Annunciation Cathedral

Ottawa, Ontario

Annunciation Cathedral

Founded 1955

Diocese: Archdiocese of Canada

Deanery: Ontario Deanery

Address

15 LeBreton St North
(entrance at 15 Eccles St)
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7H1
Canada

Website: ottawacathedral.org

Office: 613-230-2687

Parish Contacts

Dean
221 Ridgepark Priv
Ottawa, ON K2G 1H1
Home: 613-221-9533
Office: 613-230-2687

Directions

General Location
The Cathedral is located in the heart of Ottawa’s China Town. Located off Somerset Street, just after Bronson Avenue, take a left on Lebreton Street, and you will find the main door to the attached rectory and church office. The main entrance to the Cathedral is on Eccles Street which is down Lebreton Street, left on Ecceles.

By Bus
Take the #11 down Somerset Street and ask to be let off at Lebreton Street.

Schedule of Services

5:00 PM Vigil.
Saturday Evening

10:00 AM Divine Liturgy.
Sunday Morning

7:00 PM Vespers.
Wednesday Evening

For a complete list of upcoming services, please visit the Calendar on the parish website.

Confessions are heard on Saturdays before the Vigil or any time by appointment.
Confessions

Parish Background

The Cathedral is the seat of the ruling Bishop of the Archdiocese of Canada of the Orthodox Church in America, the largest Orthodox diocese of the world, covering Canada from coast to coast.

In 1955 a group of Russian, mostly from the Baltic States, founded St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, and after several years acquired a property in Ottawa. In 1980, Holy Transfiguration Mission was established in the neighbourhood of Westboro to meet the needs of the Orthodox people who wished to form an English language community. In 1987, the two parishes merged to form the Cathedral parish of the Archdiocese. In 1990, members of the Holy Epiphany Mission of the Antiochian Archdiocese joined the parish. In 2005, the Cathedral moved into a new building and changed its name to the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral. It is estimated that our parish draws on over 22 ethnic backgrounds.

Our common language of worship is English. Services are consistent with the Typicon of the OCA, itself based upon the usage of the Russian Church.

Our Clergy

Archbishop Irénée
Archbishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada

Archbishop Irénée was born in Montreal on December 25, 1948. In 1971 he received a BA in Slavic Studies from the University of Ottawa and began studies at Holy Trinity Seminary at Jordanville, NY. He was accepted as a novice into the holy Trinity Monastery and placed under the spiritual guidance of Archimandrite Kiprian. In 1974 he was tonsured a Rassophore monk and in 1975 a Stavrophore monk and named Hieromartyr Irénée of Lyons and entered the minor orders tonsured a reader and sub-deacon.

In 1978 he was blessed to serve in France; in May of that year he was ordained a deacon in Brussels, and in August to the priesthood in Geneva. He served in France until 1982 and on his return to Canada in the French mission in Montreal. Hieromonk Irénée and the Mission were received into the OCA in 1986. In 1992, Hieromonk Irénée was elevated to Igumen by Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa, to care for the French language monastics in Quebec with additional duties as supply priest to the parishes in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec City.

In April 2009 the Holy Synod of the OCA elevated Igumen Irénée to the dignity of Archimandrite and elected him to be an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Canada with the title of Bishop of Quebec. On October 21, 2014, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America elected His Grace, Bishop Irénée as Bishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada. He was enthroned at the Annunciation Saint Nicholas Cathedral on Saturday, November 29, 2014 with His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon presiding over the Liturgy.
On March 20, 2015, during the Spring Session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Irénée was elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada.

Fr James Griggs
Fr James Griggs began attending the Cathedral with his family in 1991. In the fall of 1994, the family moved to St Vladimir’s Seminary in New York where Fr James began theological studies. While attending seminary, Fr James was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Archbishop Seraphim in November 1995.

Returning to Canada in June 1996 he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Archbishop Seraphim and was assigned as priest in charge, and later rector, of St Gregory of Nyssa mission in Kingston Ontario. Fr James began serving a small Greek parish in Brockville Ontario on a part time basis in the winter of 2004 while continuing to serve the mission in Kingston. He continued to serve this Greek parish two Sundays of each month until August 2010 when he took up a full time position at the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral in Ottawa.

After serving for a short period as assistant priest with the Greek Orthodox community in Ottawa, Fr James was assigned to the altar of Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral in March of 2008. He is married to Tena and they have one daughter and three sons who are all members of the Cathedral parish.

Fr. Stelian Liabotis
Born into a Greek family, Fr. Stelian grew up in London, Ontario and graduated from the University of Western Ontario. He was ordained to the diaconate on December 31 1995 by the late Metropolitan Vitaly (Oustinov) ROCOR, and to the priesthood on January 9th 2000 by Archbishop Michael (Donskov). Fr. Stelian served as an auxiliary priest for a number of years, helping out and serving in many parishes as required.

In 2004, secular employment brought Fr. Stelian and his family to Ottawa where he works as a public servant for the federal government. He was received into the Orthodox Church in America from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in January 2014 and has since been attached to the Cathedral.

Fr. Stelian speaks English, Greek, and Rusian. He and Matushka Lena have three children, Maria, Kathrine and Nikolai. They have recently welcomed their first grandchild, Emily Rose, to the world.

Deacon Alexander Moisa
Deacon Alexander Moisa has been a member of the Cathedral since 1998. He finished the Late Vocations Program of the OCA and was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral in Ottawa ON, to which he was assigned, on the 2nd of November 2008, by His Eminence Archbishop SERAPHIM.

Deacon Alexander, originally from Romania, holds three degrees.  Before moving to Canada in 1995 with his family, he worked as a scientist for various research institutes. Deacon Alexander is currently employed by a software company in Ottawa, where he lives with his wife and daughter.