Church Consecration Service
On October 25, 2025, the complete consecration of the altar and the temple took place in our church, celebrated by Archbishop Irénée of Ottawa and of the Archdiocese of Canada. He was assisted by eight priests and four deacons, members of the clergy who came from across the country, from east to west, including from Halifax to Edmonton.
Despite the consecration beginning at 8:00 a.m., a large crowd of faithful participated in the celebration. This is not surprising, as such a ceremony takes place only once in the history of the church.
First, the bishop and the priests put on their liturgical vestments, but wore white aprons over them. The altar was washed, as if it were being immersed in baptismal waters. Molten ceromastic [1] is poured into the holes drilled in the altar, recalling the spices with which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus anointed the Savior’s body after taking it down from the Cross (Jn. 19:40).
The nails are driven into the same holes using four stones, in remembrance of the fact that Christ was nailed to the cross with four nails.
The altar is anointed with holy chrism on all sides. Chrismation is both the seal of the Holy Spirit during the Sacrament of Baptism and a reference to the precious gifts of the Myrrh-bearing Women who came to the tomb to anoint Christ’s body.
Then a procession with the holy relics takes place around the church, during which the interior walls are anointed with holy myrrh and the exterior walls are sprinkled with holy water.
The bishop, accompanied by the concelebrating priests, enters the church carrying the holy relics, which are placed in the fifth niche of the altar and filled with ceromastic.
The altar is clothed in new garments, like the newly baptized Christian dressed in white, and Christ wrapped in his burial cloths (Jn. 19:40). The Antimension and the Gospel—the living word of the living God (despite the sealed tomb)—are placed on the altar.
Thus, the Great Consecration of the Altar reminds us of baptism: the altar is washed, anointed with holy chrism, and clothed in new garments. The church was an ordinary building; now the temple becomes sacred, that is, reserved solely for specific sacred rites.
With the sacrament of baptism, the rite of the Great Consecration of the Altar reminds us of Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and glorious Resurrection—Easter. The consecrated church, like our physical temple (2 Cor. 6:16), becomes a vessel for the Holy Spirit. It gathers within itself all its members—the baptized Christians who form the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
You can see photos of the ceremony during which the altar and church of our parish were consecrated HERE.
[1] An aromatic binding mixture used during the Orthodox Church service for the consecration of a church.
