Skip to the content
Icon of Christ
› ›

New bishop for Montreal!

qawe
in Coptic Orthodox Church
Congratulations to Heg. Fr Eklimandos Ava Mina (center) for his nomination as Bishop of Montreal & Eastern Canada.

Source: https://mobile.twitter.com/FrPishoy/status/601553569683152896

Comments

  • minasolimanminasoliman
    I hope he will be strong for Eastern Canada, as I understand it has quite a number of problems.  As a guy from NJ, all I can tell you is "ya bakhtokom!"

    I also hope he is called "Bishop Clement".  That would be nice :)
  • EsmoEpchoisEsmoEpchois
    Is nomination a definitive? Maybe he's one of a few? But at least we know they will definitely be getting a diocese!
  • qawe
    minasoliman said:

    I hope he will be strong for Eastern Canada, as I understand it has quite a number of problems.  As a guy from NJ, all I can tell you is "ya bakhtokom!"


    I also hope he is called "Bishop Clement".  That would be nice :)
    Why Clement?
  • qawe
    EsmoEpchois said:

    Is nomination a definitive? Maybe he's one of a few? But at least we know they will definitely be getting a diocese!

    It doesn't sound like he's one of a few. But of course it's never definitive until the Holy Synod place their hands on him.
  • minasolimanminasoliman
    Much easier to write than "Eklimandos" ;)
  • cyril
    edited May 2015
    Not sure if Toronto is within the Jurisdiction of Eastern Canada.

    If I remember some had pointed out that Toronto was declared an Archdiocese (similar to NJ?) so maybe the scope of the new diocese will be east of Toronto, just as the western diocese is west of Toronto.
    http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php?topic=60703.0
  • ZoxsasiZoxsasi
    I think this is a new strategy by H.H pope Tawadaros. Pope Shenouda didnt do this, and I admit, there was a lot (A LOT) of problems amongst priests in London, Paris & elsewhere because they had no Bishop. You could argue that the Pope was the Bishop or the "responsible" person for London or Paris, but that's just folly. He wasn't there to be know what was going on.

    Now we have a Bishop for Paris; which is great.

    Having said that, the priests in Canada (at least in Montreal), seem to be living in harmony and mutual love and respect. 

    This is a very very wise move from Pope Tawadros. 
  • ShareTheLordShareTheLord
    What does this nomination mean? 

    Is there any official acknowledgment from the pope? I can't seem to find anything but the twitter feed on this!
  • minasolimanminasoliman
    When will the ordination be?
  • Tobit
    edited May 2015
    I also heard he will cover the maritime provinces which is needed because they were cut off. Priests from Mississauga & Toronto travel there to pray liturgies on a rotating schedule. With his ordination he will be able to expand the services and ordain new priests, God willing.
  • ShareTheLordShareTheLord
    From what I understood, he covers the land starting from Kingston all the way to Nova Scotia. He will be ordained general bishop for this land tomorrow Sunday May 24th.
  • minasolimanminasoliman
    General bishop? That's sad.
  • qawe
    edited May 2015
    All the new ordinations are here (from Bishop Anba Raphael's Facebook), does the Arabic say general bishop?

    بنعمة ربنا يسوع المسيح
    وبيد قداسة البابا تواضروس الثاني وبحضور الآباء الأجلاء أعضاء المجمع المقدس ستكون اليوم السبت ٢٣/ مايو ٢٠١٥ عشية السيامات الساعة السابعة مساء بالكاتدرائية المرقسية الكبرى بالعباسية 
    وستكون السيامات المباركة كالتالي:
    ١- المناداة على نيافة الأنبا يؤانس أسقفًا لأسيوط وتوابعها.
    ٢- المناداة على نيافة الأنبا لوقا أسقفًا على جنوب فرنسا وجنيف بسويسرا.
    ٣- سيامة القمص بيشوي المحرقي أسقفًا عامًا على الوادي الجديد.
    ٤- سيامة القمص باخوميوس الباخومي أسقفًا عامًا على أرمنت وإسنا.
    ٥- سيامة القمص إيلاريون أفا مينا أسقفًا عامًا على منطقة الهجانة وألماظة بالقاهرة.
    ٦- سيامة القمص كليمنضس أفا مينا أسقفًا عامًا على منطقة شرق كندا.
    ٧- سيامة القس أبوللو الأنبا بيشوي أسقفًا عامًا على باريس بفرنسا.
    ٨- سيامة القس هرمينا البراموسي أسقفًا عامًا على منطقة عين شمس والمطرية بالقاهرة.
    فلتكن هذه السيامات المباركة لمجد اسم الله القدوس وبنيان الكنيسة المقدسة وخلاص كل النفوس . أمين
  • Tobit
    edited May 2015
    For those asking, the Arabic does say general bishop. Perhaps there's wisdom in that to get him acquainted with the language and problems of the diocese first and to perhaps see if HG is a good fit
  • minatasgeelminatasgeel
    HG Bishop Eklimandos...I do have to say that it's hard for me to pronounce it....and I am a fob...lol

    Anyways, Congrats Canadians....who live on the east :-) 
  • minasolimanminasoliman
    Six out of the eight listed are to be "general bishops". As usual, very disappointing
  • katanikhoroskatanikhoros
    Why do we ordain general bishops? Is that a new phenomenon? Is it against any canons?
  • minasolimanminasoliman
    Why we do we ordain general bishops?

