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Our Clergy

Most Reverend Irénée (Rochon), Archbishop

Archbishop Irénée was born in Montreal on December 25, 1948. In 1971 he received a BA in Slavic Studies from the University of Ottawa and began studies at Holy Trinity Seminary at Jordanville, NY. He was accepted as a novice into the holy Trinity Monastery and placed under the spiritual guidance of Archimandrite Kiprian. In 1974 he was tonsured a Rassophore monk and in 1975 a Stavrophore monk and named Hieromartyr Irénée of Lyons and entered the minor orders tonsured a reader and sub-deacon.

In 1978 he was blessed to serve in France; in May of that year he was ordained a deacon in Brussels, and in August to the priesthood in Geneva. He served in France until 1982 and on his return to Canada in the French mission in Montreal. Hieromonk Irénée and the Mission were received into the OCA in 1986. In 1992, Hieromonk Irénée was elevated to Igumen by Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa, to care for the French language monastics in Quebec with additional duties as supply priest to the parishes in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec City.

In April 2009 the Holy Synod of the OCA elevated Igumen Irénée to the dignity of Archimandrite and elected him to be an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Canada with the title of Bishop of Quebec. On October 21, 2014, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America elected His Grace, Bishop Irénée as Bishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada. He was enthroned at the Annunciation Saint Nicholas Cathedral on Saturday, November 29, 2014 with His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon presiding over the Liturgy.

On March 20, 2015, during the Spring Session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Irénée was elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada.
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Fr. James Griggs, Dean

Fr. James Griggs began attending the Cathedral with his family in 1991. In the fall of 1994, the family moved to St. Vladimir’s seminary in New York where Fr. James began theological studies. While attending seminary, Fr James was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Archbishop Seraphim [Storheim] in November 1995.

Returning to Canada in June 1996 he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Archbishop Seraphim and was assigned as priest in charge, and later rector, of St. Gregory of Nyssa mission in Kingston, Ontario. Fr. James began serving a small Greek parish in Brockville, Ontario on a part-time basis in the winter of 2004 while continuing to serve the mission in Kingston. He continued to serve this Greek parish two Sundays of each month until August 2010 when he took up a full time position at the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral in Ottawa.

After serving for a short period as assistant priest with the Greek Orthodox community in Ottawa, Fr. James was assigned to the altar of Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral in March of 2008. He is married to Tena and they have one daughter, three sons, and two grandsons who are all members of the Cathedral parish.
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Fr. Nikolay Melnik

Biography to follow.
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Deacon Mark Josefson

Biography to follow.
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