† Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Sobor, Vancouver

Dear parishioners,
We are entering with you the Centenary Year of our parish.
We will be 100 years old in September 2024.

Patronal Feast of our Church
On September 14, 1924, in Vancouver, Archimandrite Antonin Pokrovsky celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in British Columbia. After the service, the worshipers decided to create an Orthodox parish dedicated to the Feast of the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in Jerusalem.
This holiday was established in memory of the solemn consecration in 335 of the temple built by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Helena on Mount Golgotha in Jerusalem at the site of the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ and in memory of His glorious Resurrection. According to the old style, the holiday is celebrated on September 13, according to the new style, on September 26.

The Jubilee Committee members (approved by the Parish Church Council)
Archpriest Michael Fourik (rector, chairman of the Church Council)
Arthur Kostiha (parish starosta, Church Council Member)
Pavel Sorokin (Church Council Member, Chief Accountant)
Georgy Povorozniouk (Church Council Member)
Jason (Alexander) Morley (Church Council Member, Secretary)
Mother Elena Fourik
Irina Gruntseva
Alexander Gruntsev
Alexander Ovodov (webmaster)

Plan of activities to prepare for the Centenary of the Parish
With great spiritual inspiration we began preparations for the Centenary. The Church Council adopted the initial Action Plan, which includes a number of projects for the renovation of the Church, and activities for the celebration of the Jubilee. Including the following:
– Internal and external improvement of the church
– Painting church domes and Church walls
– Renewal of the Church iconostasis
– Organizing the invitation and accommodation of guests, including the Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada; Archbishop of Ottawa and Canada; Archbishop Lazarus; Orthodox priests of British Columbia, as well as members of the Archdiocesan Council of the Canadian Archdiocese – in total about 25 visiting guests and about 25 local clergy.
– Development of the Anniversary celebration schedule. Priests of the Canadian Archdiocese will arrive and begin working meetings on October 15-16, 2024. The festive liturgy, Banquet and Concert are scheduled to take place on October 20, 2024.
– Development and publication in electronic format of the Anniversary Book.
– Development of a layout for a Welcome Card for anniversary participants.
– Improvement of the church website:
Creation of new sections, including the “Eternal Memory” section with up-to-date information about the Vancouver Orthodox Cemetery, about deceased parishioners and family members.
Publishing on the website video interviews, written memories, family stories and congratulations on the parish’s Anniversary.
Development of an electronic church book library that allows to read online and download church books in electronic format.
Improvement of the search system for Orthodox resources on the Internet, including links to Orthodox and historical films and publications.
– Preparation of the Anniversary Concert with the participation of Sunday School students, soloists of our Church Choir and adult performers in all genres: poetry, dance, songs, musical numbers. Family groups are welcome. Particular attention to the preparation of costumes and props, as well as to the maintenance of audio and video equipment.
– Think over about organizing a church museum, creating electronic stands with historical information about the parish.
– Before March 2024, hold a meeting of the Sisterhood to elect a president and clarify the tasks for preparing and holding the parish’s Jubilee.
– In March 2024, hold the Annual General Meeting of the Parish (not held in person for three years due to the pandemic).

Participation of parishioners in the preparation and celebration of the Jubilee

Great hopes are placed on each of us for the successful celebration of the parish’s Jubilee. To the best of your ability, we ask you to participate with advice and deed. Please send all your questions, suggestions and materials to 100let@holyres.org or webmaster@holyres.org

The most necessary areas are the following:

1. Assistance with the accommodation of clergy arriving for our Anniversary (from 2 to 5 days during the period October 15-21, 2024).

2. Collection and publication of materials about the life of the parish. You can write about events in church life, pilgrimages, family stories…

Remind the important moments of Divine help to you and your loved ones.

All your memories will be published on the church website, and some of the materials will be included into the parish’s Anniversary Book. Along with your memories, send signed photographs and videos. The publication of memoirs is necessary for our children, grandchildren, for all Orthodox Christians.

3. Participation in annual and Anniversary concerts, providing concerts.

4. Participation in the work of the Sisterhood (Maintaining the church premises, Working with children, Sunday school work, Church library work, Organizing social events, Helping new parishioners and those in need, Holding sales…)

5. Work on the creation of the Parish Museum. We do not have a special room for the museum, so at the initial stage it is proposed to place photographs, historical documents, objects that belonged to our clergy and active parishioners on wall stands…
Your participation in collecting historical materials, developing options and maintaining the exhibition is required.

6. It is planned to create a section “Eternal Memory” on the parish website. There is currently a column with links to alredy published obituaries. Send obituaries, articles. The memory of parish members, relatives and acquaintances is the Commemoration of the Departed and part of our history.

7. For those wishing to leave a personal/family video message regarding the parish’s Anniversary, please contact webmaster@holyres.org
The video, after your viewing and approval, will be published on the parish’s YouTube channel and published on the website. The location of the video interview is agreed with the webmaster (Alexander)

8. Our website is already 24 years old. The site consists of two independent parts: Russian-language part: https://www.holyres.org/ (more complete)
English part: https://www.holyres.org/en/
The site has accumulated technical problems, for example, pages or photo albums do not open, there are grammatical errors and translation inaccuracies. Please send all your comments on improving the site to the webmaster, indicating links to the site pages.

Congratulations to everyone on the beginning of the Jubilee Year of the Holy Resurrection Sobor!
God bless us all!

Your rector,
Archpriest Michael Fourik