CANADIAN DIOCESE: 21 August, 2026
News from the Canadian Diocese

The traditional archpastoral visit to the Orthodox Christian youth camp "Ruskoka" (Bracebridge, Ontario) by His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada took place on August 5–6, 2026, on the day commemorating SS Boris and Gleb.

On August 5 and the next morning, in the local church dedicated to the youngest Romanov, St Alexei Nikolaevich, vespers and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated.

The ruling Archbishop was joined by the clergy of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toronto: Priest Valentin Losev, who is assigned to serve in Ruskoka, and Cathedral Protodeacon Alexander Morin. The choir, led by the Holy Trinity Cathedral choir director Alexander Pushchin, sang beautifully.

The meeting of Archbishop Gabriel with the campers, counselors, and staff of the camp was especially meaningful. The conversation touched on the most fundamental and at the same time important questions of Christian life: what it means to be an Orthodox person, what the Sacrament of Baptism represents, how a person comes to faith, and how faith should show itself in everyday life.

Addressing the students, Archbishop Gabriel focused on the importance of spiritual self-education. The hierarch advised the children to try to learn more about the lives and spiritual feats of the saints whose names they received at Holy Baptism. To the older students—teen boys and girls—Vladyka Gabriel extended an invitation to take part in the annual St Herman Youth Conference of North America (https://sainthermanconference.org/), which this year will be held in Montreal. These gatherings give young parishioners a chance to get to know each other, pray together, discuss questions of faith and church life, and feel like part of the large Orthodox youth family in North America.

The Ruskoka camp, located about two hours north of Toronto in a picturesque area on the Muskoka River, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

For many years, the camp's activities have been tied to the selfless and devoted work of its director, Alexander Sakuta, who dedicates a significant part of his time to serving young people. Alongside him, numerous volunteers carry on this work year after year. It is thanks to their dedication that Ruskoka has a unique atmosphere, where older kids look after the younger ones, and children learn independence, friendship, mutual help, and responsibility. All of this takes place under the supervision of experienced counselors.
Divine services and prayer, confession and Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, discussions about faith, and direct communication with the clergy are an integral part of everyday life at the camp. In this regard, the 25-year experience of Ruskoka deserves special attention.

At the end of the archpastoral visit, there was a general meeting of the Ruling Bishop with the campers and staff, during which everyone received the blessing of His Eminence.

And starting from the evening of August 8-9, celebrations were held at the church in the name of the miraculous Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God (Jackson Point, Ontario, known throughout all of Russian Canada as “Berezki” or “birch trees”) on the occasion of the parish's feast day — and the 69th anniversary of the founding of this parish.

The service was His Eminence. At all-night vigil, the hierarch was joined by the rector of the feast-day church, Archpriest Maxim Abroskin, as well as visiting clergy: Archpriest Vladimir Malchenko (Rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Toronto, ON), Archpriest Antoniy Filchak (Church of the Great Martyr George in Toronto of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church), with Protodeacon Alexander Morin (Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toronto), as well as Protodeacon Boris Sidorenko (St Nicholas Cathedral, Montreal, Quebec), and the deacons of the feast day parish Fr Leonid Tismenko and Fr Adam Zettler.

At Divine Liturgy, Fr Paul Gomar (Holy Trinity Cathedral) joined the presiding hierarch and clergy. During the reading of the hours, Sergey Volkov was bestowed the rank of subdeacon, and altar servers Igor Godin and Vitaly Kolesnikov were tonsured as readers. The parish choir sang prayerfully under the direction of Reader Grigory Montana. At the end of Divine Liturgy, a prayer service with a procession and a reading of the prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos was performed. His Eminence greeted the parishioners and visitors of the church, and then spoke a few kind words addressed to the rector of the church celebrating his namesday.

At the festive lunch prepared by the church sisterhood, parishioners and numerous guests were present. Among them was Mrs Margaret Quirk, the mayor of Georgina County. In her welcoming speech, Ms Quirk specifically said: "It was wonderful to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the beautiful church together with the clergy and parishioners of the Orthodox Church of the Holy Mother of God of Smolensk! This church building, located in Jackson's Point, has significantly improved and expanded, and by next year, in honor of the church's 70th anniversary, an additional extension is planned. Once again, thank you for inviting me to this celebration."

During his current visit, the ruling archbishop visited a parish exhibition dedicated to the Royal Family and the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. He also familiarized himself with the progress of repair work aimed at expanding the church building: the construction of a narthex and the right chapel of the church is underway. The construction work is planned to be completed by the end of 2026.

Canadian Diocese