Sts. Peter and Paul Church (Oakville)
Script error: No such module "AfC submission catcheck".
Sts. Peter and Paul Church (Oakville) is a parish of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada. It is located at 1039 Dundas Street West in Oakville, Ontario.
Today the Oakville church dedicated to the Saints Apostles Peter and Paul is a vibrant parish of the Halton Region, a part of the Greater Toronto Area, where there is a strong Serbian community that encompasses Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton.
Origin of the Church[edit]
In the early eighties of the 20th century, the Oakville Serbian community on its own initiative began exploring the possibility of building a Serbian Orthodox church for their spiritual needs. This ambitious project was dedicated as a monument to one of the oldest Serbian churches in the Balkans, the St. Peter and Paul Church in the municipality of Raška[1]. The head of the Eastern American and Canadian Diocese at the time, Bishop Christopher Kovacevich endorsed the idea and gave his blessing and support.
In 1983 a large piece of land, 10 acres was acquired by the provisional board and Rev. Bogdan Zjalić on Dundas Avenue for the construction of the future Church of the Holy Apostles Saints Peter and Paul. The members of the parish organized themselves during those difficult times when jobs were scarce and interests rates were high. Yet with such a noble cause in mind ("to be able to gather, pray to God, to assemble, socialize, and preserve tradition"), they persevered.
The work that began at the time of Bishop Christopher was continued during the tenure (1984-2017) of Bishop Georgije Đokić. In March 1986 the burning of the mortgage on the land took place. With the arrival of Rev. Miloš Milovanović in 1987, and the participation of the Women's Auxiliary -- "Carica Jelena" Circle of Serbian Sisters or better known in Serbian as Kolo Srpskih Sestara -- church life in the parish was activated.
Father Miloš began publishing a bulletin "Seme Vaskrsenja" (Seeds of Resurrection) with religious and educational instructions in order to impress upon his parishioners the basic principles of Orthodoxy. Rev. Miloš Milovanović was transferred to Niagara Falls and the parish was served by the following priests: Protosyngelos Milutin Knežević of the Monastery of Kaona in Serbia, Hieromonk Neofit Avramović, also of Serbia, V. Rev. Stevo Stojsavljević, Dean for the Eastern Canadian Deanery, and Bishop Georgije himself, Rev. Zlatibor Djurasević and others.
The newly built church was consecrated on 30 May 1993, by Bishop Georgije (Đokić). On 7 August 1993 Ljubomir Rajić was specifically ordained for the new Oakville church as their parish priest.
On 1 October 1, 2019, Protopresbyter-Stavrofor Dragomir Ninković, by the decision of His Grace Bishop of Canada Dr. Mitrofan (Kodić), was appointed as the parish priest for the Oakville congregation of the Holy Apostles Saints Peter and Paul Church. The Church Council president is Dragan Prostran.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
This article "Sts. Peter and Paul Church (Oakville)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Sts. Peter and Paul Church (Oakville). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
