Orthodox Middle Eastern Church

     As best as it is known, the first Orthodox Faithful of Middle Eastern origin arrived in Montreal before the turn of the Century, around 1880. Also others, then called Syrians, settled in an area now known as old Montreal. Montreal, along with Boston and New York, was home to the earliest of Syrian settlers. Though communication was difficult, there was contact amongst many in these communities

      As early as 1900 the community in Montreal, that had greatly increased in numbers, was concerned about its spiritual needs. Because of their deeply rooted faith, a Church was of great concern to them. It would serve as a spiritual, social, and cultural center. Correspondence between the North American communities revealed that the Russian Orthodox Church had established a Syrian Mission to minister to the needs of the Orthodox of Middle Eastern background in North America. It had become a tradition in the Middle East that the Russian Church, through the personal interest of the Czars, had always maintained a great brotherly concern for the Orthodox Church. Many of the churches in the Middle East were founded, built, and maintained by the Orthodox Church of Russia before the Russian Revolution in 1917 and later in some cases. Thus, the connection to the people of the New World was natural.

     Archimandrite Raphael Hawaweeny, Professor of Arabic at the Academy of Kazan in Russia, was offered the episcopacy in the Middle East many times, but declined because he felt the missionary work in North America was too important to be ignored. During that time, he made contacts with the community in Montreal, and the organization of the Syrian Orthodox Benevolent Society took place

     Archimandrite Raphael Hawaweeny was consecrated a Vicar Bishop of the Russian Archdiocese in 1904. In 1905 he visited and blessed the existing Benevolent Society in Montreal. The society had two purposes: first to look after the Orthodox of Middle Eastern origin, to see to their physical needs by assisting one another, and secondly, to work towards fulfillment of their desire to have their own place of worship, and a resident clergyman to celebrate the services for them. As early as 1905, Montreal had two groups whose goals were to have a church

      Around late 1908 early 1909, both groups discovered that to have the right to have a permanent church, and to own land or property, it was necessary to have a charter, and both groups began the process of obtaining their charters. Both had selected the name of Saint Nicholas as their patron

      Two charters were granted. Charter 99, “An act to incorporate the Saint Nicholas Syrian Greek orthodox Church of Montreal”, (now called Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church), and Charter 100, “An act to incorporate the Syrian Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas, of Canada (now called Saint Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church). The current name was adopted in a revision of the Charter; Charter 102 assented to in December 8 1970. Even before the charter was obtained, the first place of worship had been located. The first official Church was at 454 Notre Dame St. East. The area was chosen, as many of the parishioners lived in the vicinity

     Archbishop Raphael Hawaweeny blessed the cornerstone of the first church, built by the community, in 1910. From the time of the granting of the charter, until 1917, the priest Agabius Gholam served the faithful.

      It was required that a church with a charter keep records of events, such as marriages, baptisms and funerals, and a duplicate records be deposited with the Registrar of the Province of Quebec. Thus, these records were sought and obtained from the originals kept by the government. They show that nearly 200 Funerals, Weddings and Baptisms were performed from 1910 to 1917

      If the Church was to survive, it had to have a Priest, one who would devote his full time to the function of the Church. Michael Nassif Zarbatany was chosen for the task. He was a resident of Montreal since 1902, when he arrived with his two younger brothers. He was educated, and also working for local merchants

      During these years Fr. Michael Zarbatany set out to work with his fellow parishioners to strengthen the parish. Often the expenses of maintaining a church were greater than the revenues, but, with devotion and dedication, progress was made

      The records show that Arabic School and Christian Education of some kind were being fostered in the early 1920’s. The youth were also seeking a place in the church’s family of organizations. The young women formed the Progress, Moral and Cultural Society, which later evolved into the Choir. Before 1928, the church could boast of a choir that could sing all the responses to the Liturgy in Arabic, and as early as 1928, they sponsored the Annual Feast Day celebration that has been maintained as the Annual Saint Nicholas Ball. Along with the women of the church, who had a society now called the Flowers of Charity, they assisted greatly in assuming the social and financial wellbeing of the church. Women would cook, clean and even go from business place to business place collecting coal for the furnace to heat the church

      The Parish of Saint Nicholas grew and developed locally, but was at all times linked to the ongoing events that were taking place within the now developing organization of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America. In mid 1935 a selection process for a new leader of the church in North America took place. There was no longer any discussion of Russian or Antiochian jurisdiction, for by now, everyone had accepted that fact that we should be under the spiritual protection of Antioch

