"Gracanica" Serbian Orthodox Church

Dear brothers and sisters,

In consideration of the recent situation regarding the spread of the COVID 19 virus, according to the instructions of the institutions qualified for infection control, and upon the blessing of His Grace, the Bishop of Canada, Kyr Mitrofan, we are informing you that in the upcoming period the Gracanica Church, in Windsor, will continue with regular worship and prayer for all, and on behalf of all of you, our parishioners, but only in the presence of the two priests.

Bearing in mind that each family, particularly now, should be a "home church". We ask all of you, throughout this time of temptation and necessity, to remain in your homes and to practice your personal and family prayers to the Lord for the salvation of mankind. Also, in order to remain in spiritual unity with one another as a community, we will make our best effort to transmit all services, in both of our churches, live through our social networks, in order that all of you can take part in worship through modern means of communication.

Sunday, May 17th, 2020 10am, DIVINE LITURGY

Sunday, May 23th, 2020 10am, DIVINE LITURGY

Thursday, May 28th, 2020 10am, ASCENSION DIVINE LITURGY

Sunday, May 31st, 2020 10am, DIVINE LITURGY

Therefore, for the time being, the regular worship and prayer life of our churches continues, but without the physical presence of believers. We kindly ask that you send the names of your loved ones to the following contacts for prayerful remembrance at Proskomidia to fr.vladimirv@gmail.com. These measures will remain in effect until further notice. God willing, moving forward, we will notify you of further steps in a timely manner.

Драга браћо и сестре,

Имајући у виду новонасталу ситуацију у вези са ширењем вируса COVID 19, према инструкцијама надлежних институција за сузбијање инфекције а по благослову Преосвећеног Епископа канадског господина др Митрофана, обавештавамо вас да ће се у будуће у цркви Грачаници, обављати редовна богослужења и молитве за све вас, наше парохијене, али само у присуству свештеника. Подсећајући све наше парохијане да је свака породица „црква у малом“, молимо све вас да у овом времену искушења, останете у својим кућама и да своје личне молитве за спасење људског рода, узнесете ка Господу. Такође, како би остали у духовном јединству једни са другима, потрудићемо се да све службе у обе наше цркве, преносимо уживо преко наших друштвених мрежа, тако да сви можете путем савремених средстава комуникације на овај начин узети учешћа у богослужењу.

Распоред Богослужења:

Недеља, 26. април-10:00-  Св. Литургија

Недеља, 03. мај-10:00-  Св. Литургија
Среда, 06. мај-10:00-  Ђурђевдан Св. Литургија

Недеља, 10. мај-10:00-  Св. Литургија

Недеља, 17. мај-10:00-  Св. Литургија

Недеља, 23. мај-10:00-  Св. Литургија

Четвртак, 23. мај-10:00-  Спасовдан Св. Литургија

Недеља, 31. мај-10:00-  Св. Литургија

Дакле, редовни богослужбени и молитвени живот наших цркава се наставља, али без присуства верника. Молимо вас да имена ваших вољених за молитвено помињање на Светим Литургијма шаљете на емаил адресу fr.vladimirv@gmail.com. 

Ове мере остају на снази до даљњег. О даљим корацима ћемо вас обавестити накнадно.

Everything we say as Orthodox, we do with conviction, honour and honesty. 

Brothers and sisters, today I address you as President of the Church Board with love and care. 

To all Christians and Orthodox confessions, the Serbian people, Patriarch Irinej, bishops, priests, monks, diaconates, and our brothers who defend our Serbian homeland. 

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN! 

We live in a time full of challenges and trials. I would like Easter to be a holiday that symbolizes hope and faith for the future of our real values. To direct our focus to our families, friends, love, peace and harmony. Doing good for others is the best way to do good for ourselves. Our community is built on good relationships and the hard work of our elderly with genuine attention and care. It will continue to prosper as we continue to come together, shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters for future generations. This work is embedded deep in the history of our Church Gracanica that we must follow. The risen Lord defeated the invincible, and each of our own diligent, conformist and persistence can win all problems that seem unresolved. With the help of our mother Church, I'm confident that we will continue to persevere. 

