Yesterday I was reminded that the Orthodox churches are still looking forward to celebrate Christmas on January 7. Since this blog has often mentioned other religious and cultural events, it seems fitting to include an Orthodox Christian holiday as a winter event in Toronto.
Where can you find an Orthodox church in Toronto? What’s the story behind having two dates for Christmas?
Double Dating in Two Catholic Traditions: the Gregorian calendar versus the Julian Calendar
Back in his day, Julius Caesar set the Roman calendar, which remained in use for centuries. It is now called the “Julian calendar”.
The typical Catholic worship service is a “mass”, centred on the Eucharist or “Lord’s Supper” ceremony. Special services to commemorate saints or events were named for the “event” with ‘mas’ appended. So, “Christmas” is the special mass for the birthday of Jesus Christ. Most of these special services were set to specific dates in the Julian calendar.
The Julian calendar was intended to be a “solar” calendar, with each solstice or equinox on the same date each year. (For example, the winter solstice, with the shortest daylight hours in the northern hemisphere, is always Dec. 21).
However, the Julian calendar did not account perfectly for Leap Years. Pope Gregory reformed the calendar in 1752, but also skipped 11 days forward to correct past errors.
By that time, however, the various Eastern Orthodox churches did not regard the Roman Catholic pope as their spiritual leader. Therefore, for their Christian religious calendar of special events, the Orthodox still use the “old Julian calendar”. So the 24-hour day called Jan. 7 in the Gregorian calendar is called Dec. 25 in the Orthodox calendar.
(“Orthodox Christmas Day” has more details. Now most of the world has agreed to use the Gregorian calendar, named for Pope Gregory, as an international standard)
In most Western countries, non-Orthodox Christians generally notice that there is a separate calendar only for Orthodox Christmas and Orthodox Easter.
(“Easter” is another topic, since it is influenced by a lunar calendar originally used in Judaism. Let’s not talk about it here).
Locate an Orthodox Church in Toronto
You may want help to find the right church for an Orthodox Christmas in Toronto.
It’s remarkably easy to search online for “orthodox church in [CITY]”, but here’s a quick list of several Orthodox churches in Toronto. They are mainly in the downtown area, with the exception of the two Ukrainian Orthodox churches.
My apologies in advance to any churches that I’ve missed.
Also, this is my first article that names religious organizations rather than outdoor events that implicitly invite the general public. This blog post should benefit someone who wants to attend a service at an Orthodox church in Toronto. That differs from “watch a parade” or “attend a picnic”.
I didn’t list the times for Christmas services, although my impression is that they might focus on Christmas Eve services on Sunday January 6, 2013. Their phone numbers are listed if I could find them easily, and I didn’t check to ensure they are accurate, so please call them directly for their details.
This list is in alphabetical order by the ethnic name plus the church name.
- Belarusan Orthodox Church: (416) 530-1025; 524 Saint Clarens Ave, north of Bloor St and east of Landsdowne Ave
- Belarusian Greek Orthodox Church Of St Ephrasinia: (416) 536-4449; 1008 Dovercourt Rd at Hallam St, south of Dupont Ave
- Greek Orthodox Church Of St George: (416) 977-3342; 115 Bond St north of Dundas St East, amidst the Ryerson University campus
- Greek Orthodox Church Of St Nektarios: (416) 537-7283; 1223 Dovercourt Rd at Davenport Rd
- Greek Orthodox Church Of The Mother Of God Of Proussa: (416) 364-8918; 461 Richmond St East, west of Parliament St
- Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church: (416) 537-1351; 54 Clinton St just north of College St and west of Bathurst St
- Russian Orthodox Church Of The Holy Trinity: (416) 979-2990; 23 Henry St at the east end of Cecil St, south of College St
- Serbian Orthodox Church St Sava: (416) 944-3297; 203 River St at Gerrard St East
- Serbian Orthodox Church – St Michael The Archangel: (416) 536-8565; 212 Delaware Ave, just north of Bloor St West, east of Dufferin St and west of Shaw St
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church St Anne’s: (416) 284-9642; 525 Morrish Rd, Scarborough, at Highland Creek west of Meadowvale Rd
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St.Demetrius: 3338 Lake Shore Boulevard West, west of Kipling and just west of 27th Street
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Other Notes for Christmas Future
Now that January has arrived, take advantage of Christmas clearance sales for LED Christmas lights.
Or plan ahead and book a session for next year’s photo Christmas cards.
I’m thinking about a belated New Year resolution to maintain my Christmas spirit throughout the year.
Looking for More Annual Toronto Events?
Check the “annual events” or “Toronto events” categories toward the end of the left-hand menu for other fascinating, free or frugal annual events in Toronto.
Disclaimer: DeHaan Services has no relationship to the organizer(s); I am not reimbursed for writing this article. However, DeHaan Services does write web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science and other online sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlight these online articles on this blog page.
