Presentation Church

Presentation of the Lord – Panagia Ypapanti- Greek Orthodox Church

“Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven.” –Saint Ephraim of Syria

Prayer, Liturgy, Communion, and Community are the four cornerstones of the Church of the Presentation of our Lord.

These four things are the foundation stone of our faith, our very being.

Building our community has literally taken a whole century, which truly attests to the dedication of our community’s adherence to that foundation.

The Parish was born from the first Greeks that arrived in Victoria at the turn of the century, and has carried through to the people that are the community today.

What started off as ethnically Greek has blossomed into a diverse parish of mixed backgrounds, blending their collective traditions with each other in the true Byzantine style, keeping in mind that we are all first and foremost, “ethnically Orthodox”, striving to live in the heavenly kingdom of God.

As such our goals have been two fold.

Firstly and most importantly, we work to grow spiritually by learning to love one another through the Communion in Jesus Christ our Lord. This means the Sunday Liturgy, the get-togethers and coffee night discussions which all lead to living the Christian faith.

For further nourishment, we have an inquirers/catechumenate course, a Sunday school program and in the near future, are hoping to start a Byzantine music school.

We work to grow in body through various programs that serve the greater community and enrich our lives.This includes the annual Food Festival, semi annual bake/food sales, as well as Greek language, dancing and cooking programs.

Along with the other Orthodox communities, it is the focus and meaning of our lives to experience the kingdom of God on earth, for as the Lord said that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Mat 4:4)

Our services are conducted in both Greek and English, and we welcome you to join us.

We are located at 4648 Elk Lake Drive, by the Commonwealth Pool.

Sundays: Matins (Orthros) 9am Liturgy 10am

Feast Days: (see calendar) Liturgy 10am