September 28^th, 2020 marks 110 years since the establishment of Macedono-Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Parish Sts. Cyril and Methody.
Please, see the attached bulletin, which reflects important events from the church’s history.
The 110th anniversary is a good occasion to celebrate and recognize the hard work, enthusiasm and dedication of all those, who have contributed much of their lives to the foundation and establishment of the church, as a place of worshiping, social gathering and cultural activities.

Filled with joy and pride in what has been achieved so far, today, we all involved in the life of the Cathedral can proudly call ourselves followers of our ancestors, who founded this holy place in the distant 1910.

During the years of its existence, in addition to the church services and rituals, the Cathedral organized celebrations and events on various occasions, which we continue to follow today – Patron Saints Day Celebrations, Palm Sunday Bake-Sales, Traditional Annual Bazaars, Children's Christmas Parties, Celebrations of major National Holidays, concerts and others.

In 1960 and 1985, the Cathedral celebrated with dignity its 50th and 75th anniversaries with an extremely large presence of people and remarkable ceremonies, reflected in the anniversary books, from which we draw information about the church’s history.

The Centennial Anniversary of the Cathedral was celebrated on September 25, 2010 in the presence of many people, most of whom were second generation of the church's founders.  Gala-Dinner with a rich music program was organized in the Grand Banquet Hall of Prince Hotel in Toronto. Many official guests from Canada and Bulgaria were present.

More than 400 people came to celebrate this great and remarkable event, which continued the next day (September 26, 2010) with a Solemn Holy Liturgy, officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph and the priests of all fraternal churches in Toronto. After the service, the celebration continued in the banquet hall, which turned out to be small to accommodate all those, who had come to express their love and respect to the one-century-old church institution.

Unfortunately, today, because of the pandemic that threatens the human health and life, and due to the restrictions, imposed by Ontario health and government authorities, organizing a big event in order to celebrate the church's 110th Anniversary is impossible.

For this reason, the event will be marked with Moleben (a prayer for health and prosperity) by Father Valeri Shoumarov on Saturday, September 26th at 11 am.

All those, wishing to take part in this church ceremony are welcome, provided that all imposed restrictions are observed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection.

HAPPY 110TH ANNIVERSARY OF STS. CYRIL & METHODY CATHEDRAL!

LET THE NAME OF THE CATHEDRAL AND THE DEEDS OF THE FOUNDERS AND THEIR FOLLOWERS LIVE FOREVER!

GRANT , OH LORD, MANY YEARS!

We are happy to announce that starting from Sunday, September 6, 2020, Sts. Cyril and Methody Cathedral will be open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. without a priest's service.

Everyone is welcome to come, light candles and pray, provided that the following health and safety instructions are folloewed:

Dear friends of Sts. Cyril and Methody Cathedral,

May 24th, 2020 is the Day of the Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature.
Traditionally, every year on this day our Cathedral, named after the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methody, celebrates its Patron Saint's Day with a solemn Holy Liturgy and a Gala-Banquet with a festive lunch and a rich musical program.
This year, we have also another wonderful occasion to celebrate - 110 years since the founding of our Cathedral - the holy place, which has preserved the faith,  traditions and culture of our ancestors, which we follow with dignity and strive to pass on to the generations to come.
Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, the church remains still closed and we did not have the opportunity to organize and celebrate the Patron Saint's Day of our Cathedral.
Having this in mind, let us remember the Celebrations of our Patron Saints Day from previous years, when the church and the banquet hall were festively decorated and full of smiling and cheerful people, who had came to celebrate the great church holiday.
Let us remember the hymn, glorifying the work of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methody, which still echoes in our ears and raises everyone to their feet: Go, revived people, go to a bright future!
Let us remember also the official visits of His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph and his festive prayers and blessings, as well as the presence of the official guests, honorary members, many children, dance groups and performers, participating in the musical programs, which have always ended with traditional Bulgarian and Macedonian horos.
Celebrations with wonderful experiences and unforgettable memories!

Celebrations, that will remain in the history of our 110 year-old Cathedral, which we can be proud to have been a part of.

May the deed of the Holy Brothers lives forever!

May our Cathedral and the work of its founders and faithful followers live on for centuries!

Happy Holiday to everyone!

Please, refer to the links on the left and on the right of our Home page, to see pictures and videos from our Patron Saints Day Celebration in 2018 and 2019.

Beloved in the Lord, brothers and sisters,

With the greeting of "Christ is Risen" and the answer "Indeed, He is Risen", we the Orthodox Christians will congratulate each other for 40 days after the day of Resurrection.

Christ would be just one ordinary Jewish teacher, who healed the sick and died tragically on the Cross, if God did not confirm His mission through the Resurrection.

For believers, the Resurrection of Christ is the key to the mystery of life and death. Easter is not just about bringing a dead person back to life. The God-man Christ is the only person in history, who lives forever in God and for God after His Resurrection.

