1895
The first people of Lebanese descent settled in Ottawa at about 1895. Their activities were limited to peddling throughout the farming and mining communities with one or two suitcases filled with various items of merchandise. In a few years, some of them established general stores, which were used as distribution centres for the peddlers. As businesses took root, families were brought to Canada and settled permanently here.

One of the earliest settlers in the region was Abraham Tanous Karam. Abraham Karam started out in business in the “kishee”, selling goods from door to door by horse and buggy. He was known for sponsoring many of his countrymen’s immigration to Canada and providing support to them. Later his son, Elias, would fight vigorously to have the immigration regulations classify the people of the Middle East as the “white race” whereas formerly they had been grouped as Asiatic or”yellow”. In 1948, Elias organized the first Association of Arabic speaking people in Ottawa. This association eventually spread countrywide and resulted in a convention being held at the Chateau Laurier. Elias passed away in 1958. His father, Abraham Tanous Karam, passed away peacefully in his sleep in Trenton, Ontario, November 20th, 1965 at age 103


Early 1900’s
Priests of the Orthodox Church paid occasional visits to the Ottawa community from large centres in the United States and from Montreal. At those occasions, services were held at one of the Anglican churches. During the First World War, His Eminence Metropolitan Germanos of Selephkias and Baalback visited the community. Immigration increased after World War I, and it was mostly the Very Reverend Economos Michael Zarbatany of Montreal who attended to the growing needs of the Arabic speaking community. By 1929, a church society called the Young Men’s Orthodox Organization was formed to discuss financing a church. The community consisted then of roughly 30 families.

The Syrian Orthodox Church in America was initially under the supervision of the Russian Church. At about this time, it reorganized and returned to the Mother Church of Antioch, and Archbishop Victor Abouassaly was consecrated as Archbishop of New York and all North America.

1929
On November 14,1929, His Eminence Archbishop Victor Abouassaly visited Ottawa and presided over a Pontifical Divine Liturgy at St. Barnabas Anglican Church on Kent Street. Father Michael Zarbatany of St Nicholas Orthodox Church of Montreal assisted him. That afternoon, a general meeting of the congregation was held. There were 41 people in attendance. They met again on the 17th and 28th of November, and in the presence of His Grace formed the St. Elijah’s Syrian Orthodox Church Society. A committee was charged with the task of investigating the possibility of finding a church. The first donations and fund-raisers were organized at those first meetings.

1930
On July 2, 1930, a meeting was held to approve the purchase of a property from the Ottawa Pentecostal Assembly at Lyon and McLaren Streets for the sum of $7,500. The meeting was chaired by President Norman Thomas and included the following five trustees: Barakett Elias, Assad Kalil, Elias Joseph Mckhoal, Alex Nesrallah and Theo Abdallah. The purchase was approved, and Mr. Joseph Smiley advanced a loan of $5,000 secured against the property to pay for it. The congregation would spend yet again as much as the purchase price for alterations and furnishings.

1931-1933
St Elijah Orthodox Church opened for the first time on August 2, 1931. Archbishop Victor was unable to attend due to illness, but delegated the Right Reverend Archimandrites Hannania Kassab and Samuel David and the Reverend Father Gufral Berew to perform and assist in the Consecration of the new Church, which was dedicated to St. Elijah.


Elijah, who lived in Palestine about 850 years before Christ was born, was famous for his wisdom and wonderful spiritual knowledge. He healed the sick and helped the poor and did not hesitate to tell even kings where lay their duty to God. Elijah was regarded as a forerunner and prototype of the Messiah, and some of the Jews thought that Jesus was Elijah come back to life.

The dedication of the Church took place in the presence of a large distinguished gathering of people assembled from all over the country. This gave birth to the Feast of St. Elijah’s, which has been celebrated ever since.

At first there was no priest, as the congregation could not afford one. Rev. Michael Zarbatany continued to be called from Montreal to officiate at any needed services. Later in 1931, Rev. Archimandrite Basilious N. Saffi was appointed as the congregation’s first priest, and served for a period of over a year. He was followed by Reverend Anton Bahah.

In 1933, a fire partially damaged the interior of the church and made it impossible to hold services until finances could be raised to restore the church. The services of Father Bahah were terminated.


