His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian: the importance of faith and Church

for contemporary society

- Parish of St. Demetrios the Myroblyte from Winnipeg -

In a setting of the beginning of the Canadian winter, the feast day of St. Demetrios the Myroblyte Parish from Winnipeg, Manitoba took place.

On this occasion, His Holiness Bishop Ioan Casian paid a pastoral visit to this parish on Sunday, October 29.

Several important events were celebrated on this occasion: 50 years since the founding of the parish, 43 years of Father Victor Malanca's presence in this community and his 80th birthday.

In the morning of this day, the hierarch of Canada performed the Holy Liturgy and the memorial service for those who fell asleep - founders and benefactors of the place of worship.

In his sermon the hierarch said: “Today's Gospel tells us of two important miracles: the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, one of the leaders of the synagogue, and the healing of the woman with a flow of blood for 12 years.

The leader of the synagogue, Jairus, an important man of his time, pleads with the Savior for the healing of his 12-year-old daughter who was dying, this plea clearly showing that Christ had become known and was probably considered a prophet, an important man of old Israel, a man of God.

On the way to Jairus' house, a woman who had a flow of blood for 12 years, probably also hearing from Christ the Savior that He is a man of God, who performs miracles, approaches Him and, perhaps for fear of not being discovered, she touches in faith the hem of His garments, and feels a power coming to her, and all her sickness is healed. But, at the same time, Christ also feels what happened and shows that He knows everything that is happening around him and asks: ‘Who touched Me?’ Peter says to him: ‘Teacher, the crowds push and squeeze You, and You ask: Who touched Me?’ The Savior feels that the person who touched Him did it with intention and faith, out of the desire to be healed: ‘Someone touched Me, because I felt a power that came out of Me’. Feeling discovered, the woman fearfully approaches Christ and tells Him and the crowd why she came: she needed to be healed, which no doctor could do, but she had faith that Christ would be able to do it. The Savior does not ask her to scold her, but He highlights the importance of faith in this work of healing us by God.

We cannot approach God if we do not have faith. Christ says to her: ‘Take heart, daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace!’ This answer means that it is the power of God that worked the healing, but it worked because of her faith. The man who has no faith receives nothing from God. He cannot receive it because he refuses it, does not want it, or ignores it. This example shows that this woman was healed because her hope she had that God could heal her through the work of Christ the Savior. The Gospel does not say what the woman believed about the identity of Christ, about who He is, but she certainly believed that He was a man of God, a man of faith through whom healing could come.”

Further, the hierarch spoke of what happened in Jair's house: “Christ, after this episode, continues his way to Jair's house, but someone from his house greets him and says: ‘Your daughter died. Stop disturbing the Master.’ Then the Savior says a few words to Jairus: ‘Do not be afraid; only believe and she will be saved.’ Christ encourages him, he hears what was said to him about the child but knowing that He is the Son of God and has the power to bring someone back to life from the dead (as was the case with Lazarus, the widow's son from Nain) continues their way. Arriving at the house of Jairus, the Savior enters and says to them: ‘Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping’, but those there laughed, knowing that the girl had died. Christ takes everyone out, letting in only Peter, the first of the Apostles, James, and John, the beloved disciple, and the child's parents. Christ knows that He will perform the miracle, but He does it with great humility, not demonstrating publicly His divine powers. Entering the room where the child was and taking her by the hand, he said: ‘Child, arise!’ The girl gets up, and Christ tells the assistance to give her something to eat. The parents are glad and amazed, and surely all there find that what Christ accomplished comes from a power that is beyond human power, from a divine power.”

Next, the hierarch concluded from what was said the importance of faith and Church for today's society: “Thus, today's Gospel emphasizes the importance of faith to be close to God. By faith we receive the work and gifts of God that are necessary for our healing. It is important to come to Church and listen to the word of God, because from it we receive strength and increase our faith, enforce our soul, clear our mind, and grow in faith as the St. Apostles did and all the saints, as he did St. Demetrios too, the patron of this church. We see in St. Demetrios and all the saints the importance of faith, which they did not give up even at the cost of their lives. They are an example for us. The variety of saints shows us that holiness is not only shown in one way: some were martyrs, other monks, other hierarchs, other rulers, or simple people. They give us strength because they are living and concrete examples of how a man or woman can live the life of faith in midst of society, society that often does not share the same Christian values as us.

For us as Christians, the crimes and death sentences that are happening in today's conflicts are unacceptable. You can't take someone's life if you can't give it back. Christ gave back the life because He was Son of God.

Let us always rejoice when we come to Church and hear the words of Christ the Savior about resurrections, healings, words with great power, etc. because they help us to grow in our faith, to be anchored and strengthened in God. This is the role of the Church, to remind us every time that God exists, that we are His creation and not random people who find ourselves on this earth, but we are created people, founded by God who gave us life.”

Then His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian officially offered the Patriarchal Cross for clergy distinction from the Romanian Patriarchate for his entire pastoral activity and upon his 80th birthday.

After the final blessing the celebration continued with the fraternal agape prepared by the ladies' organization. During it there were several presentations: Terry Holunga (treasurer) - Annual report of the parish, Claudian Constantin Gheorghe (president of the Parish Council) - Perspectives and wishes for the future, Rev. Fr. Victor Malanca – A pastoral greeting and thanks and His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian - Pastoral and administrative framework program of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada for 2023 - synthesis.

The fraternal agape ended in a spirit of joy and spiritual Christian communion.

(notes by Nun Ana)