Calgary, Alberta, July 21, 2026
Photo: oca.org
A newly translated version of the Gospel of St. John in an indigenous language was presented to His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and All America and Canada recently.
During the banquet for the Canadian Archdiocesan Assembly, held, July 16 in the parish hall of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Calgary, Alberta, Archpriest Matthew Francis, who serves as Regional Director for British Columbia and Yukon of the Canadian Bible Society, presented copies of a newly translated version of the Gospel in the Blackfoot language to Metropolitan Tikhon and to Archbishop Irénée of Ottawa and Canada, the OCA reports.
Fr. Matthew Francis hands Met. Tikhon a copy of the Blackfoot translation of the Gospel of St. John. Photo: oca.org
Blackfoot is spoken by the member nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy in southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai (Blood) Nations, along with the Blackfeet Nation across the border in Montana. According to the Canadian Bible Society, the language is spoken by 6,450 people in Canada today, though itʼs also the fastest growing First Nation language in the Prairie provinces.
The Society hopes to translate and publish the complete Blackfoot Bible by the 2030s.
Met. Tikhon traveled to Calgary from July 15 to 17 to preside at the 2026 Canadian Archdiocesan Assembly.
At the banquet on the evening of July 16, alongside the presentation of the Blackfoot Gospel translation, Met. Tikhon offered remarks on the meaning of a shared meal in the life of the Church, saying that “the Church has never really handed down bare information. She has handed down a table—from the manna in the wilderness, to the bread and cup Christ gave His disciples, to the Divine Liturgy we will serve together before this Assembly ends.”
On Friday, July 17, Met. Tikhon presided at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Church in Calgary, concelebrating with Abp. Irénée, and various clergy.
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