1934 - 1935
Archbishop Victor Abouassaly passed away in September of 1934, and his secretary, Archimandrite Ananias Kassab, was invited to serve as parish priest at St Elijah’s. He served the parish for seven years before leaving to the Toledo, Ohio Diocese in August of 1941. During those years, he organized the St. Elijah’s Ladies Society and the Young Ladies Society and freed the parish of all obligations and the debt arising from the fire of 1933.

The beginnings of the Ladies Society dates back to the inception of the Church. They held Arabic suppers as fund-raisers and had a visiting committee to attend to the sick and needy. The ladies of the parish elected a board in 1935, and Mrs. Atalla Karam was elected the first President. The Young Ladies Society encouraged the younger members of the community by organising and promoting theatricals, dances and social gatherings. It was instrumental in the formation of the Sunday School, and together with the youth organization, it organized and maintained the choir. In 1950, the St. Elijah’s Women’s Benevolent Society was formed and was later to become the St. Elijah Ladies’ Auxiliary. The first President was Mrs. James Beauchamp.

1936
Metropolitan Antony Bashir was consecrated Archbishop of the North American Antiochian Church on April 14, 1936.

On April 19, 1936, Archmandrite Samuel David was elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Toledo , Ohio and Dependencies.

Archbishop Samuel David was born John David in Aitha-al-Fukhar, Lebanon, August 26, 1893. He graduated from the Divine College of Belmont in 1914 and was ordained deacon under the name of Samuel in 1916. He arrived in the U.S. on June 17, 1920 and was ordained priest on June 19, 1921 by Metropolitan Germonaos of Zahle. The following month, he was appointed to the Pastorate of St. George’s Orthodox Cathedral of Toledo, Ohio where he served 15 years before being elevated to Archbishop.



1940 – 1946
During the war years, it was difficult to find a suitable priest. There were several who served for short periods, including Fathers Nicholas Husson, Jirios Trad, Nicholas Nahhas, Gerosimos Yared and Athanasius Rahbani.

During these years, the congregation was growing, and St. Elijah’s Feast Day started bringing professional Arabic singers from the U.S., attracting a great number of people from all surroundings. By 1946, the church society had $26,000. There was some talk of tearing down the old church and building a new one. Since that would have cost $200,000 at the time, it was decided instead to build a new church hall to replace the old one. After holding several meetings with Archbishop Samuel David, a decision was taken to proceed with the construction of a new hall at a cost of $50,000.

1947 - 1948
When the hall was nearly completed, a new oil burner was installed. A defect in the burner started a fire, which destroyed the church beyond repair, and damaged the new hall. The church collected $15,000 from the insurance company and an additional $15,000 was obtained as a result of a lawsuit against the installer of the burner. It would cost $100,000 to rebuild the church. The Ottawa Citizen ran (at no charge) a big advertisement that included a picture of the Church that the community wanted to build. The business community responded generously, donating a total of $16,000 to add to donations by the congregation. A mortgage of $40,000 completed the financing.

In 1947, the Reverend David Cassis was invited from Mashghara, Lebanon, to become parish priest of St. Elijah’s. He officiated at his first service on St. Elijah’s Day.

In 1948, a new Church was built in the same location as the old one.

1950 - 1955
In 1950 the Society, through Archbishop Samuel David, invited His Eminence Metropolotan Antony Bashir to officiate at the dedication ceremony of the new church.

Dr, Frederick Karam took over as director of the Church Choir in 1950.

The Choir grew from a membership of 12 in 1950 to 30 in 1964 under Dr. Karam’s direction. In addition there were 27 young voices in the junior choir which he had formed in 1961. He arranged the music, which is still sung by our choir today. At the Feast of St. Elijah in 1960, His Eminence Metropolitan Antony Bashir presented him with a Certificate of Meritorious Service in recognition of the outstanding and exceptional quality of his faithful service to the Church. Under Bishop Samuel David, he was appointed sub-deacon. For a time, he served on the Sacred Music Committee for the Archdiocese. Dr. Karam’s life was devoted to music. He had many musical accomplishments and was a respected personality in international music circles.

There were 237 families listed in the 1950 dedication book. This had grown to 257 in 1953. In 1955, at its Silver Jubilee anniversary, the community operated over 150 business establishments in Ottawa in the wholesale and retail trades. Many members of the congregation held responsible positions in Government and business offices, three members practised law and Fred Karam held a doctorate in music.

With the encouragement of His Eminence Metropolitan Antony Bashir, the youth of Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto Churches met at Ottawa on July 24, 1953 to launch a constitution for the Canadian Region of SOYO. They met again on Oct 24, 1953 to elect the first officers. The first convention of the Canadian Region was held in Montreal in May of 1954.

