History of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of Canada

At the beginning of the 20th century there were approximately 300 Canadians of Greek descent. The first communities established were the Greek Community of the Annunciation in Montreal in 1896, the Greek Community of St. George in Toronto in 1909 and the Greek Community of Holy Trinity in Thunder Bay in 1918. The first Bishop in Canada, Metropolitan Athenagoras of Elaia, was appointed by the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in 1960 and was followed by Bishop Timothy of Rodostolon 1963-1967 and Bishop Theodosios of Ancona 1967-1973.

The present Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada, Sotirios, was elected Bishop of Constantia on December 18, 1973 and ordained on January 27, 1974. Since then, he is serving the Church in Canada. He was promoted to Bishop of Toronto in 1979 and Metropolitan of Toronto in 1996 and Archbishop of Canada in 2019.

At the time of his election as Bishop, there were only 22 Churches in Canada. Under his tenure, that number has grown to 76 Churches and 350,000 Greek Orthodox Christians. During his Archieratical service, the Diocese and now Metropolis have established the Annual Youth Assemblies (1980); a monthly newspaper, Orthodox Way (1982); Social Services (1984); Metahomes (1984), providing transitional housing for the homeless; Greek Orthodox Order of Canada (1987); weekly television program Orthodox Voice (1990), which is broadcast across all of Canada; School of Byzantine Music (1991); Convents of St. Kosmas of Aitolos in Ontario and the Virgin Mary of Consolation in Quebec (1993); Greek Orthodox Education in Ontario, (1996) (“Metamorphosis” Greek Orthodox Day School, “Metamorphosis” Child Care Centre, Toronto, Metamorphosis Preschool, Toronto, “St. Nicholas“ Child Care Centre-Toronto). Homes for the Aged, (nine Homes: Toronto, Montreal, Laval, Vancouver); 50 Homes for Needy Families (Thunder Bay); Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy (1998); “Metamorphosis” Summer Camps (1999); Metropolis Cultural Centre (2002).

Η μετανάστευση των Ελλήνων είναι γνωστή από την αρχαιότητα. Στις αρχές του 20ου αιώνα, στον Καναδά υπήρχαν περίπου 300 Έλληνες. Οι πρώτες Ελληνικές Κοινότητες που ιδρύθηκαν στον Καανδά, ήταν στο Μοντρεάλ στο Τορόντο και στο Thunder Bay. Πρώτος Επίσκοπος στον Καναδά διορίστηκε το 1960 ο Μητροπολίτης Ελαίας Αθηναγόρας. Ακολούθησε ο Επίσκοπος Τιµόθεος 1963-1967 και ο Επίσκοπος Αγκώνος Θεοδόσιος 1967-1973.

Ο νυν Αρχιεπίσκοπος Σωτήριος εξελέγη Επίσκοπος Κωνσταντίας στις 18 Δεκεµβρίου 1973 και εχειροτονήθη στις 27 Ιανουαρίου 1974 και από τότε υπηρετεί την Εκκλησία στον Καναδά. Προήχθη σε Επίσκοπο Τορόντο το 1979 και σε Μητροπολίτη το 1996 και σε Αρχιεπίσκοπο Καναδά το 2019.

