Saint Michael the Archangel Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto)
Church in Toronto, Ontario From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saint Michael the Archangel Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church (Serbian: Српска православна црква Светог Архангела Михаила) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a Serbian Eastern Orthodox church which is not a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church due to a tumultuous history.
| Saint Michael the Archangel | |
|---|---|
 The church pictured in 2010 | |
 | |
| Location | 212 Delaware Avenue Toronto, Ontario M6H 2T7 |
| Denomination | Independent Eastern Orthodox |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Former names | St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (1889–1914) |
| Consecrated | June 14, 1964 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Langley & Burke |
| Architectural type | Serbo-Byzantine Revival |
| Years built | 1888–1889 |
| Clergy | |
| Pastor(s) | Abbot Sofronije Nikić |
In 2008, the church was showcased in the annual Doors Open Toronto event.
The church structure was built in 1889 as an Anglican church[1] and was used by the Anglicans until 1914.[2] In 1964, it was bought by the Serbian Canadian community to serve as the city's second Serbian Orthodox church (the first being the Saint Sava Church in Cabbagetown). The church is located on the north-west corner of Bloor Street West and Delaware Avenue in Dovercourt Park just across the street from Ossington station. Stylistically, the church building synthesizes Serbian late-Byzantine architectural-styles and icon styles. It has many copper domes, cupolas and trim.[3]
The reason a second church was sought was the 1963 schism where Serbs in North America, distraught that Patriarch German had relations with the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, formed the Free Serbian Orthodox Church which existed up until 1991 when newly-appointed Patriarch Pavle visited the United States and returned the church to full communion with the Patriarchate in Belgrade.[4] After this, the Saint Michael the Archangel Church was part of the canonical Eparchy for America and Canada from 1991 until June 2009.[5]
In June 2009, the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America underwent reorganizing, transferring the Saint Michael the Archangel Church from the Eparchy for America and Canada to the Eparchy of Canada.[6] Members of the Saint Michael the Archangel Church and School Congregation objected and as a result of this internal conflict, the parish was transferred out of the Serbian Orthodox jurisdiction and over to the non-canonical jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance) under the Archdiocese of Etna (California). The first Divine Liturgy under the new jurisdiction was on Sunday April 11, 2010.
In 2014, the year the parish celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Holy Synod in Resistance united itself with the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece and formally ceased to exist. This transferred the parish over to the Metropolis of the Genuine Greek Orthodox Church of America (Greek Old Calendarists).
Since 2015, the parish is not part of any diocese and has been registered as a corporation. It is still sometimes referred to as a Free Serbian Orthodox Church.
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