The first steps towards a united youth organization was taken in New England in 1938 by young people from six parishes in Boston. The New England organization occupied itself with Sunday School instruction and the formation of church choirs to sing in English. It started Sunday School essay contests and contributed funds to assist candidates for the priesthood. In 1947, the formation of the Midwest region started and eventually became the largest and most dynamic region. To this region is credited the SOYO name as well as the foundation of the SOYO DIGEST, a quarterly publication which was launched in 1949. In quick succession, four other regions were formed, the last being the Western Region which held its first convention in 1954. Preparatory work for a national youth organization started in 1950 and 1951. The work was completed at the Archdiocese Convention of 1954 in Toledo, and the North American Council of SOYO began its official existence. The President of the Council is appointed by the Metropolitan Archbishop to be a member of the Archdiocesan Board of Trustees.

1957
Metropolitan Antony Bashir ordained Father Emile Hanna to the priesthood on July 19, 1957 during the St. Elijah’s Feast Day in Ottawa, where he served for three years before leaving for Cincinnati, Ohio.

Father Emile was born on Mar. 15, 1934 in Aita-al-Fukhar in Lebanon. He attended Balamand Theological School from 1945 to 1951 and then entered the Greek Orthodox College in Damascus and lived at the Patriarchate of Antioch. In 1952 he was ordained deacon at age 17. He taught history and geography in 1955 at Balamand Theological School. On Dec. 30, 1955, Deacon Emile, accompanied on the flight by then Deacon Philip Saliba, flew to the U.S where he attended West Virginia State College and graduated with a B.A. degree and a major in History. In 1958/59 he attended St. Vladimir’s Seminary in NY. After leaving Ottawa, he resumed his studies at the University of Cincinnati, but left with only one year remaining on his Ph.D. in History. The topic of his thesis was “U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East”.

1960
The St Elijah’s Feast Day featured a 6-act musical comedy called “The Sound of Music” written and adapted by Bea Malham and directed by Pat Kouri with the musical arrangements by Dr. Fred Karam.

1961
Operator 6-6557, a musical comedy in six acts, was featured at the 31st Feast of St. Elijah.

1963
Father George Kazaka arrived in Ottawa on April 25, 1963


Father George was born May 17, 1916 at Jditta in Lebanon. He was ordained a priest in the Melkite Order in Merjeyoun at age 23. His first parish was at Rashaya el Wadi where he served for seven years before returning to Merjeyoun. While on a vacation to visit relatives in the U.S., he was called upon to replace an ailing priest at St. Mary’s Melkite Church in Brooklyn. In June 1954, he became associated with the Archdiocese under the direction of Metropolitan Bashir. He served parishes in Utica NY and Atlanta Georgia before coming to Ottawa in 1963. He took lessons in English soon after his arrival in North America to add to his French, Greek, Latin and Arabic. His one ambition for the Ottawa parish was to build a community centre and a new Church.

The last convention of the Canadian Region of SOYO was held in Ottawa on May 17 to 20, 1963, exactly 10 years after the Region was formed. Shortly after the convention, it was expanded to include five churches from the Northern U.S. and became the Can-Am Region of SOYO.

1964
The first edition of the Parish news bulletin was published by the Ottawa chapter of SOYO under the name “The Light”. The first editor was Robert Abraham. He was succeeded later by Terrence Jabour. Father George Kazaka wrote the Arabic version and in 1967 was assisted by Morris Deeb as associate editor. Associate Reporters were Patricia Kouri and Florence Ross. Duplicating was done by Fred Koury. With time, the editorial staff grew to include Carolyn Monsour, Dawn Kalil, Denise Boosamra, Doris Laham, Gayle Assal, Gloria Bosada, Naif Beauchamp, Sandra Nesrallah, Sandra Tannis, Ralph Tannis and many others. Phillip Massad became Managing Director in 1967. In 1970 the editor-in-chief became John E. Saikaley.

The second edition, published in April of 1964, had the following message from His Eminence Metropolitan Antony Bashir:

“Your Parish News Bulletin The Light (first edition) is before me. I have looked through the pages of this excellent parish paper and admired the efforts and good taste of its editors and publishers. They have done an excellent job and surely deserve our praise and grateful thanks.”

