POINT 17 | La ligne bleue | #HamiltonVilleAccueillante 
HOLY RESURRECTION  | 278 Macnab St N, Hamilton

The Romanian community has its own orthodox church.

"The presence of the Romanian community is felt, with its Orthodox church, as beautiful on the inside as it is discreet on the outside."

 The first Romanian immigrants arrived in Hamilton from 1905 to 1913 and consecrated a small wooden church in 1916. The Romanian community eventually acquired its own church on Macnab in 1960.

The austere three-domed building makes for a stunning sight, isolated at the end of the street, separated from the West Harbour Go Station by a vacant lot. But it's worth noting that before the station was built in 2015, this portion was covered in greenery, and until 2018, a building stood next to the church.

Like most churches today, it is only on Sundays that one can enter the interior where the many icons receive the devotions of the congregation.

BEHIND THE SCENES

In 2016, there were 2,670 immigrants in Hamilton speaking Romanian at home. It's a safe bet that this population was much larger when they established their Casa Romana Hamilton in 1946 at 20 Murray St W (which we passed before arriving at Holy Resurrection).

Attached to its orthodox church, Casa Romana serves as a meeting place for the Romanian community, where shows, celebratory meals and meetings of all kinds are organized for immigrants of Romanian descent.

In addition, the Romanian Cultural Association of Hamilton (Campus Romanesc Hamilton), founded in 1957, is the oldest Romanian association in Ontario. For its more ambitious events, the association meets its community in the large Romanian Park (395 10 Concession Rd E, Carlisle).

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FOR THE CURIOUS

Not familiar with the Orthodox Church?

Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants come from the same great religion : Christianity. They recognize Jesus, and the Bible.

However, the Orthodox Church considers that it has remained faithful to the faith of the first Christians. Over the years, its rituals have differed from those of the Catholic Church. For example, married men can become priests. Priests do not cut their beards. The Orthodox recognize the pope, but not his infallibility.

Statues are not tolerated. Icons line the walls of Orthodox churches and give them a mystical and exotic look, from the point of view of a Catholic. Orthodox churchgoers bow and pray before many of them at their height, touching them, kissing them, and making the sign of the cross before them.

TO POINT 18...    

(Distance = 115 metres)

Continue north on Macnab and cross over to continue west on Stuart St.