10,000 gather for patriarchal liturgy (06/14/98)

10,000 gather for patriarchal liturgy

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - As thunderstorms broke and tornado watches were issued in Canada's largest metropolitan area, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople wrapped up his seven-city tour of Canada with a full-scale patriarchal divine liturgy conducted before about 10,000 faithful at Maple Leaf Gardens here on May 31.

Bishop Yurij Kalistchuk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church concelebrated the liturgy with the patriarch, 14 other Orthodox hierarchs and about 50 senior clergymen and officials of the Orthodox Church. Judging from the frequency of Ukrainian spoken in the halls at the event, many Ukrainian Orthodox faithful also attended the service, although their exact numbers were difficult to estimate.

The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom was conducted in its original Greek, with occasional replies, Ektenias and other passages intoned in Ukrainian, Serbian, Russian and other languages by clergymen of the respective congregations. They were assisted by an impressive Greek male choir, whose chants underscored the Church's millenially distant roots, as well as by a local Greek youth choir, which reflected the Church's contact with the modern world.

The music mirrored the concerns expressed in the patriarch's homilies. He first addressed the assembly in Greek, then focused on issues pertaining to youth in accented but flawlessly eloquent English, speaking of "the awesome task of preserving thousand-year traditions" amid the pressures exerted by a globalized culture.

The main homily was then translated into English, making plain Patriarch Bartholomew's mention that May 31 was the Feast Day of the Church's Holy Fathers, and his call to the faithful to struggle against passions, as did the Fathers, to find the truth.