The Sign of the Theotokos Orthodox Church Montreal QC

The Sign is a parish in the Archdiocese of Canada of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). We welcome people of all backgrounds, faiths and languages.

Our parish is named and consecrated in honour of one of the major icons in most churches — “The Sign of the Theotokos” spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah (7:14) in the Old Covenant, and quoted by the Evangelist Matthew (1:23) in the New: “The Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means, ‘God is with us’.” (“Theotokos” in Greek means “birthgiver of God”). Our liturgical services are celebrated primarily in English (with some French, and a little Greek and Slavonic).

Our mission is to bear witness to the Kingdom of God as transmitted through Sacred Scripture, the Apostles, the Ecumenical Councils and the Holy Fathers of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of God; worship and glorify the Lord God in Holy Trinity according to the liturgical practices of the Orthodox Church … and to be a spiritual home for all those who choose to dwell therein.

 

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https://signorthodoxchurch.ca/  

 

 

Directions by metro (subway) and/or bus:

Our new church is very conveniently located 3 blocks east of St Denis Street (bus #30) and just 1 short block east of the St Joseph exit of the Laurier metro (subway) station. The Laurier metro is on the #2 (or orange) metro line. A number of buses stop at the St Joseph exit of the Laurier station, including #14, #27, #47 and #51.  

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Prehistory

The beginnings of the Sign of the Theotokos Orthodox Church (“The Sign” for short) in the city of Montréal, Québec, can be found in a small group of parishioners at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Montréal in the mid-1970s. This cathedral community had had earlier times when the children and grand-children of the founders were conducting their daily lives in the English and French languages. However, there were repeated influxes of new groups of Russian-speaking immigrants who were in need of the Russian language for beginning their lives in Canada, and the Church Slavonic language for keeping links in their hearts with their homeland. Therefore, the cathedral continued to be a predominantly Russian-speaking community, even at 7 decades of life in Montréal. In the 1970s, a small group of a dozen or so people strongly felt the need for worship services in English.

In 1973, the Priest John I Tkachuk and Matushka Mary were transferred from the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Buffalo, New York (on the eastern coast of Lake Erie), to serve in the cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Montréal. Father John served as the pastor of the cathedral parish, and he became active in developing the use of the English language there.

Not long after arriving, Matushka Mary began to work as an elementary school teacher at the Priory School, a private school. At the same time, she worked together with her husband throughout their years of pastoral service. Matushka Mary taught children in schools for about 35 years. One of her principal contributions was in leading the singers in this parish for many years. Earlier, she had participated in the cathedral choir, and she constantly participated likewise with the singers at the Saint Sergius Chapel at Lac Labelle. One important aspect of her leadership is that during every rehearsal, it was not uncommon that there would be a discussion about the meaning of the liturgical texts being sung. This helped not only the singers, but also anyone else who was present at the time.

In October, 1974, about a year after the arrival of the Priest John Tkachuk, a weekly English Liturgy was inaugurated at the side-chapel of the Great-martyr George at the cathedral, prior to the Slavonic service. The small group also instituted an English-language Sunday school for the few children who then were attending, and gradually their numbers began to increase.

Having 2 language groups at the cathedral created certain tensions. Therefore, permission was sought from Archbishop Sylvester (Haruns), the Archbishop of Montréal and Canada, to explore the possibility of initiating a new mission which would offer services in the English and French languages.

By this time, Father John had already initiated the precursor of the annual educational conferences which were generally to be held in Châteauguay, at a Grey Nuns’ convent (now the Hôtel Manoir d’Youville), which had facilities for retreats and small conferences. People began to travel from such places as Québec City, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto in order to participate. It received the name “The Orthodox Theological Institute” (OTI) of Montréal. It functioned for several decades under the leadership of Father John. Although they are not directly related, the future theological programme at Longueuil that developed with the University of Sherbrooke after 1997 is one of the fruits of this annual conference. It may be said that, by extension, the seed may also be seen in this conference for the eventual development in 2006 of the Orthodox and Eastern Christian Studies programme at Trinity College in Toronto, Ontario, which in 2015 became the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College in Toronto. In more recent years, responsibility for the continuation of the Orthodox Theological Institute (OTI) was taken up by Dr. John Hadjinicolaou, in association with the University of Laval.

The value of the annual retreats and the various lectures cannot be understated. The beneficial influence was not limited either to the parish of the Sign of the Theotokos or to the region of Montréal. Many people attended from other places, such as Ottawa and Kingston (not all of them yet Orthodox believers), and they were all refreshed and strengthened by these opportunities. It was the personality and ability of Father John Tkachuk which made it easier for people to feel that they could and should attend.

From:

https://orthodoxcanada.ca/Montr%C3%A9al_QC_Sign_of_the_Theotokos_Orthodox_Church_1978