      In 1931 there was a fire at the church, and the decision to repair the present church or relocate was a difficult one. Local problems and the new jurisdictional problems, plus the economic situation of the time found the church once again in a period of struggle. Fr. Michael served as the steady rudder guiding the church through these stormy waters

      From 1931 until 1936, discussions took place regarding possible merger between the two existing communities in Montreal. Many locations were considered, but the merger never took place. In November of 1936, the sister group decided to build a new church at the location of Jean Talon and Lajeunesse, because the geographic center of the community had moved. The Parish of Saint Nicholas repaired the Notre Dame St. church after many attempts to find a suitable existing church for relocation

      As the Notre Dame Street location became more removed from the center of the community, and since the facilities were not suitable for the growing Parish, a serious consideration for a new facility began. In June of 1949, a ground breaking for a new church at the corner of de Castelnau and Saint Dominique streets took place. In September 1950, the cornerstone of the church was consecrated by Metropolitan Antony Bashir and Metropolitan Samuel David, and in 1954 they celebrated the burning of the mortgage of the parish Saint Nicholas.

      The new church marked a new era. The Men’s Benevolent Society no longer ran the affairs of the church. A Board of Trustees system was established, and in 1948 this board was now elected by the male membership of the parish, thus began the administration of the church

      The Ladies Benevolent Society continued to serve the church as it had done from the beginning. There had been an Arabic School, a school for the purpose of advancing religious education of the community. In 1951, the current Church School was established, and has evolved to its present status. At the same time, the Youth Movement of the Archdiocese been well established, and in 1952, SOYO of Saint Nicholas was founded. As well the Choir began to use English in Hymns. As the youth participation increased it was determined that Father Michael needed an assistant. A Priest, who was a product of the SOYO Movement, became Assistant Pastor. Fr. Theodore Ziton came to Montreal in late 1954.

      In 1957 after 40 years of service, Fr. Michael Zarbatany retired, and was honored by a grateful community. Father Theodore became the pastor of Saint Nicholas in December of the same year

      In 1960 the Parish of Saint Nicholas and the community of Montreal mourned the falling asleep of their beloved Pastor, Fr. Michael Zarbatany. Time had also taken away Metropolitan Samuel David in 1958, and two of the more important parts of the history of Saint Nicholas had gone to their eternal rest

      In February of 1962, Fr. Theodore Ziton was replaced as Pastor of Saint Nicholas Church by the Right Reverend Archimanmdrite Gibran Ramlawi, who was from Lebanon, and served until November of 1963. He was elected Bishop of Australia in 1969, and to the present (1985) is still serving there. In 1963, the Right Reverend Archimandrite John Nicholas became pastor until 1969 when he fell asleep in the lord. In August of 1969 Fr. Joseph Shaheen became the Pastor of Saint Nicholas. In light of the size of the Parish, an assistant to the Pastor was requested. In the fall on 1981 Sub-Deacon Thomas Gallaway was assigned as Youth Director and assistant to the Pastor. In June of 1982 he was ordained a priest and sent to his own parish. Father Deacon Anthony Boake then replaced him

      From 1963 on, the activities of the Parish increased. The Saint Nicholas Men’s Club was established in 1963, and has been most important part of our Church family. Its initial purpose was to raise funds to enable our children to attend summer camp. This group’s assistance to many other worthy causes has spread the name of Saint Nicholas Church throughout Montreal. Moreover, the church is alive with organizations that perform useful functions. The ladies are now called the Saint Nicholas Ladies Auxiliary. They have close ties with the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Women of North America. The Teens of the Church were organized in 1973, and have maintained a steady organization with new youth anxious to pick up the yoke as their older brothers and sisters move on to the activities of SOYO, Men’s Club and the Young Women’s Group which was founded in 1983.

      The Church has been blessed with a choir that has over the years maintained as excellent standard. The Church School has flourished, and the Altar Servers give an opportunity for service to the young boys of the Parish. In 1984 two additional groups began to assist in the Church: the Office Volunteers and the Altar guild, each one allowing the faithful to be part of the life of the Church. The Parish of Saint Nicholas is blessed with devoted Chanters who link us to our past, with their Arabic chanting of the praise to God, that past which caused our forefathers to build their church. In 1975, with the merging of the New York Archdiocese and the Toledo Archdiocese into the North American Archdiocese, a new era for the Antiochian Church began. After thirty years of dedication and devotion to the Parishioners of Saint Nicholas, Father Joeseph has taken up a post at Saint church in Naples Florida.

for more information please Visit:
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