Kingston, Ontario, May 19, 2026
Photo: archdiocese.ca
St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church in Kingston, Ontario, celebrated a double milestone on Sunday, May 10, as His Eminence Archbishop Irénée of Ottawa (Orthodox Church in America) burned the church’s fully paid mortgage during his annual archpastoral visit, which coincided with the parish’s 45th anniversary.
The mortgage burning ceremony marked the successful conclusion of the four-year What Can You Do for God’s Kingdom? capital campaign, which raised $230,000 to repay its loan, the Archdiocese of Canada reports.
During a luncheon following the hierarchical Divine Liturgy, rector Archpriest Andrew Anderson presented a pictorial history of the parish’s 45-year journey.
Photo: archdiocese.ca
Founded in 1981 by Archbishop Sylvester of Montréal as an English-speaking outreach to students at Queen’s University, the mission spent four decades moving between various temporary locations including house churches, a university chapel, a storefront, and a rented basement in an Anglican building.
The congregation’s search for a permanent home ended in 2022 when a historic red brick colonial-era building and three-acre Loyalist Burial Ground cemetery became available at 965 Sydenham Road. The parish purchased the former Methodist church on June 15, 2022, for $290,000, using a substantial down payment supplemented by an archdiocese loan.
Through the contributions of numerous donors, primarily parishioners, the debt was eliminated in four years. Parish leadership expressed gratitude to God for the debt-free property and thanked Abp. Irénée and the Archdiocese for their support throughout the process.
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