Throughout Canada, the parish communities and faithful of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese celebrated with great splendour and joy the dual feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos and Greek Independence Day.
On March 23, 2025, Archbishop Sotirios presided over the Divine Liturgy for the Sunday of the Holy Cross at the Evangelismos Church in Montreal, Quebec. Hundreds of pious Orthodox faithful attended and communed of the Holy Mysteries.
Thereafter, the traditional and well-regarded Greek Independence Day parade took place in Montreal with thousands of Greek-Canadians and friends of Hellenism, including many dignitaries, participating. It was joyous and heartwarming to witness many young families and their children attend, comforting us that the future of Orthodoxy and Hellenism in Canada is strong.
On Monday, March 24, 2025, Bishop Athenagaros of Patara, assisted by Protopresbyter Peter Avgeropoulos and Reverend Fathers from the Greater Toronto Area, performed Great Vespers at the celebrating parish community in Toronto for the Great Feast of the Annunciation. Participants included the President of the Greek Community of Toronto, Ms. Betty Skoutakis; the President of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Archons in Canada, Archon Evagelos Sotiropoulos; the President of the National Philoptochos, Ms. Zoe Veroutis; and, the Hon. E. Ria Tzimas, Judge of the Superior Court of Justice.
The following morning, on March 25th, His Eminence presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Annunciation Church in Toronto, which included the participation of the Hon. Ioannis Chatzantonakis, Consul General of Greece in Toronto, who delivered the message of His Excellency the President of Greece, Mr. Konstantinos Tassoulas, and also conveyed warmest wishes to all on behalf of Motherland Greece.
That afternoon, the Archbishop, Consul General, and other dignitaries, including Ontario MPPs Effie Triantafilopoulos and Aris Babikian, gathered outside the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the Greek Independence Day flag raising.
On March 26th, the annual celebration of Hellenic Heritage Month took place at Queen’s Park under the leadership of MPP Triantafilopoulos, who we sincerely thank and extend our appreciation to for her continued efforts to promote Hellenism in Ontario and across the country. The Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, and many elected parliamentarians, including Cabinet Ministers, attended. Bishop Athenagaros represented His Eminence and the Archdiocese.
These were only a handful of events that took place across the country to celebrate the Annunciation and Greek Independence. Flag raisings took place in various cities, including Canada’s capital, Ottawa, in the presence of the Hon. Ekaterini Dimakis, the Ambassador of Greece to Canada, and Mr. Mark Sutcliffe, Mayor of Ottawa.
Finally, in the evening of March 25th, the waters of the world-famous Niagara Falls were illuminated in blue to pay tribute to Greek Independence and, by extension, the heroes of 1821.
With thanksgiving to all, and glory and worship to the Holy Trinity, we close with the inspiring words of the well-known Georgios Tertsetis:
Have no doubt: the Lord of life and death has written on the palm of His hand the date of March 25, 1821. Let us often turn our eye to that wondrous day…