Υπήρχαν τότε 22 Ελληνικές Ορθόδοξες Κοινότητες στον Καναδά. Τώρα έχουν αυξηθεῖ σε 76. Σήµερα ο Ελληνισµός του Καναδά είναι περίπου 350.000. Κατά την Αρχιερατεία του τότε Επισκόπου και νυν Μητροπολίτου Σωτηρίου, η Ιερά Επισκοπή τότε και Μητρόπολη τώρα, ίδρυσε τα κάτωθι ιδρύµατα: Ετήσιες Συνελεύσεις Νεολαίας (1980). Μηνιαία Ελληνορθόδοξη Εφηµερίδα «Ορθόδοξη Πορεία» (1982). Κοινωνικές Υπηρεσίες (1984). Metahomes (1984), δηλαδή στέγες για τους αστέγους. Την Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη Αδελφότητα του Καναδά (1987). Εβδοµαδιαῖο Τηλεοπτικό Πρόγραµµα «Ορθόδοξη Φωνή» (1990), που µεταδίδεται σε ολόκληρο τον Καναδά. Σχολή Βυζαντινής Μουσικής (1991). Ιερές Μονές, Πατροκοσµά στο Τορόντο και Παρηγορήτισσας στο Μόντρεαλ (1993). Οργανισµό Ελληνορθόδοξης Παιδείας στο Οντάριο, (1996) (“Μεταµόρφωση”-Ηµερήσιο Ελληνορθόδοξο Σχολείο-Τoronto, “Μεταµόρφωση” Παιδικός Σταθµός-Toronto, “Μεταµόρφωση” Προνήπιο-Toronto), “St. Nicholas”, Παιδικός Σταθµός-Toronto). Οίκους Ευγηρίας (εννέα Γηροκοµεία στις πόλεις, Toronto, Montreal, Laval, Vancouver). Πενήντα (50) οικίες για οικογένειες µε ανάγκες (Thunder Bay). Ορθόδοξη Θεολογική Ακαδηµία Τορόντο (1998). Θερινές Κατασκηνώσεις «Μεταµόρφωσις» (1999). Πολιτιστικό Κέντρο της Ι. Μητρόπολης (2002).

Source: https://goarchdiocese.ca/brief-history/

His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios (Athanassoulas) was born to George and Anastasia in Lepiana, Arta, in Epirus, Greece in 1936. He graduated from the University of Athens School of Theology and obtained a Master’s Degree in Theology from the Universite de Montreal. He speaks Greek, English, and French. Still a layman, he served as Dean of Students at the School of Theology in Boston. He was ordained Deacon on July 17, 1962 and Priest on July 18, 1962. Since then he has served as a clergyman in Canada. He was elected Bishop on December 18, 1973 and ordained on January 27, 1974. On September 24, 1996 he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Toronto and Exarch of all Canada, and thereafter elevated to Archbishop of Canada in 2019. He served as Vice President of the Christian Pavilion Expo ’67 in Montreal. He served as a member of the Archdiocesan Council of the Archdiocese of North & South America (1968-1996) and as administrator of the same Archdiocese (1996). He served as a Member of the Governing Board of the University of Toronto (1975-1978). He visited China (1981) with The Canadian Council of Churches and Australia with the World Council of Churches (1982). When he assumed his duties as Bishop in Canada, there were twenty-two Parishes which have now reached seventy-five. During his Archieratical service, the Diocese and now Metropolis has established the annual Youth Assemblies (1980) the monthly newspaper Orthodox Way (1982); The Social Services (1984); Metahomes (1984), providing transitional housing for the homeless; The Greek Orthodox Order of Canada (1987); The weekly television program Orthodox Voice (1990), which is broadcast across all of Canada; The School of Byzantine Music (1991); The Convents of St. Kosmas of Aitolos in Ontario and the Virgin Mary of Consolation in Quebec (1993); The Greek Orthodox Education of Ontario (Day Schools) (1996); The Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy (1998). He has composed and published: Catechism of the Greek Orthodox Faith in English and in Greek verse and prose. He has been honoured with the Centennial Medal of Canada; the “125 Canada” Medal; the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002); the medal of the city of Athens; and, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). His Eminence has also been named Grand Commander of the Order of Phoenix of Greece.

• Consecrated as Bishop (Χειροτονία είς Επίσκοπο) January 27, 1974
• Nameday (Ονομαστήρια) August 6

Orthodox Voice is the television program of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada and delivered every Sunday by His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios.

To view the current and past episodes of Orthodox Voice click HERE.

The Orthodox Way - ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΠΟΡΕΙΑ - the official newspaper of our Archdiocese, is published in Greek and English.  To read the current or past issues please click HERE.