For many decades, Christ the Savior Cathedral has been serving the Russian and Eastern European communities of Toronto, providing a center of worship and a meeting place for immigrants, their families, and their descendants. With our bilingual approach to services, rotating between English, Slavonic and bilingual services, we also try to offer an Orthodox choice to Canadians of all backgrounds. As you wander around the parish hall or into the kitchen, you will often hear conversations being carried on in many languages; waving hands and smiles make do for any lack of linguistic knowledge. We feel that by thus cherishing our "old world" traditions while looking forward to our lives in the "new world" we try to welcome everyone to our community. Situated near the Ryerson and University of Toronto campuses, we are also in a position to try to provide a haven for Orthodox students who may be feeling alone and a little lost in a strange city.
With a large congregation, we are able to support a talented choir of parishioners which adds the beauty of their music to the Liturgy on Sunday and to special services throughout the year. They also give concerts of traditional church and folk music at various times.
Other special events are also held each year including a Mardi Gras (held on March 20, 2000) as a prelude to Great Lent. On this night there is feasting on blini (a traditional Russian pancake), caviar and smoked salmon along with entertainment from groups of folk dancers and musicians, many of whom practice at the parish hall during the year. During Great Lent we come together on Friday evenings following the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts for a lenten potluck and adult discussion group. All through the year, lunches provide a social gathering point after the Liturgy on Sundays and St Cyprian's Fellowship offers a series of lectures on many religious topics.
Christ the Savior Cathedral sponsors both a Sunday School and a Saturday morning Russian School. As in other churches, our Sunday School (conducted in English) aims at teaching our faith to our children combining games and crafts with the lessons to make them more accessable to the children. The Saturday morning Russian School offers lessons in Russian language and history, art and theology to families who wish their children to develop their Russian heritage. Special events, like yolka at Christmas, strive to bring all our children, Russian and English speaking, together and include them in the church community. As they get older, they can join in our teen discussion group to continue their exploration of the faith. There are also, of course, opportunities like the Christmas Cookie Bake for shut-ins or the parish picnic for all generations to come together in fun and goodwill.
We look forward to welcoming Toronto's residents and visitors in the future as we have in the past.