Terrence Jabour was called to the Bar of Ontario. He had graduated in 1962 from Osgoode Hall Law School, where he was Vice-President of the Students Council and President of the Ontario Law Students Association.

1965
SOYO organized a Pre Lenten dance, “A Night in the South Seas”, held at the Church Hall on March 6, 1965. The dance committee consisted of Mary Assaly, Dennis Boosamra, Rene Laham and Gloria Bosada. The music was provided by the Paul Rouffous 4-piece orchestra.

Paul Anka visited Ottawa and held a taping session with our Choir.

The Board of Trustees held a special awards night to honour active members of the community. Among those honoured were three chanters - Nick Kousaie, Adib Saikaley and Philip Bourada, two Church School administrators – Helen Karam and Carolyn Monsour, and eight members of the choir who had been in the Choir since its inception. They were Bernice Karam, Jenny Beauchamp, Dawn Kalil, Linda Bourada, Eli Elias, Robert Abraham, Gordon Kalil and Naif Beauchamp.

The 35th celebration of the Feast of St. Elijah, with Mr. Fred Koury as convention chairman, was celebrated on July 23 to 25, 1965.

A play called “Village Romance” was staged at the Ukrainian Hall on 1000 Byron Ave.
Produced by the St. Elias Ladies Auxiliary
Written by Beatrice Malham
Directed by Patricia Kouri
Female and male roles played by Wanda Bosada and Gordon Kalil

A Garden Party and Children’s Fashion Show was put on at the church rectory. The Supper Club Room at the Riverside Hotel was the site of the Gala Dance.

The Byzantyne Coronation of His Eminence Metropolitan Antony Bashir, Archbishop of NY and all North America took place after the Divine Liturgy on July 25, 1965. This was followed by a banquet at which the guest speakers included:

Mr. John Fisher, the Centennial Commissioner
Mr. Jean Hazou, Charge d’Affaires of Lebanon
Mr. Harry Monsour, President of theBoard of Directors, St. Elijah Church.

Mr. John Fisher urged the 250 attendees at the banquet not to let the Canadian pessimism or Canadian caution hold them back from participation in the centennial. Immediately after his speech, his audience pledged itself to build a Lebanese community centre, to open in 1967, and to organize Lebanese talent to perform at centennial functions.

Maurice Beauchamp entered St. Vladimir’s Seminary to begin his training for the priesthood.

1966
Metropolitan Antony Bashir passed away on February 16, 1966 while he was receiving treatment in a hospital in Boston.

He was born March 15, 1898 in Douma, Lebanon, ordained a deacon at the Balamand Theological School in 1916, and studied law in the American University of Beirut. Besides teaching and practising civil law, he served as secretary to the Archbishop of Lebanon and helped compile the first Arabic version of the New Testament. In 1922, Father Antony came to America as a special representative of the Patriarch and one year later was elevated to Archimandrite. On April 14, 1936, he was consecrated Archbishop of the North American Antiochian Church. Under Metropolitan Antony’s leadership, the number of churches grew to 100, serving 120,000 communicants. He translated and published into English over 30 books on Orthodox history, dogma, prayers and music. He introduced the first all-English Orthodox liturgy ever used by Orthodox anywhere in the world. He initiated an archdiocesan Sunday School program, inspired the formation of SOYO and established the Word Magazine and served as its editor-in-chief.

Metropolitan Philip Saliba was consecrated on Aug. 14, 1966 in Lebanon by His Beatitude Theodosios VI, Patriarch of Antioch.


Metropolitan Philip was born in the town of Abou-Mizan Al-Matn, Lebanon on June 10, 1931. He attended secondary schools in Homs as well as Damascus in Syria. In 1949 he was ordained deacon and served till 1951 as secretary to the Late Patriarch of Antioch, Alexander Tahan. In 1952 he was appointed a teacher of Arabic language and literature as well as Student Advisor at the Balamand Seminary. In 1953 he received a scholarship for his studies in England, where he attended Kelhan Theological School and the University of London. In 1956 he came to the U.S. and attended the Holy Cross Theological Seminary in Boston and subsequently Wayne State University in Detroit. He was ordained to the priesthood on March 1, 1959 by His Eminence Metropolitan Bashir at a service in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as parish priest. There he represented the Orthodox Church in various religious and civic organizations. In September 1964, he took a sabbatical leave and attended St. Vladimir’s Seminary to further his Theological Studies.

The property on 551 Riverdale Avenue was sold for $42,500.