Let Easter in our homes bring good health, happiness and the joy of living. Let it show us the way of salvation for all trials we have been through and let it surround us with the ones we hold closest to our hearts. May you feel the hope of new beginnings during this joyful Easter holiday and may your life be full of blessings. 

CHRIST IS RISEN ! 

Yours truly, 
Vladimir Pribojan 
Serbian Orthodox Church “GRACANICA”

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death,

and upon those in the tombs bestowing life 

Here we are, dear brothers and sisters, at the end of the Great and honourable and holy Lent. We celebrated the week of Orthodoxy, or the victory over all heresies, respecting, and not worshipping the Holy icons. We prepared ourselves with prayer to receive even more of the grace of God in the season of the fast. We also sought the help of the all honourable and life-giving cross of Christ. We invoked the help of St. John Climacus and St. Mary of Egypt. We celebrated the Resurrection of Lazarus, the pre-eminence of universal resurrection. We joyfully welcomed Christ's festive entry into Jerusalem. Immediately afterwards, we suffered together with Christ for all of Passion Week so that we could, completely transformed spiritually for the better, welcome His glorious Resurrection from the dead. 

Let everything be filled with light today: heaven and earth, angels and men. Let the church bells with their sounds convey the joy of the "Feast of Feast and celebration of celebrations". Let those who have never celebrated celebrate and rejoice in that day. Let the righteous and sinners rejoice, old and young, rich and poor. It is a joy for all of us. Let all shout: Christ is Risen! And immediately let them hear the answer: Truly, He is Risen! 

Maybe someone will say: Why? Because the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. It is the foundation of the Holy Church. If Christ did not resurrect, it is in vain to believe in one mortal person. And all that wonderful gospel storytelling about His miracles, teachings, and His impeccable life, would only be of historical value, and by no means of salvation. Even the very Church which He founded would be similar to other human organizations throughout history that come and go, without answering man's eternal questions about his existence. 

Our whole religious life and all the spiritual work of the Holy Church relies on the truth that Christ is the Son of God, and that we are redeemed and saved by His sacrifice and His Resurrection. Come on, let's imagine the Lord did not resurrect. In that case, would He have won millions and millions of human hearts over the past two millennia? Would thousands and thousands of martyrs have given their lives for Him, and still give? Would millions and millions worship His cross and His tomb? 

Indeed, as the Holy Apostle Paul said, to who the Risen Lord appeared as a pursuer: "... Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1: 4). Let us read the Acts of the Holy Apostles and see how with the power of the Holy Spirit God the Father confirmed the Resurrection of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ: "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4, 33). Or, "And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people ..." (Acts 5: 12. 15-16). 

Fr. Vladimir's Letter in Serbian
Address from His Grace Dr Mitrofan, Bishop of Canada
Address from His Holiness Patriarch Irinej

Community Members – The Serbian Centre needs our help during these difficult times. 

Please join us in writing the stories future generations will tell and consider giving $50 for the future of the Serbian Centre.

#50fortheFuture

Give $50 per person, $50 per family, whatever is in your heart to give will help us establish some certainty, amidst so much uncertainty. 

When sending your contribution, please send a picture of yourself, or family, be as creative as you wish. It can be a video, saying “I am the future of the Serbian Centre” Or holding a sign saying the same. We look forward to seeing all the familiar community faces and sharing them on Facebook as they come in. For those that are harder to reach because of social distancing, perhaps your parents or grandparents, consider going to take a picture of them on their front porch or in their front window if they would like to take part.

We believe in our community, and this Easter weekend we encourage you to share the beautiful stories that you have from our Church and our Community Centre with your families.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING PARISHIONER RECORDS

To ensure all our parish records are up to date, Fr. Vladimir is requesting that parishioners of the Gracanica Church fill out a quick form.  Forms can be submitted at the church, or to any Executive Board Member.  

Thank You for your cooperation.
VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE PARISHIONER RECORD FORM HERE