Toronto, April 2, 2025
Photo: liturgija.mk
A prayer service and humanitarian event was held over the weekend at the Macedonian Orthodox cathedral Toronto in memory of the more than 200 people who were either killed or injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia last month.
A fire broke out at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani early on the morning of Sunday, March 16, where fans, many of them teenagers, were packed in watch the hip hop band DNK. The blaze left 59 dead and more than 160 injured. The primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishop, His Beatitude Archbishop Stefan of Skopje, made a 
Macedonian Church primate urges peace and unity amid protests over deadly nightclub fireThe Archbishop urges the faithful to maintain peace and dignity while mourning, as they pray for the souls of the deceased and recovery of the injured.
“>plea for prayer and unity as protests erupted over the tragedy.
And on Saturday, March 29, Macedonian Orthodox clergy and faithful from Canada and America gathered at the St. Clement of Ohrid Cathedral in Toronto to offer material support to those who are suffering, reports liturgija.mk.
The event began with a memorial parastas for the repose of the deceased and a moleben for the recovery of the injured. After the prayer service, Protopresbyter Siniša Ristovski, Archiepiscopal Deputy and Dean of the Macedonian Diocese of America and Canadia, emphasized the importance of unity among the Macedonian people in the diaspora, who have always empathized with the severe misfortunes that have occurred in their homeland.
Then a charity dinner was held in the packed church hall. “Humanitarian Macedonians donated financial resources with the hope of bringing comfort and hope to those who are suffering.”
Photo: liturgija.mk
For this humanitarian event, iconographer Georgi Danevski created an icon of the Lord Jesus Christ that was auctioned to support victims. Kočani native Michael Georgiev purchased it for approximately $14,800 (20,000 CAD), demonstrating his commitment to humanitarian causes. The event raised about $37,000 (50,000 CAD) altogether from the Macedonian Orthodox community, with individual church donations still expected. The campaign aims to collect roughly $74,000 USD (100,000 CAD) in total over the coming weeks.
The evening was the joint effort of the priests, parish councils, and women’s groups of six different Macedonian Orthodox churches in Canada.
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Source: Orthodox Christianity