The 5-acre site on Riverside Drive and Ridgewood Avenue officially became the property of the parish of St. Elijah Church on June 30, 1966 at a total cost of $132,500. In one week of canvassing, the Building Committee collected over $33,000 in pledges, from only 27 people. Approximately $34,500 were paid in cash for the property, and the balance was financed by mortgages over five years.

In the Fall, a fire caused $65,000 damage to the Church and Hall. Restoration of the Church and Hall premises, as a result of extensive damage from fire, was completed in May of 1967.

1967
$75,000 remained to be paid on the properties at 2965, 2969 and 2981 Riverside Drive. The Parish was split between those who wanted to develop the downtown property and those who wanted to build a new church complex on the newly acquired property.

The Board of Directors invited the Ladies Auxiliary to appoint one of their members to attend Board meetings. Past President, Bea Malham, was selected.

His Eminence Metropolitan Philip Saliba officiated at the 37th Feast of St. Elijah. He was received by Mayor Don Reid at City Hall and met with the Governor General at the latter’s residence. In his banquet address, His Eminence appealed for contributions to relieve the suffering of refugees in the Middle East and praised the Parish of St. Elijah on its plans to build a new Church Hall and educational centre on Riverside Drive.

To open the celebrations, the musical comedy, “The Gypsy’s Magic”, was performed at the Fisher Park High School auditorium. It had an audience of 450, and was widely acclaimed in the local media. Written by Bea Malham and directed by Patricia Kouri, it was a four-act musical that lasted 4 hours. Most of the 45-member cast were Canadian-born Lebanese who had to memorize the Arabic in English phonetics. Robert Abraham was musical director of the 8-man orchestra. Choreography was by Ilham Abraham, a former professional dancer from the Baalbak Company. Delightful performances were given by Mary Ellis, Eli Elias, Gordon Kalil and Rose Jabour. Soloists included Susan Nemer of Montreal, Michael Choueiri, George Helal and Wanda Bosada. Ronni Zaine designed and made most of the costumes, with one set designed by Susan Nemer. As a grand finale, against a backdrop of the Centennial maple leaf design, the chorus sang “A Hundred Years”. Dr. Frederick Karam composed the music for it and Suzanne Letourneau of Ottawa wrote the lyrics.

1968
Metropolitan Philip Saliba visited Ottawa and turned the sod for a new community center planned for early 1969 at the Riverside site. The gold plated shovel used on that occasion is still in storage. This would be the first stage of a five-to-seven-year project that would provide the parish, consisting of 450 families, with a new church and a rectory. However, architectural problems and financing difficulties had to be resolved before any meaningful progress could be made. It would take many more years to achieve this.

At the Divine Liturgy service in the Skyline Hotel, Metropolitan Philip ordained the first Canadian to be admitted to the clergy, Rev. Antony Beauchamp, the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Beauchamp of Ottawa.

1969
At the St. Elijah’s Day festivities, the Ladies Auxiliary sponsored “Baalbak Canadiana”, a full-scale musical, produced and directed by Patricia Kouri and featuring a cast of 100 members of the Parish. Susan Nemer and Mrs Doris Laham directed the dances for the show – including those for a group of very young children. Among the youngsters were soloists David Kalil, Venise Kousaie and Roseanne Rizk. Susan Nemer was also responsible for designing the lavish and colourful costumes. Jenny Beauchamp led off with an operatic aria and followed up with Italian and English songs. George Helal was guest soloist. The production was staged at the High School of Commerce auditorium and attracted an appreciative audience of close to 1,000 people.

1970
Patriarch Theodosios VI, 163rd successor to the Chair of Sts. Peter and Paul, died on Sep. 19, 1970. He was succeeded by Elias IV on September 27th.

1975
On June 24, 1975, Metropolitan Philip and Archbishop Michael Shaheen of Toledo, Ohio, agreed to unify their jurisdictions. Patriarch Elias IV named Metropolitan Philip Primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

A committee was formed by Metropolitan Philip to study the creation of a new organization that would support various projects within the Archdiocese and contribute to special needs outside the Archdiocese. Included in that committee, were Ernest Saykaly and Archpriest Antony Gabriel of Montreal. In July of 1975 at the Archdiocese Convention in Louisville, the committee submitted a preliminary report.




