Church in Whitby, Ontario
Saint Arsenije Sremac Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian: Српска православна црква Светог Арсенија Сремца) is a Serbian Orthodox church located in Whitby, Ontario, Canada.[1]
It is the only church in the world dedicated to Saint Arsenije of Srem, the second Archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church and a disciple of Saint Sava.[2] It contains one parish which reaches the far east parts of the Greater Toronto Area: Whitby, Ajax, Oshawa, Pickering and Scarborough up to and including Kingston.
History
As a Presbyterian church
The original church building was the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church built from 1857 to 1859.[3] Built in the Gothic Revival architectural style, it was designed as a Scottish kirk by Whitby architect Amos W. Cron. Local grain merchant William Laing paid for the site and half the construction costs.[4] It was built as a brick load-bearing cathedral with a central tower. The face carved over the front door is that of John Knox, the founder of Presbyterianism. The church was used by the Presbyterians until 1968.
As a Serbian Orthodox church
In December 1969, the Bishop of Eastern America and Canada Sava (Vuković) – as requested of him by a number of residents of Oshawa – gave his blessing for the formation of a Church and School Congregation to be named after Saint Arsenije Sremac.
A number of Serb enthusiasts began the attempt to form a membership for the Church and School Congregation. As they didn't have the means to support a full-time priest, missionary priests would from time to time come to serve the Holy Liturgy in a rented church. This continued until the 1980s when the Church and School Congregation was closed and transferred over to the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church and School Congregation of Toronto.
With the formation of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada and the instalment of its first bishop Georgije (Đokić), there was again a wish to renew Serbian Orthodox church life in Oshawa and its surrounding regions. At the annual diocesan meeting in Hamilton on February 5, 1993, approval was given to form the Saint Arsenije Sremac Serbian Orthodox Church and School Congregation in its current borders. On the same day, the Diocesan Council and Diocesan Court announced the decision to formally make this Church and School Congregation.
Immediately upon forming the church community, it was decided to buy the former Presbyterian church located at 508 Byron Street South.
The church was consecrated on October 9, 1993 by Bishop Georgije. On the initiative of then-vice president of the Church and School Congregation Prvoslav Vujcic, the church was registered by the Town of Whitby and the Ontario Heritage Trust as a heritage building. Before the consecration, the church interior was re-ordered for Orthodox usage. After the arrival of a full-time priest, the iconostasis was made by iconographer Dragomir "Dragan" Marunić. An altar was made along with two choir stands, a church store and places for candles and icons. After that, with the donations of parishioners, everything else needed for an Orthodox church was bought.
The extra tier on the church steeple (crowned with finials) was replaced by a golden cupola which was installed in July 2012.[5] On the eve of the feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs, Patriarch Irinej visited the church on February 11, 2016 and blessed an icon of Saint Arsenije Sremac which is done on canvas and mounted above the doors of the church nave.[6]
