On July 19, 2026, the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, Archbishop Sotirios celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Toronto. He was assisted by parish priest Fr. Evangelos Athanassoulas, as well as newly ordained priest, Fr. Iakovos Kerr.
After more than half a century as a hierarch labouring in the vineyard of the Lord, this was the last Sunday Divine Liturgy for Archbishop Sotirios as Archbishop of Canada.
The faithful of the St. Nicholas Cathedral Community and Greater Toronto Area came together to worship the Lord, as well as to express their love, gratitude and well wishes to their Shepherd in Christ, Archbishop Sotirios.
Among the parishioners present was the President of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Archons in Canada, Evagelos Sotiropoulos, and many Archons of the Great Church of Christ; the President of the National Philoptochos, Zoe Veroutis, and members of the Board of Directors; and, the President of the Greek Community of Toronto, Betty Skoutakis.
Also present was the local Member of Provincial Parliament, Aris Babikian, and Toronto City Councillor, Nick Mantas, who we express our appreciation towards for their ongoing support. Toronto City Councillor and Mayoral Candidate Brad Bradford also attended the Divine Liturgy and met with members of the community. He graciously provided Archbishop Sotirios with a congratulatory scroll to mark his historic tenure as Archbishop; we thank Mr. Bradford for honouring us with his presence.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the Archbishop tonsured four altar boys as Readers. They are Worthy!
Archbishop Sotirios delivered concluding remarks imbued with his traditional fatherly approach of love and prudence.
He spoke about his childhood, the work to build and grow the Church in Canada throughout the decades, the need for the faithful to always remain close to Christ and His Church, as well as our collective responsibility to pray for and support whoever the new Archbishop is in order to continue making progress for Orthodoxy and Hellenism in Canada.
Following the Divine Liturgy, parishioners went to the adjacent Metropolitan Cultural Centre for a luncheon provided by the Cathedral Community under the leadership of President Anastasia Sotiropoulos. Mrs. Sotiropoulos also delivered heartfelt and emotional remarks about Archbishop Sotirios, which made a significant impression among the assembled guests.
It was a special day and a blessed opportunity to be together as one in Christ and express deep and abiding appreciation to Archbishop Sotirios.
