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The Consecration of the Temple
The parish began in 1976. We started with our first Divine Liturgy served at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
We then moved to the gymnasium of St. Anne School. There we began to offer the Divine Services: Vespers as well as Divine Liturgy. We also began our Heritage school and the now famous Heritage school concerts. These are the humble beginnings of all that later grew: first parish picnics, first visits from the bishop, first ordinations, and celebrations of a rich life of faith and worship.
1980, St. Elias is able to rent and use the Chapel of the Ontario Correctional Institute on McLaughlin Rd. There we have our own space and find stability. The parish grows with new parishioners, creates its first permanent worship space, and final,ly has the outdoors in which to live our a full tradition of faith and folk celebrations.
1984, our community has purchases the land of our own, the present property on Heritage Rd. We blessed the ground. And then we begin all the work involved in building (literally) our Temple: fund raising, designing the building, founding the cemetery, etc.
1995, we are able to bless our beautiful and newly built Temple - a work of all the clergy and each and every parishioner!
The Holy Table (in Ukrainian "Prestil" or "throne", in the Latin Church, it is called "the altar") is built by the bishop himself during the Service of Consecration of the Temple. It is constructed of unhewn stones and 5 wooden columns covered over by a table top. It is held together with wooden pegs and glued together with wax-mastic mingled with fragrant spices (representing the sweet-smelling spices wherewith St. Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the Myrrbearing Women anointed the body of our Lord, when they laid Him in the tomb.
In the Track wherein is the Prayer of Consecration by the Bishop, one can hear the actual hammering sounds of the construction of the Holy Table.
Once constructed, the Holy Table is blessed with Holy Water, washed with soap, wine, rosewater mixed with spikenard,
It is then anointed with Holy Chrism.
The Holy Table is "vested" first as the Tomb of the Christ - being covered by linen representing a shroud and bound together with a cord. Then it is "vested" as the Throne of God - being covered by the "inditia" a cloth of rich and brilliant material. Holy Relics, after being processed around the Temple thrice, are placed in the Holy Table. Iin the Holy Table of our parish are the relics of St. Stephen, Archdeacon and Protomartyr.
The Bishop is vested in a white garment, in order to protect his vestments from stain, and representing the white garment of salvation withwhich the newly baptised is clothed. After the Consecration, the Garment is cut up and distributed amongst the faithful. Likewise such other materials used during the Consecrations e.g. the sponges.
Prayers of Consecration
O Lord of heaven and earth
who with ineffable wisdom
have established Your holy Church...
...You have bestowed upon us the Incarnation
of Your only-begotten Son,
Who appearing on earth
shed forth the light of salvation
upon those that sat in darkness,
and did offer Himself as a sacrifice for us
and became the Throne of Mercy for the whole world,
rendering us partakers of His Resurrection;
Who, having ascended into heaven,
clothed His apostles and disciples...
with power from on high
whish is the adorable and almighty Holy Spirit,
Who proceeds from You, our God and Father,
and through Whom also they became mighty in deed and word,
...erecting Churches and Altars...
...Fill this Church while was built
for Your glorification with Your divine glory,
and reveal the altar erected in it as the Holy of Holies...
...fill it with perpetual light;
make it Your dwelling place and the abode of Your glory;
beautify it with Your divine and supernatural gifts;
make it a haven for the tempest-tossed,
a remedy for the passions,
a refuge for the weak,
a fortress against the onslaughts of the demons.
Keep watch over it day and night,
turn an attentive ear to the supplications
of those who enter with fear and reverence
...perserve it firm till the end of time
...for we do not trust in the service of our unworthy hands,
but in Your ineffable goodness.
Hymn
Just as You have shown forth the splendour of the firmament above,
so too You have shown forth
the beauty of the dwelling place of Your glory here below;
therefore, make firm forever this dwelling place
and accept all our petitions
which we continuously offer up to You in this place of Your glory,
through the prayers of the Theotokos,
O Life and Resurrection of All
Tropar of St. Elias
The glorious Elias
angelic in body, pillar of prophets, second herald of Christ
By sending grace upon Eliseus from on high
dispels disease,cleanses lepers,
and overflows with healing for those who honour him.
Ukrainian version |
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Українська версія |
Mailing address:
25 Harold Street
Brampton, Ontario
L6Y 1C9
Canada
Tel. (905) 459-8888
