It is the yearning of every immigrant, who moves to a new country to continue their faith and traditions in their new homeland. Malankara Orthodox Christians began immigration to Canada as early as the 1960s and 70s and settled down in different provinces. A good number of them settled in Edmonton, Calgary and other parts of Alberta. In the 80s, the Malankara Orthodox Christians in Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta, were able to establish a church in the name of the first canonized saint of Malankara Orthodox Church, St. Gregorios of Parumala.
The Calgary community, inspired by the establishment of the parish in Edmonton, organized more frequent prayer meetings at their homes in our tradition as time permitted. These spiritual gatherings progressed to occasional Holy Qurbana led by Clergy from Edmonton and other parishes in North America.
This arrangement continued till 2000 when the Diocesan Bishop H.G Makarios, at the request of the community, directed the Edmonton Parish priest Rev. Fr. Lazarus to begin work towards establishing a dedicated congregation in Calgary.
On St. Thomas Day, December 21st 2002 the Calgary congregation was blessed to be elevated to a full-fledged parish in the name of St. Mary by the Diocesan Metropolitan. The occasion was graced by the presence of Clergy and laity from Edmonton and other local congregation including Ethiopian and Orthodox Church in America (OCA) The Parish continued to have monthly Holy Qurbana led by Fr. Lazarus and followed by Fr. Philipose Philipose from Edmonton. It officially came under the Southwest Diocese of North America in 2009 during the reorganization of Malankara Orthodox Dioceses. The parish which started off with about 10 families has now more than 100 families attending the Church, with more and more immigrants having moved to Calgary in the past few years.
The continual growth over the last decade warranted the need for a dedicated priest to nourish the life of the Parish. The Diocesan Bishop H.G Alexios Mar Eusebius appointed Fr. Binny M. Kuruvilla as full-time resident priest from August 15, 2010 to fulfill this role. The presence of a resident Vicar helped to have frequent regular Holy Qurbana and services ,n time , October 2019 South West Diocesan Bishop H.G Zacharias Mar Aprem appointed Fr. George Varughese (Shabu Achen) as vicar of the Parish.
The Church is moving towards yet another milestone this year as a Parish under the newly formed Canadian Diocese and God willing on May 30, 2026, to a permanent place of worship. On this day of recollecting the second memory of Lazarus Rambachan our founding priest, It seem fitting to ponder a bit on the past and post for any who may not be familiar with the historical roots of the parish . Let us continue to hold prayers for each of us and Christ mercy guide as as individuals, as Parish and Church under the Catholicate firmly rooted in Calgary as an Orthodox Christian community accessible to all , all languages , all cultures for whom Christ became Incarnate.
George Varghese
March 3, 2026
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