History of the Archdiocese of Canada

The Archdiocese of Canada is the legitimate descendant in Canada of the Russian mission in North America, which began in 1794. The diocese was founded and incorporated by Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus, in 1903.

Even though the Mother Church granted us self-governing status in 1970 with a new name, the Orthodox Church in America, we are that same Church established through the mission of St. Herman and others sent from Valaam Monastery to Alaska. Our mission is the same as theirs. We are called by God to take what we have inherited from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Palestine, Syria and other Orthodox lands, and plant the Truth of Jesus Christ in the Orthodox manner in Canada. St. Tikhon’s vision of what Orthodoxy could be in North America, and his dedication to live that life out, has blessed our continet (Russia as well!) and served as starting point for many within the Archdiocese of Canada.

We are called to baptize Canada with the Orthodox faith!

The great variety of our parishes and members show the many ways in which we struggle to undertake this in faithful obedience to the Lord. One of those ways was the creation of the St. Tikhon Archdiocesan Stewards program.

“… STAS presents an administrative vision for the Archdiocese, that ministers to the present and future needs of the church in Canada.”

At the Archdiocesan Council meeting held at Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Montreal November 3-4, 2006, a small focus group presented a preliminary needs assessment report, they had undertaken throughout the diocese, under the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop SERAPHIM.

In the God-directed conversations around the Council table, the perennial need of the Archdiocese for stable funding to sustain our ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was highlighted. the focus group was given a task, along with its ongoing mandate to develop “an administrative vision for the Archdiocese, that ministers to the present and future needs of the church in Canada.” The task was to establish a funding strategy that would effectively support this vision.

Emerging from the meetings in Montreal, members of the focus group, in conversations with His Eminence, and the Chancellor, developed a plan which we are calling the “Saint Tikhon Archdiocesan Stewards” (STAS) program. We believe that this program will enable committed persons across the Church in Canada to give to the Archdiocese in a straightforward, intentional, and meaningful way.

This type of giving is above-and-beyond our regular parish stewardship, and is a sacrificial investment in the mission of the Orthodox Church in Canada. Based upon well-established benchmarks such as the U.S.’s “Fellowship of Orthodox Stewards” (FOS) program, and the Antiochian Archdiocese’s “Order of St. Ignatius,” the plan received the wholehearted endorsement of the Archdiocesan Council at their Spring meeting at Holy Resurrection Church in Saskatoon, April 20-22, 2007. It is hoped that the program will benefit from your enthusiastic encouragement and fervent prayers as well.

How You Can Help

Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the Saint Tikhon Archdiocesan Stewards program. Prayerfully consider what you have been given, and what you can give for the work of the Kingdom of God. May we, who follow in the footsteps of the Saints, continue to be faithful stewards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!