Message from the Parish Priest
GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!
HIS GLORY BE FOREVER!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I Let us offer our grateful praise unto God Whom we adore and glorify in the Holy Trinity, as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We also thank the Almighty Lord for His Grace and mercy He bestows upon the Holy Orthodox Church.
We as members of the Body of Christ are also inspired by the teachings of the servants of our Lord, the Holy Fathers, Martyrs and Confessors, who through God’s guidance have left for us their writings to preserve us from error in interpretation, and to continually direct us toward the true faith (Orthodoxy) so that we may stay away from spiritual darkness and continue in the radiant light of spiritual knowledge.
Everyone is called upon to be a responsible member of the Church, all are called to be active, caring, forgiving and sincere members, to know and to understand the word of God by practicing our faith (Orthopraxia).
St. Maximos the confessor wrote:
“If we detect any trace of hatred in our heart against any man whatsoever for committing any fault, we are utterly estranged from love for God, since love for God absolutely precludes us from hating any man.”
Removing ourselves from evil, is not an easy task to accomplish. It can even become very difficult and painful. However, with faith, discipline, self-control and prayer we can become masters of our bodies and desires.
Let us make ourselves available to the spiritual means, which our Lord and His Holy Orthodox Church have placed at our disposal. This is why on the day of the Lord we should come to the Church to examine our lives, to come to repentance, and to ask for forgiveness for our sins from the Lord.
May His name be blessed forever.
Amen.
Very Rev. Fr. George Podtepa
Message from the Parish President
Glory Be To Jesus Christ!
Beloved brothers and sisters of Christ and all those, who are seeking Him and His abundant mercies, Welcome to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Elia!
Since its creation in the year 1957 our parish, named after the great prophet St. Elia, has been and remains home to the Orthodox Christian faithful of Edmonton and the greater Edmonton area.
At St. Elia we pray together, share our faith, joy and trials, walking together in Our Lord Jesus Christ. As it is sung in Psalm 95: “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” And also: “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.” We are trying to live these words in our parish.
As it has been noted by one of my predecessors at this position, “it was the love of God and love of our Orthodox Faith that motivated the original founders of our parish and that same determination and energy continues to exist today.” Indeed, our parish’s present and future depends on all of us, fellow labourers in Christ, and our doors are always open for you as well!
Come to our church. Pray, share, and walk with us in the Lord giving thanks to Him for His countless blessings. Become a part of our church and our parish, become a member of the Body of Christ. For as St. Paul said to the gathering of the faithful: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” (1 Corinthians 12: 27)
Our parish is also home to a men’s “Club Trident”, the “Lesia Ukrainka Branch” of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada, and the Mission Outreach Committee, with all members labouring daily for the glory of God and the betterment of the parish.
We invite you to join us for Sunday Worship at 10:00 a.m. as well as for other announced services and feast day celebrations. Our location is near the intersection of 118th Ave and 66th street. For more information about the parish and the parish life, please visit our website.
In Christ,