St.Vladimir Orthodox Church

St.Vladimir’s Parish

Our congregation consists of people of various backgrounds, and we try to be open to all. Visitors are always welcome, and the Orthodox Church extends its hand to all who are seeking a firm foundation of faith.

Orthodox Church in America (OCA)

St. Vladimir’s was founded in Halifax, NS by a small group of English and Russian speaking individuals lead by Fr. Vladimir (Tobin). This group wanted a parish which would be non-ethnic and open to all and finally decided that the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) was the most suitable jurisdiction for them.

The OCA grew out of the Patriarchal Russian Church and was originally granted its independence by Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow at the time of the Russian Revolution. For a number of decades, there was uncertainty about the canonical status of the OCA, but its autocephaly was finally established once and for all in the 1970’s. Since then, the OCA has continued the tradition of Russian Orthodoxy, using both English and Slavonic in its services and adapting itself to the needs of each particular area. Although the OCA retains the Russian tradition of music and spirituality, it is also very much the Orthodox Church for contemporary North America.

Parish History

From 1996 onwards, the parish met in the domestic chapel in the home of Fr. Vladimir off Chebucto Rd. in Halifax. In 2000, we moved next door to the domestic chapel of the monastic community of St. Sergey of Radonezh. When the monks, Frs Roman and Cassian, relocated to a rural setting in New Germany (forming the Hermitage of the Annunciation), we moved to 5429 Cornwallis Street, into a church hall of St. George’s Anglican Round Church. Meantime, in 2005, Fr. Vladimir also relocated to the country, not far from the Hermitage, but continued travelling to Halifax to provide his pastoral care for the parish.

After nine years, our landlords asked us to vacate the hall due to extensive building renovations. It was a time of great uncertainty as the parish had no financial means of renting any suitable space at the marked value. We were blessed, however, with an opportunity to move info another former Anglican chruch, St.Phillip’s stone church, on Purcell’s Cove Road.

In 2014, a member of our parish, Fr. Alexander Treiger, became a deacon, and in 2016, a priest. It was a great help for Fr. Vladimir to be able to joinly conduct church services and to have a substitute during sick days or vacation times. We also continued to keep strong ties with the Hermitage of the Annunciation, with many parish members often visiting and hepling monks in New Germany. In 2017, a parish member moved to the Hermitage and later, in 2019, became a monk and a priest (Fr. Jean-Baptiste).

The year 2019 became another major turning point in the history of St.Vladimir’s. In early April, Fr.Vladimir was dismissed from his post as the rector of the parish and ordered to retire by His Eminence Archbishop Irénée (Rochon) of Ottawa and All Canada. Upon many requests from parishioners, the decision was reversed two weeks later, but then came into effect once again in August 2019.

Starting September 2019, Archbishop Irénée became the official rector of the parish but, because of his other duties, could not remain in Halifax. For two months, the parish had no permanent priest but continued to conduct weekly and special services with the help of the choir, Fr. Alexander, and hieromonks from the Hermitage. Finally, in November 2019, a new priest, Archimandrite David (Edwards), arrived to Halifax to take charge of the community started by Fr. Vladimir a quarter century ago. In October 2020, Archimandrite David was appointed Rector of St. Vladimir Church.

Let us hope the parish will grow and prosper forever!

Rector: Archimandrite David (Edwards)

Autobiographical Notes

1940 — My birth happened in Southampton in England. Because that was a port and fighter aircraft were manufactured nearby, we were bombed, seriously.

1945 — We were moved to a beautiful area of Dorset not far from Dorchester, the county town.

1954 — Goodbye England and hello Canada (crossed in a ship in a hurricane).

1960 — I learned that money is really a debit, thanks to my working for the Toronto-Dominion Bank.

1962 — St. John’s College at the University of Manitoba. Lots of adventures there. Summer work — Chief Cashier, Chateau Lake Louise.

1965 — First Degree, a Bachelor of Arts, but I was not well at the end of that year. Summer work — University of Manitoba Library.

1965 — St. chads College at Durham University (in England).

1967 — Second Degree, this time Theology. Anglican Diaconate, then priesthood o Brandon Cathedral, curate.

1970 — Interlake Manitoba, vicar of Fairford.

1971 — Third Degree, Leeds University — teaching, drama.

1972 — Newport High School South Wales teaching, drama. Officer Commanding 633 squadron ATC (RAF).

1979 — Rejected the Anglican Church.

1980 — Retired from teaching Drama.