The report was accepted and, at the 1976 Archdiocese Convention held in San Francisco, the Order of St. Ignatius was officially inaugurated. A provisional chairman was installed and the first inductions to the Order took place. The first grand Assembly was held in October of 1978. By1996, membership had risen to 1600 and the Order had contributed over $7 million to various projects undertaken by the Archdiocese.

1976
Father George Kazaka retired in 1976.

Father Emile Hanna was serving as the pastor of St. George Church in Montreal at the time that Father Kazaka retired. He was transferred back to Ottawa for his second term on August 19, 1976.

Shortly after Father Emile’s return, a building committee was formed with himself as chairman and Richard Bosada as co-chairman. Nick Zaine was secretary. In the first meeting of the building committee, Father Emile Hanna set the rules in a strongly worded message, parts of which are reproduced below.

“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of you here this evening, and to state at the outset that we are here for one purpose only and that is for the Glory of God and His Holy Church. Your united aim must be to build a proper edifice to His Holy name, with no thought of personal gain or glory. And it is imperative that toward this aim, and with God in our midst, we must rise above petty differences and clashes of personalities. Your goal is one in the same and you must always conduct yourselves with this in your mind and with respect for one another and with God in your hearts.

… On any motion, majority rules. But this also means that once the meeting is over and we leave for our homes, we must stand united behind and defend every decision. It does only harm if you happen to vote against or for a motion and lost, to go and complain about it. We must talk and act as one united voice doing God’s will. We are working for Him. So let us first and foremost remain united in our purpose.

1979

At the General Annual Meeting held on April 9, 1979, a resolution was voted upon and passed to give the Parish Council the authority to proceed with the building program.

1980
Father Emile Hanna was elevated to the dignity of Archpriest.


1982
On October 4, 1982, the Parish Council appointed Adel Monsour as chairman of the Building Committee and Ray Thomas as co-chairman. The members of the committee initially included Kareem Nesrallah, Salem Saikaley, Sam Nesrallah, Bud Naufal, Doris Laham, Sam Kerba and Andre Skaff. Many others at various times also contributed their time and talents to this committee.

1983
In May of 1983, the Parish Council decided to proceed with the construction of a Church, community hall, and school. In July, Metropolitan Philip visited the parish and more than $500,000 was pledged during one evening of fundraising. Konstantine Zourdoumis, whose dream it was to build an Orthodox Church in the traditional Byzantine style, was to supply the architectural drawings for the New Church. He had been in practice for close to 50 years and had been licensed to practice in Ontario since 1963. He also designed the Orthodox Church in Los Angeles.

The St. Elijah Syrian Orthodox Society of Ottawa was incorporated by Letters Patent under the Corporations Act of Ontario on July 07, 1983. In his address to parishioners during the Annual General Assembly in June of 1884, President Adel Monsour pointed out that the properties on both McLaren Street and Riverside Drive are owned by a non-share corporation, which in turn is owned by all parishioners.


1984 - 1986
The construction budget for the New Church was completed and was phased over the period between Sep 1, 1989 and Aug. 31, 1990. Construction of the Hall and School started on October 29, 1984 and was completed in December of 1985. Overseeing these activities, in his capacity as president of the Parish Council and chairman of the Building Committee, was Adel Monsour.

On July 19, 1985, SOYO members hosted “An Afternoon in the Park with Harry and Jiha”, a variety show featuring the talents of many community members. The show was hosted at the High School of Commerce.

On July 16, 1986, SOYO members hosted “Friday Nite Live” a musical and theatrical production at the new St. Elijah Centre.


1988
The Fellowship of St. John the Divine was formed.

On Dec. 23, 1988, the sale of the Church on Lyon Street was completed. Until the New Church was built, the Divine Liturgy would be celebrated at the St. Elijah Centre and weddings and baptisms would be celebrated at the Greek Orthodox Church.

The St. Elijah Choir staged “Cabaret ‘88”, a memorable evening of song, dance and Arabic skit. Albert Abraham was the master of ceremonies.

1989
On September 22, 1989, a construction agreement was signed with B.L.P. Construction to build the New Church, and the foundation was poured shortly thereafter. Andre Skaff, a civil engineer on the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa, served as the Church’s Construction Committee Chairman.

A fundraising letter dated October 24, 1989 stated that the capacity of the New Church would be approximately 650 persons. The basement area would be approximately 10,000 square feet. The enclosed basement would be complete by Dec. 15, 1989, the roof and walls by June 30, 1990 and the full church by Aug. 30, 1990.

