Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church (Kitchener)

Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Kitchener, Ontario is part of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada under the jurisdiction of Bishop Mitrofan (Kodić) of Canada.

History

Kitchener was named Berlin before the Great War. Many Central and Eastern European arrivals brought with them skills, tools, and machinery, as well as diverse religious and social customs making the tow cosmopolitan. Little is known of the very first Serbian immigrants who came to Berlin (Kitchener) in the years prior to the war. Among the first Serbian immigrants to settle in Kitchiner in the 1920s was Ilija and Persa Bradić (1926). With the passing years, the Kitchener Serbs swelled but were counted among the members of the Hamilton church. So were those of Waterloo, Guelph and Cambridge.

Finally, the first organized assembly was held in May 1972, led by Stanoje Gavrilović and Ilija Bradić. At the meeting they decided to call the future church Holy Trinity and elected the executive board. The first Church Board consisted of president Ilija Bradić, vice-prsident George Lazin, secretary Stanoje Gavrilović, treasurer Steve Pilipović, while Aleksa Petrović, Draga Marjanović, and Mara Pilipović made up the Auditing Board. Also, looking ahead to the future, a Building Committee was created with president George Marjanović, and members Ljubo Veličković, Jovanka Gavrilović, and Andjelka Pilipović. The Minutes of the Meeting was sent by the Kitchener Serbs to then Diocesan Bishop of Eastern America and Canada, the Right Reverend Bishop Sava with a petition that the newly-named Church-School Congregation be formally confirmed. By an official act of July 1972, Bishop Sava approved the new Church-School Congregation of the Holy Trinity for Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, and Father Milivoje Đorđević was appointed parish priest. On 1 December 1972 Bishop Sava came to visit Kitchener on his tour of his Canadian parishes with Very Reverend Mirko Višnjić of the Canadian Deanery.

Reverend Đorđević remained for two more years, only to leave the parish in 1974 after financial problems arose. The parish continued to survive somehow with visiting priests, Rade Terzin and Žarko Mitrović. From 1975 to 1979 the parish was administrerd by Bogdan Zjalić, a priest from Niagara Falls. In November 1979, Bishop Christopher Kovacevich appointed Rev. Miliša Petronijević as a permanent priest. Father Miliša went from house to house visiting and encouraging his parishioners to purchase a parcel of land. Bishop Christopher moved Rev. Miliša to a parish in Lorain, Ohio, and appointed Father Bogdan Zjalić as permanent priest on 10 December 1980.

With the funds raised by Father Miliša Petronijević and the then Board, Father Bogdan and the Board were able to obtain three acres of land in Kitchener for the sum of $82,500. The land was blessed in 1983 by Bishop Christopher Kovacevich, and architect Boris Lebredenski of Toronto was assigned to draw up the plans. No sooner were the plans ready when technical problems arose with the City of Kitchener and government officials in obtaining the permit. The process lasted six years when the authorities finally issued a building permit in August 1986. The foundations were blessed by Bishop Georgije Đokić on 22 November 1986. The church was completed and consecrated on 13 May 1989 by Bishop Georgije, Bishop Mitrofan and Bishop Christopher. In November 1992, the cornerstone was laid for the Church Hall. The hall was completed and blessed by Bishop Georgije on 6 June 1993.

Sources

• Earle Waugh and Milan V. Dimić, "Diaspora Serbs: A Cultural Analysis", publisher M. V. Dimic Research Institute, University of Alberta, 2004, pages 155-156
• Rev. Milutin Vlajko, Souvenir Book: "Consecration of the Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church, Kitchener, 14 May 1989", printed by Serbian Orthodox Diocesan Press, Suite 209, 80 Park Lane Road, Etobicoke, Ontario, pages 24-33
• Rev. Vaso Pejović, Souvenir Book: Canadian Diocese, 1983-1993, pages 182-186

References

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