The Georgian Orthodox parish of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Toronto was founded in 2010. Now, 11 years later, the community has fulfilled its long-held dream of acquiring its own church building.
Ever since its founding with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Dimitri of Batumi and Lazeti, who oversaw Georgian parishes in the U.S.A. and Canada at that time, the parishioners began thinking about buying their own building, as renting was quite expensive and they couldn’t remodel the space to be more fitting for Orthodox worship.
On February 12, the parishioners were finally able to purchase their building, reports the press service of the Georgian Patriarchate.
The building, built in 1872, is one of the oldest church buildings in the area. The parish was blessed to purchase its new home at a 25% price reduction and substantial loan interest reduction.
There are plans to open a Sunday School at the church and to turn it into a center of Georgian Orthodox culture, where Orthodox Christians of all nationalities will be welcome to gather.
“We have a lot of work and struggle ahead of us to repair, clean, and finish the great work of this church… All this is very important so that Georgian children born and raised in Canada don’t forget the Lord, the Georgian language, homeland, and religion, which is the greatest pain for those who have left Georgia,” says parish rector Archpriest Toma Bekurishvili.