Saint Sava Church, Toronto

Mar 5, 2025 - 12:16 Updated: Aug 27, 2025 - 17:59

Saint Sava Church, Toronto

Address: 203 River Street, Toronto ON, M5A 3P9

Phone: 416-944-3297

Fr. Jovica Cetkovic
Parish: Fourth Toronto Parish
Phone: 647-703-1113
Email: svestenikjovica@gmail.com

Fr. Jovica Cetkovic was born on June 29, 1979 in Sremska Mitrovica to father Kosta and mother Jelica, née Vujic. He lived and grew up in the village of Grgurevci, near Sremska Mitrovica. He completed elementary school in 1994, after which he enrolled in the Theological School in Cetinje. He graduated from the seminary with excellent results in 1999. Immediately after completing the seminary, by the decision of the late Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Amfilohije, he was appointed secretary of the professional service of the Metropolis of Montenegro and the Littoral. At the same time, he enrolled and graduated from the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade. From September 2003 to May 2004, he served his regular military service at Banjica in Belgrade. On October 3, 2004, he married Jelena née Kezovic, with whom he has two daughters: Jana and Hristina. On the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle in 2004, he was ordained by Metropolitan Amfilohije to the rank of deacon in the Cathedral Church in Risan. On the feast of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos in 2004, he was ordained to the rank of priest in the Saint Nicholas Church in Kotor. He was appointed pastor of the Third Podgorica Parish on December 15, 2004. On the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on March 22, 2012, Metropolitan Amfilohije promoted him to the rank of Protopresbyter in the Church of Saint George and the 42 New Martyrs of Momisic in Podgorica. During his service in Podgorica, the relics of two priests and 40 students, the New Martyrs of Momisic, were found and placed in a reliquary. Father Jovica prepared all the necessary actions for the canonization of the New Martyrs of Momisic. With his parishioners, he renovated and frescoed the church and built an Orthodox children's school in the churchyard. During the last year of his service in Montenegro, he managed the Odigitria office of the religious and tourist agency of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral in Podgorica. In August 2012, he transferred to the clergy of the Diocese of Canada. Bishop of Canada Georgije appointed him parish priest in Windsor and rector of the Saint Dimitrije Church. During his service in Windsor, the Serbian School premises were renovated, the church port was expanded and decorated, and the work of the Church and School Congregation was administratively organized. He speaks Serbian and English. In his free time, he is engaged in writing, graphic design, and video production. He has been serving at the Saint Sava Church in Toronto since February 2025.

Church history

There were Serbs in Toronto even before the First World War, such as Bozidar M. Markovic who came to Canada in 1912 or his wife Milica (née Trumic) who came as a child of twelve in 1914. The small number of Serbs who were in Toronto before 1940 considered their stay temporary: in a few years they would return to their beloved homeland to live out the remaining years of their lives. However, World War II shattered that dream. In 1948, the original residents and newly arrived members of existing organizations: the Blue Adriatic Society of the Serbian National Alliance (founded in 1927), the Karadjordje branch of the Serbian National Defense (1942) and the Queen Aleksandra Circle of Serbian Sisters (1941) met at the Alpine Hotel on October 3, 1948 and began work on building a Serbian Home, which would, for a time, also serve as a place for worship. For this purpose, the Board of the Serbian Home and Church was organized. The following were elected to this board: president Bozidar M. Markovic (who was later elected the first president of the Church and School Congregation and remained in that position until his death in 1970), vice-president Vasa Volarov, secretary Aleksandar Andjelic, treasurer Petar Karalejic and board members: Stevan Cuk, Mihailo Ducic, Marina Selak, Jelka Adamov and Mara Sustran (Kiurski). With great difficulty, the members of the Serbian Home and Church managed to purchase land, at the intersection of Gerrard and River streets, for the construction of the Serbian Home and Church. The property was purchased for $5,000 from the City of Toronto. $2,500 was immediately deposited in cash, and on August 24, 1950, the property was registered in the name of “Serbian Home and Church in Toronto”.

When the property on the corner of River and Gerrard was purchased in 1950, the management of the Serbian Home and Church was as follows: president Bozidar M. Markovic, vice-president Vasa Volarov, secretary Aleksandar Andjelic, treasurer Petar Karalejic and members of the Church Board: Stevan Cuk, Nikola Basta, Marina Selak, Mara Sustran and Jelka Adamov. The following were elected to the Supervisory Board: president Savo Kovacevic and members Luka Micic and Dusan Nesic. The Construction Board consisted of Nikola Miklosev, Pavle Ivanovic, Nikola Mrkobrada and Dragan Vulovic. At that time, it was not possible to obtain a loan from a bank for the construction of the church and home until a Board of Trustees was elected, whose members guaranteed that the debts for the property and construction would be paid. The guarantors of the Serbian Home and Church were: Bozidar M. Markovic, Petar Karalejic, Vasa Volarov, Nikola Mrkobrada and Stevan Cuk.

