His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon Presides at Canadian Archdiocesan Assembly
His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon presided at the Canadian Archdiocesan Assembly, which took place on July 18-21, 2023, in Châteauguay, QC.
On Thursday, July 20, His Beatitude addressed the assembly and gave his remarks, speaking on the theme of the assembly: The person, the family, the Church—Living as the Body of Christ. He encouraged those assembled to consider our various vocations as individuals, communities, dioceses, and the Orthodox Church in America as a whole.
At the banquet later that day, His Grace Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska gave a presentation on the difficulties facing the Alaskan Diocese and encouraged the faithful in Canada to make donations towards an endowment to support clergy stipends.
On Friday morning, July 21, His Beatitude presided at the celebration of the hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Concelebrating with His Beatitude were His Eminence Archbishop Irénée of Ottawa and Canada, His Grace Bishop Alexei, diocesan chancellor Archpriest Phillip Eriksson, and other diocesan clergy. During the Liturgy, the gold cross was awarded to Priest Andrew Applegate.
His Beatitude gave the homily where he spoke on the Prophet Ezekiel and how God’s mercy and judgement are inseparable. He said, “God’s goodness is mercy if we accept it; it is judgment if we reject it. The sacred character of human freedom remains inviolate—that is how much God loves us. He truly wanted us to be able to make a choice, to make a difference, to work together with him—in a very small way—in order to redeem the world. And that cooperation begins with the choice to redeem ourselves, to accept the mercy of the Lord.”
The assembly continued with its final session and concluded later that same afternoon.