Montreal Parish Celebrates Dormition with Festival, Hariseh Tradition and Marriage Anniversary Honors

MONTREAL — Thousands of faithful gathered at St. Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Church of Montreal from August 14–16 for the parish’s annual Dormition Festival, celebrating one of the great feasts of the Orthodox Church.

His Grace Bp. Alexander presided over the festivities, joined by the parish clergy, including Archimandrite Seraphim Daoud, Archpriest Elias Ferzli, Archpriest Michel Fawaz, and Priest Nicholas Naous.

The celebrations began that Friday evening with Great Vespers and Litia-Artoklasia for the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. The annual festival followed, featuring the traditional Middle Eastern dish Hariseh, prepared with wheat and meat and distributed among the faithful.

The preparation and sharing of Hariseh is a longstanding tradition associated with the feast. The wheat symbolizes Christ’s words that a grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die in order to bear fruit, reflecting the Orthodox understanding of death and resurrection. The meat also marks the conclusion of the two-week Dormition Fast.

On Saturday morning, Bp. Alexander celebrated the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy and spoke about the life of the Theotokos and her role in the salvation of mankind.

A special feature of this year’s festival was the recognition of approximately 60 married couples celebrating milestone wedding anniversaries, ranging from five to 45 years. Archimandrite Seraphim honored the couples in recognition of their faithfulness to the sacrament of marriage and their commitment to family life.

The celebration also served as an encouragement to younger generations to view Christian marriage not simply as a social commitment, but as a sacred vocation and a path toward holiness.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Metr. Saba led the annual retreat for Antiochian seminarians.