Religion

The official religion of Greece is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ. Most Greeks who immigrated to Canada from Greece and other countries (such as Cyprus and Egypt) professed to be Greek Orthodox – members of the churches of Greece or Cyprus, or the patriarchates of Constantinople (Istanbul), Alexandria, or Jerusalem, or Greek Orthodox churches of the Greeks abroad. Greek Canadians are served by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis in Toronto. The Metropolis is under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and closely cooperates with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, headquartered in New York. In 1997 over sixty Greek Orthodox churches served Greek Canadians, with most of them in Montreal and Toronto. In smaller towns priests from large Greek parishes arrive periodically to perform religious services.

Greek parishioners in Canada use the church for Sunday and religious holiday services, baptisms, weddings, and funerals and attend sponsored cultural and recreational activities. Active church membership seems to be greater in small Greek communities than in large ones, where anonymity is more prevalent, ethnic pressure is less, and parish leaders have minimal influence on parishioners.

The Greek priest has been head of the enoria (parish), a position that traditionally involves civic as well as spiritual leadership. He guides and oversees the parish program and is ultimately responsible for the life and activities of the parish. About 80 percent of Canada’s fifty-eight Greek Orthodox priests were born in Greece. The parish council, which consists of elected members, conducts all parish affairs, but the clergy exercise great influence on it. For example, an election for parish council must be verified in writing by the parish priest and then ratified by the diocese. Many Greek Canadians see this centralized authority as unnecessary intervention in the community’s civic affairs.

Auxiliary parish organizations are under the supervision of the diocese, and their by-laws must conform to the uniform parish regulations of the archdiocese. The Philoptochos – from philos (friend) and ptochos (poor) – Society for Women, founded in 1921 in Toronto, sponsors dances and bazaars in order to secure money for the church and other philanthropic purposes. It attracts mainly devout women whose families are regular supporters of the parish. The majority of Greek-Canadian women, especially those from large cities such as Montreal, Toronto, London, and Vancouver, are not members. The Greek Orthodox Youth Association (GOYA) is also active in certain parishes. It started in 1945 as the Holy Trinity Youth Club in Montreal and is directed by the archdiocese to bring young adults closer to Greek Orthodox life and facilitate endogamy. Its members have taught Sunday school, assisted in philanthropic tasks, and served on parish councils. However, it has attracted few young Greek Canadians, except to its annual convention-dance.

A small percentage of Greek Canadians are affiliated with Old (Julian) Calendar churches, which appeared in the 1960s in communities such as Montreal and Toronto, each of which had three such parishes in 1993. These churches are under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, or the Church of the True Christians of Greece, and they celebrate religious holidays (such as Christmas and New Year) thirteen days after New Calendar (Gregorian) churches. The Old Calendar parishes have been relatively stable, operating their own Greek-language schools and sponsoring social activities, supported by “free will” offerings from parishioners. Their members identify with Greek ethnicity, and many belong to non-sectarian Greek-Canadian associations.

Effective functioning of the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada will depend on its ability to adjust to social and demographic changes within the Greek communities and the larger society, including increases in exogamy, internal conflicts, secularization, and a sharp decline of Greek immigration to Canada after 1976.