The resurrection of Christ proves that Jesus of Nazareth is not only a prophet, as Muslims believe, and is not only a teacher, as the occultists claim.

Christ is the Son of God, "Light from Light, true God from true God," as it is written in the Symbol of Faith.

Christ is not dead, but alive and glorified, He delivers His followers from sin and eternal death in hell, which awaits all nonbelievers.

Thanks to the Resurrection, the Church was founded, which has been triumphant for over 2000 years and has become the foundation of Christian civilization.

We are all members and debtors of this civilization and its moral principles.

St. Gregory the Theologian writes: "Christ is risen from the dead; Christ is in His glory - go up also to His glory; Christ has escaped from the tomb - free yourself also from the bonds of sin!”

Brothers and sisters,

May our hearts respond to the news of the Resurrected Christ and be willing to follow His Commandments.

May the light of Christ's Resurrection cast out from our lives the darkness of sin and fill it with the work of God's righteousness, love, and mercy.

Let us pray that God will grant us health, peace, prosperity and salvation.

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

Ikonom Vesselin Arnaoudov

Parish Priest and Vicar of Metropolitan Joseph

To reduce the spread of COVID-19 and based on the advice of Government and Health Leaders, Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Cathedral "Sts. Cyril and Methody" in Toronto will temporarily close the Church, Administrative Office and the Banquet Hall until further notice.

The measures are taken to avoid human contacts, to protect against the spread of the virus and ensure the health and safety of our customers and employees.

In case of urgent needs, regarding church matters and services, please call Father Vesselin Arnaoudov at 647 632 7051 /
e-mail: otecarnaudov@abv.bg.

For questions about administrative and hall rental matters, please contact Ms. Kera Maslarski at 647 740 3506
e-mail: scmcathedraltoronto@hotmail.com.

We hope the church, administrative office and the banquet hall will soon resume their normal work, for which, we will notify you in a timely manner.

Church Executive Committee

Sts. Cyril and Methody Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Cathedral

March 18, 2020
Toronto

It has been a tradition of our church to recognize our longstanding and active members, who have served the church for many years and whose contributions have had a big and lasting impact in the life of our Cathedral.

This year at our Patron Saints’ Day Celebration on May 26^th, we have invited Betty and Valtcho Valtchev to honor them for their many years of membership, support and dedication to Sts. Cyril & Methody Cathedral.

Due to health problems, they both did not attend the Celebration. Below is briefly written about their involvement with the life of our Cathedral.

Family Betty and Valcho Valchev, have been members of our Cathedral  from the distant 1955, when they got married here by the priest at that time, V. Rev. Haralampy Iliev.
Since then, the church has become for them a place to renew their spirits, a place to gather and meet friends – old and new, a place to talk and remember their native land, which they missed a lot.

Valcho Valchev came to Toronto in 1953. He graduated from a Technical School and started working as a draftsman.

After years, he entered in the building construction business, which he practiced until the end of his working career.

Betty and Valcho had a daughter, Stephanie, who was baptized in our church by the Bishop Simeon. Betty has a nice memory from that time: After the service, the Bishop happily told Stephanie: "Today, I baptized you and one day I will marry you". "No, I will marry my boyfriend" said the little Stephanie.

When Stephanie turned 6, she was enrolled in the Sunday school, which she attended every Friday night.

The teacher at that time was Petranka Andonova. Betty cannot remember how many children were in the class, but when they had performances, she said,  the stage was full of children.

The marriage of Betty and Valcho’s daughter Stephanie took place in our Cathedral. Her husband was a Catholic and his parents (Irish Catholics) were very pleased to attend the Wedding Ceremony and remained  very impressed by the design of our Cathedral and the Eastern Orthodox Wedding Service.

Their two grandchildren - Chelsea and Christopher were also baptized in our Cathedral by V. Rev. Ivan Minchev.

On January 28, 2018, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph has called a General Meeting of the membership for the election of a new Church Executive Committe.
The meeting started with an opening prayer, performed by Metropolitan Joseph and Father Vesselin Arnaoudov, followed by detailed reports, presented by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, Parish Priest, Father Vesselin Arnaoudov, President of the Church Committee, Mr. Vangel Angelov and the Treasurer of the Church, Mr. Peter Evans.

After unanimous acceptance of the reports and the assurances of all parishioners, who verbally declared that they would continue to observe strictly the By-Laws of the Cathedral and the Diocese, His Eminence declared the end of the canonical disorder and announced the beginning of the procedure for the election of a new Church Committee, which was held according to the requirements of the Church’s By-Law.
Below is a picture of the newly elected Church Committee with His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, Father Vesselin and Prezvitera Galya.

Let us wish the members of the newly elected Church Committee to be healthy and to govern the life of the church with love, goodwill and wisdom.
May our more than century old Cathedral affirm itself again, as a holy place for prayers, worship, peace and love among people.