    1. Assist bishops or be "bishops in training" overseeing a part of a major diocese

    2. Social services like the poor, the youth, education

    3. Secretarial work for the Pope or Synod

    New Phenomenon?

    In the Coptic Church, yes! Beginning in the 1960s, first general bishops in the history of the Coptic Church ever as PURPOSELY without a diocese.

    1. Assisting bishops usually come from khouri episcopos, and we're very rarely employed. Other bishops who had "assistance" were Metropolitans who were spiritually authoritative over a few diocesan bishops around them.

    2. Social work was the job of the Deacon

    3. Secretarial work was the job of the Deacon or presbyter, or a monk. It may even be a fellow diocesan bishop.

    Against canons?

    Yes! A bishop without a diocese is like making water that is not wet. In the canons a bishop must ALWAYS be associated with a diocese.
  • katanikhoroskatanikhoros
    Are there any other churches within the Apostolic churches (I will be liberal and include any church that has a clergy even Lutheran) that has "general" bishops or are we fairly unique in this phenomenon (At least within the Oriental and Eastern churches)?
  • minasolimanminasoliman
    Well, yes and no.  I actually know more about Greek and Russian practices than I do about our sister churches, but I think they are also similar, if not the same as the Greek and Russians.  The question can be worded in two ways:

    1.  Do they have bishops who fall under many of the jobs listed?  For the most part only for 1 and 3 I have seen bishops where they are solely made for those purposes, and in that sense no different than the practices of our "general bishops".  Number 2 is something that is delegated for each diocese, not something across the world as we tend to do.

    2.  Do they have bishops that are ordained "without diocese"?  The answer is no!  They never do.  So then the next question is how, since they do not take care of dioceses, what is the point?  The point is they do not want to "break the canon law".  So they create something called "titular sees", that is dioceses that used to exist and no longer exist.  So the bishops that are needed to assist another bishop or to do patriarchal and synodal secretarial works are ordained with "titular sees" since it would be inappropriate to change the ordination prayers and the canons.

    Nevertheless, Metropolitan John Zizioulas of the Greek Orthodox was brutally honest.  He is a "titular metropolitan" of a diocese that no longer exists.  So you can say he is a "general bishop".  Yet in some of his writings, he actually challenged the practice, saying that it is theologically untenable if we have to be honest and canonically vain, playing games with the intentions of the canon law.  And he's a titular bishop, of all people!  That's like one of our own general bishops having the courage to say, "this episcopacy I am honored with makes no sense in light of the ecclesiological tradition of the Church."
  • katanikhoroskatanikhoros
    That's interesting. Thanks for sharing
  • ZoxsasiZoxsasi
    I know this Monk! He was in France. He knows very well that there is a shortage of priests in the south of france, and now he's moved on to be a bishop in Canada. 

    I thought a Bishop needs to have priests under him? 

    Anba Louka is already short-staffed and struggling and now they take his ONLY priest and send him off to Canada?

    Do you realise that he was doing liturgies in 4/5 different towns in France??? 

    Is it really logical to take this priest and to give him to Canada when the priests in Canada seem already to be coping pretty well??? 

    Those advising H.H Pope Tawadros are aloof of what is going on. The people are suffering here.
  • ShareTheLordShareTheLord
    @Zoxasi

    The pope knows what he is doing :). The east of Canada also needs the help of a bishop and most importantly one who speaks french like HG Bishop Klimandos. Pray for France, the east of Canada and for HG's newly assigned service. 
  • minasolimanminasoliman
    Anyone have a link to the ordination video?
  • cyril
    http://davidbebawy.com/2015/05/23/bishop-ordinations-may-23-2015/
  • ZoxsasiZoxsasi
    Anba Abakir should have been made Metropolitan of Europe (at the very least). 
  • minatasgeelminatasgeel
    Zoxsasi said:

    Anba Abakir should have been made Metropolitan of Europe (at the very least). 

    @Zoxasasi...you need to stop with these absurd statements towards what you think should or should be done in the Church. And you do know this...but you would just like to come here and babble all day rather than use the forum for something useful that benefits everyone. 
Sign In or Register to comment.