Bishop Nikolaj (Velimirovic) during the consecration of the Serbian Home at the church

In 1951, His Majesty King Peter II accepted the patronage of the Society for the Construction of the Serbian Home and Church in Toronto. The construction of the church and home, on the corner of River and Gerard, began on June 10, 1953. The cornerstone was consecrated by the Bishop of America and Canada Dionisije (Milivojevic) on August 22, 1953. The architect of the home and church was Petar "Pera" Popovic, and the construction contractor was Velimir "Velja" Relja. The Serbian Home in Toronto was opened with the celebration of Saint Sava on January 30, 1954. The Queen Aleksandra Circle of Serbian Sisters organized for the first time on Lazarus Saturday – April 9, 1954 – a celebration of Vrbica for the Serbian children of Toronto. On Easter, April 25, 1954, the first Serbian Orthodox service was held in the Serbian Home. The Serbian Home in Toronto was consecrated by Bishop Dr. Nikolaj (Velimirovic) on September 3, 1954, and the holy bishop spent the night in the church. After the service, prayers were said for the health and salvation of the arrested and, unjustly, convicted Metropolitan Arsenije of Montenegro and the Littoral. The service ended with a singing of Mnogaja ljeta for Queen Elizabeth II and King Peter II.

The Saint Sava Church in Toronto was consecrated on May 22, 1955. The consecration ceremony was performed by the Bishop of America and Canada Dionisije, Fr. Miodrag Djuric from Lackawanna, Fr. Justinian Ilkic from Montreal, Fr. Nikola Stojsavljevic from Niagara Falls, Fr. Aleksije Sevcenko from Toronto and Fr. Branko Skaljac from Masontown. The Saint George Choir from Niagara Falls sang at the service. The godfather was the long-time church treasurer Petar Karalejic, and the godmother was Mrs. Lenka Lalic from Montreal. The opening of the church was also attended by the Russian princess Olga Alexandrovna, who donated an icon of Saint Alexander Nevsky to the temple. The founders of the Serbian Home and the church were Bozidar M. Markovic and his wife Milica, and the great benefactors were Mata and Lenka Lalic. The following year, the church iconostasis was consecrated – the work of Simo Temovsky. The Serbian Sunday School was founded at the church in 1956. The parish newspaper Glasnik began publication on September 27, 1964. The members of the editorial board were Fr. Nikola Stojsavljevic and five other members. Although initially modest in scope and appearance, Glasnik grew into a respectable magazine and soon began to commemorate the most important events in the life of the parish. The church houses the painting Saint Sava Blesses Serbian Children, a work by the painter Duska Arezina and a faithful copy of the original painting by Uros Predic from 1921. The painting was uncovered and consecrated on May 4, 1975.

The Saint Sava Church and the All Serbian Saints Church in Mississauga formed one Church and School Congregation until it was decided that both should be independent in 2023. That same year, the reconstruction of the side facade of the Saint Sava Church was carried out. In April 2024, a wood-carved Tomb of Christ was placed in the church, which was delivered from Serbia in pieces and assembled in the church itself. In December 2024, a newly built chandelier was placed in the nave of the church. The church has also kept part of the relics of the 42 Momisic Martyrs since March 2025.

Church institutions

The Queen Aleksandra Circle of Serbian Sisters operated at the church from its founding until December 2, 2002. At that time, at their annual assembly, the sisters unanimously decided to transfer all their activities to the newly built All Serbian Saints Church and Serbian Centre in Mississauga. At the assembly held on March 2, 2003 in the hall of the Saint Sava Church, a new Circle of Serbian Sisters was founded with a new name and sisterhood honour – the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women. The Kyr Stefan the Serb Choir and Milivoje Petkovic Memorial Library also operate at the church.

Visits

The Holy Liturgy in the church was attended in 1959 by King Peter II Karadjordjevic, Bulgarian Prince Simeon and his sister Princess Maria Louise (grandchildren of Queen Jelena Petrovic-Njegos), in 1961 by Prince Mihailo Petrovic-Njegos, as well as Prince Tomislav Karadjordjevic and his then wife Princess Margarita in 1966. Crown Prince Alexander, Princess Katherine and Princess Elizabeth attended the Holy Liturgy in the church in 1992.

The Holy Hierarchical Liturgy in the church was celebrated by Bishop Mitrofan of Canada, with the concelebration of Bishop Kirilo of Buenos Aires and South Central America, on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 5, 2023, after which an appropriate ceremony was held.

The Serbian Patriarch visited the church on three occasions: Patriarch Irinej in June 2015 and February 2016, and Patriarch Porfirije in October 2024. The Liturgy served by Patriarch Porfirije was concelebrated by Metropolitan Longin of Midwestern America, Metropolitan Mitrofan of Canada, Bishop Irinej of Eastern America, Bishop Nikon of Jenopolje, and Bishop Emeritus Georgije of Canada.

Priests

The permanent priests at the Saint Sava Church in Toronto were: Fr. Aleksije Aleksej Sevcenko (1954–1963), Fr. Simeon Grozdanovic (1963–1964), Fr. Nikola Stojsavljevic (1964–1972), Fr. Simeon Grozdanovic (1972–1973), Fr. Miloje Raicevic (1973–1975), Fr. Zarko Mitrovic (1975–1980), Fr. Mihajlo Doder (1980–1999), Fr. Vasilije Tomic (1987–2010), Fr. Ljubomir Rajic (1999–2010), Fr. Milutin Veljko (2010–2017) and Fr. Milos Puric (2010–2017), Fr. Milovan Sredojevic (2017–2021), Fr. Vladimir Vranic (2018), Fr. Dejan Obradovic (2018–2019), Fr. Prvoslav Puric (2019–2025), Fr. Drago Knezevic (2021–2025) and Fr. Jovica Cetkovic (2025–present).