday Morning
Baptisms, Marriages and Memorials as scheduled.
Eves of Great Feasts
6:00 PM Vespers and Litiya.
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Ministry Groups
Altar Servers
Children and young adults.
Ladies Auxiliary
Mrs Valeria Oana, President
Church Choir
Directed by Mr Alexandru Popescu. The Choir sings the responses at each Sunday Divine Liturgy and various religious concerts.
Greeters and Ushers
A large part of members of the parish council are involved in the voluntary works along the Sunday services.
Romanian School
Directed by Mr. Alexandru Popescu. Courses include Sunday school (Romanian language and Orthodox teachings) and English classes (beginners and advanced, three sessions per week).
"L'Age d'or" (Elders Meeting Club)
Held every Thursday at 1:00 PM.
Church Library
Mrs Maria Oana and Dr Alexandru Nitescu. Coordinates book loans and organizes cultural events.
Reception Hall
Many meetings, congress and ethnic parties are organized here by Mr Victor Rosa, Parish Council President.
Ministry to the Needy
A group of volunteers coordinate collections of clothing and domestic items for poor people and new immigrants.
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Upcoming Events
No Information at this time
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Parish Background
The Romanian Community of Montreal, the biggest one in Canada, has been formed and got united around the Church.
The Romanian Emigration to Canada started around 1800s.
At the beginning of the 1900s there was a clear need to build a church. The first emigrants officially registered "The Annunciation Church of Montreal" in 1913 as a non-for-profit religious institution. The first Romanian Church in Montreal, "Holy Trinity," was founded in the same year in the western part of the city. Later on, the Romanian Hall and the parish house were built in the close vicinity. The priests who served the Romanian church of Montreal from 1913 to 1951 were: Ghenadie Gheorghiu, Irimia Delea, Dosoftei Constantinescu, Gherasim Luca, Ilie Jida, Glicherie Moraru, Ermoghen Ionescu, Valeriu Moglan, Epaminonda Chryssolor, Ion Spariosu, Constantin Iuga and John Oncescu. From 1951, Fr Petre Popescu started his mission as the parish priest, honorably serving the church for 52 years.
At the beginning of the 1960s, the structure of the church building of that time was not resistant enough and the church itself was too small for the growing Romanian community. The reparations of the old church proved to be much too expensive; it was therefore decided to build a new church--"Annunciation" Church--on Christophe-Colomb Ave. The building of the new Romanian hall and parish house ended in 1981. The new "Annunciation" comples is facing Villeray Park and is very close to the city subway as well as to the crossroads of two very important highways in Montreal.
From the very beginning and until 1948, the Romanian church in Montreal was submitted to the authority of Bucovina's Episcopate. In 1948, the last bishop from Cernauti before Communism, Visarion Puiu, founded the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Western Europe, headquartered in Paris, France. In 1951, the bishop's secretary from Paris, Dr Petre Popescu, was named parish priest in Montreal, within the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Western Europe. At the request of Archbishop Nicodim and in order to protect the Episcopate's independence, Bishop Visarion joined the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Western Europe to the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia's frontiers, headquarted in New York. In 1999, there were some problems with the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia's frontiers. Fr Petre Popescu requested therefore for the entrance of the Montreal Parish within the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America, under the authority of Archbishop Nathaniel (Popp).
Until 1945, the Romanian community of Montreal remained united around Annunciation Church. The first generations of Romanian-Canadians took part intensively in the activities organized by the church. Their children integrated to Canadian life, keeping in their hearts the Romanian Christian culture and traditions.
After World War II, there has been a new wave of immigrants to Canada. These were mainly Romanians who refused to live in Romania at the beginning of Communism. They wholeheartedly joined the community of Montreal and proved to be true Christian Romanians by fighting for truth, dignity and honor without denying their roots ald always remembering their legitimate aspiration--a truly free Romania. Due to diversions and very unpleasant events, as well as the creation of parallel Romanian religious structures, little by little the Romanian community started to divide.
From the mid 1950s to the 1990s, there have been few immigrants from Romanian because of the obstructive policy of the communist regime of that time. The few immigrants who did come ran away from Romania, and once in Montreal, integrated very well to the Romanian community here.
After the events of Eastern Europe in 1989, numerous Romanian emigrants came to Canada, where they found a very strong community in Montreal.
Today, although there are two Romanian Orthodox churches and two missions in this big city, the Annunciation Church is the one that attracts the majority of the faithful. The Romanian community of the Annunciation continuously raised its voice against the unjustices that were happening in Romania by the communist regime. The fight for justice and truth is a Christian duty and the Romanian community of Montreal has stood for these values.
The valuable inheritance of traditional religious life and of Romanian soul left by Fr Petrescu has been taken over in 2003 by the man he himself chose, Fr Nicolae Stoleru. He is now the one who leads the Romanian community in its efforts to develop a true example of Orthodox and Romanian life.
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