1981 — Year in Montreal, tonsured into the Catholic Church

1982 — Received into the Orthodox Church

1983 — Ordained Subdeacon, Deacon, Priest, in the Orthodox Church — Rector of St. Mary the Virgin Western Rite Orthodox parish in Winnipeg and taught at John Pritchard School. Tonsured to Monastic Habit.

2000 — Retired from teaching, moved to St Albert Alberta. Went mainly to St. Herman Church Edmonton. Spent time in St John’s Newfoundland and Ottawa.

2019 November 1, arrived in Halifax Nova Scotia, met the most incredible people and have not looked back. Glory to God for the parish of St. Vladimir Prince of Kiev of which I am Rector. The most beautiful people I have ever met. Thank you God for bringing me here.

Archpriest 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, Fr. Stelian and his family moved to Ottawa where he worked 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. He was attached to the Annunciation parish until January of 2024 when Vladyka Irenee assigned him to St. Vladimir Parish.

Fr. Stelian speaks English, Greek, and Russian. He and Matushka Lena have three children and five (so far) grandchildren.

Assistant Priest: Fr. Alexander (Treiger)

Priest Alexander (Treiger) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1975. It was in secondary school that he first discovered Orthodox Christianity. The desire to learn more about Orthodoxy and to embrace it inwardly grew stronger over the years. This dream came true in January 2001 in the Holy Land, when he received holy baptism in Jerusalem. In August 2001, he relocated to New Haven, CT to continue his studies. In 2008, he accepted a teaching position in Halifax and joined the parish of St. Vladimir. In January 2014 on the Feast of Theophany, His Eminence Archbishop Irénée ordained him to the holy diaconate, and in January 2016, to the holy priesthood.

Fr. Alexander was educated in Jerusalem and at Yale. He holds a PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Currently, he works as associate professor of Religious Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, teaching classes on the Abrahamic Religions. His main field of research is the history of the Orthodox Church in the Arab world. He has many publications in the field and is one of the editors of a new anthology of Arab Orthodox texts from the millennium 700–1700 in English translations.

Fr. Alexander is married to Ksenia. They are blessed with four children: Anna, Alexey, Maria, and Vera.

Deacon Michael (Cherry)

Father Deacon Michael Cherry grew up near Atlanta, Georgia. At an early age, he was baptized in the Orthodox Church, along with the rest of his family, and began serving in the altar. He married Matushka Maria in 2012 and graduated from Georgia Tech University the following year.

Moving to Ottawa, Ontario to be with his wife, he served as a Subdeacon at the Annunciation Cathedral and worked as a public servant for the federal government. He began independent studies for the Diaconate, based on the Holy Trinity Seminary curriculum in 2019, overseen by Archimandrite David (who was then in Ottawa) and Fr. Stelian.

The Cherry family moved to Halifax in 2023 and Michael was ordained to the Diaconate on July 28, 2024, by Vladyka Irenee.

He and Matushka Maria have been blessed with four children.

Parish Membership

Only registered parish members have the right to vote during parish business meetings. To confirm your membership, please fill out the membership form. If you would like to become a member, please fill out pages 1 & 2. If you are simply renewing your membership, please fill out page 1 only. If you have changed your contact information recently, you may also want to fill out page 2. All information is kept confidential. Hard copies of the membership form are also available at Church.

Fellowship of St. Catherine — Adult Education Group

The Fellowship of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria is an adult education group that meets before Vespers at 4:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. We meet to nourish and strengthen our faith by reading and discussing together classic books and important subjects in the Orthodox Christian tradition.

Past topics have included: On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius, Great Lent by Fr. Alexander Schmemann, On Pascha by Melito of Sardis, various aspects of the Divine Liturgy using Let Us Attend by Fr. Lawrence Farley, and Way of the Ascetics by Tito Colliander.

Our group tries to be warm and inviting, and we encourage all parishioners and interested guests alike to attend. Zoom participation is available. For more information, please contact Father David. We look forward to seeing you there!

Prosphora Baking

Baking prosphora is a very important and honourable ministry, we cannot celebrate the Eucharist without it! Everything is done by hand. You do not need a mixer just some bowls and your hands. Prosphora does need to be delivered to the church early on Sunday morning (no later than 9:45am is best) but you can definitely bring it in on Saturday evening at vespers.

We are in need of more people to bake prosphora. Any member of the church who is in good standing may bake prosphora. If you are interested in learning or already know how to bake it and can sign up for a one month rotation please do so. It is not complicated and there are several people in the parish who would be glad to teach you. Please see Maria, or email to prosphora (at) halifaxorthodox (dot) org. Click here to read the recipe in PDF.