1990
The Lebanese Kitchen cookbook was officially introduced on November 25, 1990 and over 1600 copies were quickly sold. Orders came from all over North America after “The Word” magazine featured the cookbook in one of its issues.

By 1998, over 5,000 copies of the Lebanese Kitchen cookbook had been sold nationally, and a third printing of 3,000 copies was being prepared.


The basement of the New Church was not completed until December of 1990. Konstantine Zourdoumis had been contracted by the Church to provide the engineering drawings and ensure that construction was being done in accordance with them. For whatever reason, delays in the work were encountered and costs went up accordingly.

1991 - 1992
In January of 1991, while the stone veneer was being placed on the outer walls of the Church, the celebration of the Divine Liturgy was moved to the Church basement. In January of 1991, Metropolitan Philip posted the Reverend Father Daniel Matheson as Assistant Pastor.

On May 6, 1991, Gord Saikaley, Eli Tannis, George Shacker and Charlie Saikaley proposed an annual golf tournament whose proceeds would go towards the Church Building Fund. This has been a successful fundraiser ever since..

The first Lebanese Fun Festival was held in July of 1991, in conjunction with the Feast of St. Elijah and would subsequently become an annual event.

On Dec. 31, 1991, Father Emile Hanna took a leave of absence from St. Elias Church, and subsequently became the pastor of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Orinda, California.

On Jan 1, 1992, Father Daniel Matheson was appointed as Priest-in-charge of St. Elijah Church.

Although the Church construction was not completed, allowance was made to celebrate the Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy in the unfinished body of the new Church.

On June 11, 1992, Metropolitan Philip announced that Father Ghattas Hajal would assume the pastorate of St. Elijah Church, effective July 1st. Father Ghattas held his first service on July 5th in the Church basement. On July 19th, he celebrated the very first Liturgical Service in the unfinished body of the New Church.

1993
On May 31, 1993, the Lebanese Fun Festival was incorporated by Letters Patent under the Corporations Act of Ontario.

At its Annual General Meeting, the parish name of the Church “St Elijah” was changed to “St. Elias” to conform to the Christian form of the word, and in August 1993, Father Iskander Younes started a two-year term as assistant pastor.

The Beautification Committee, chaired by Dr. David M. Rizk, selected Father Gregory of Dormition Skete, Colorado as the iconographer.

1994
Major renovations were made to the St. Elias Centre under the supervision of Robbie Skaff and Dimitri Zeidan.

His Eminence Metropolitan Philip visited the New Church in 1994 for St. Elias Day and elevated Father Ghattas to the dignity of Archpriest. Five members of the Church were granted the Certificate of Meritorious Service. These were
Elias Malouf – chanter for 35 years
Gordon Kalil – Longstanding member of the choir
Caesar and Bea Malham – for their many years of service
Edward Saikaley – one of the founders of the Church in Ottawa.

1995 - 2000
The Can-Am Parish Life Conference, presided by His Grace Bishop Basil, was held in Ottawa at the Lord Elgin Hotel in 1995.

Also in 1995, the first Mothers’ Day dinner and basket draw was held, and has since become one of the annual fundraisers for the Church.

In May of 1997, His Grace Bishop Joseph, while visiting Montreal, Quebec for the Can-Am Parish Life Conference was invited to celebrated to celebrate the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy luncheon to honour the past presidents of the Parish Council

Campaign 2000 was launched in 1999 to prepare for the Consecration of the Church in September of 2000 and the celebration of the Church’s seventieth anniversary.
At this time, there are 840 families registered with the Church.
_____________

The history of the last seventy years of our Church cannot be chronicled in a few pages. It would have been impossible to list all those individuals who have contributed to the life of our parish. These are the most important individuals – our parishioners who over the past seventy years have contributed their time, talents, and generosity to make history happen, not for personal gain, but for the benefit of our community.

Amongst these are all the members of the parish organizations including the Parish Councils, the Antiochian Women, the Sunday School teachers, the Choir members, Chanters, Altar boys, the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, Teen SOYO, and the various planning and fundraising committees. They are the glue that binds our community together, and continues to preserve our faith and heritage through the development of our Church.

Throughout the past seventy years, the Church has been privileged with a great deal of strength, talent, and energy shown by the generations of this Parish. We hope that this chronicle will continue to be revised with historical developments.

Our future challenge, in turn, for the present and future generations are to build on the selfless achievements of those that pioneered and built this community.