Ontario clergy brotherhood celebrates patron St. John of San Francisco

Windsor, Ontario, July 21, 2026

Photo: Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada Photo: Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada     

Orthodox clergy from five jurisdictions gathered at St. George and St. Andrew Șaguna Romanian Orthodox Cathedral in Windsor, Ontario, on Saturday, July 18, to celebrate the feast of St. John Maximovitch, patron of the Windsor-Essex Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood.

The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Grace Ioan Casian, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada, together with clergy of the Brotherhood, representing the Romanian, Greek, Serbian, and Macedonian Churches, and the Orthodox Church in America, reports the Romanian Diocese of Canada.

The service marked the first time the Brotherhood solemnly celebrated the feast of its Heavenly patron since choosing St. John (Maximovitch) in 2025. The Windsor-Essex Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood was established as a forum for communion, cooperation, and mutual support among Orthodox clergy serving the region’s various canonical jurisdictions.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Bp. Ioan Casian delivered a homily on the life, holiness, and missionary ministry of St. John, emphasizing his continuing relevance for the Orthodox Church and for Orthodox missionary witness in North America.

Following the service, Protos. Corneliu Andrașco, who has served as president of the Brotherhood since 2024, thanked Bp. Ioan Casian for his presence and liturgical leadership at the Brotherhood’s first patronal celebration. He also thanked the concelebrating clergy for their witness to Orthodox unity and the faithful for their participation and prayers.

The Brotherhood’s members meet regularly, collaborate on joint initiatives, and organize missionary and pastoral activities across the Windsor-Essex Orthodox community.

“The celebration of St. John Maximovitch thus became a profound occasion of joy and communion, uniting Orthodox clergy and faithful from different traditions and canonical jurisdictions in prayer, inspired by the radiant example of one of the great missionaries of modern Orthodoxy,” the report concludes.

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7/21/2026

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