News & events from 2013

Browse News & events from 2013 from the Canadian Macedonian Heritage Society archive, library and community collections.

Nov 24, 2013

Sojourners, Settlers, and a Lasting Legacy: Remembering Dr. Lillian Petroff

The First Annual Celebration of Macedonian Immigration to Canada served as a heartfelt tribute to the late Dr. Lillian Petroff, a pioneering academic who dedicated her career to documenting and validating the distinct identity of Macedonian immigrants in Ontario. Attendees, including family, colleagues, and community leaders, shared stories that painted a portrait of a brilliant, quick-witted, and defiant woman who successfully navigated political pressures to ensure her heritage was recognized independently of neighboring ethnic labels. Through her seminal work, Sojourners & Settlers, and her leadership at the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, Petroff became the definitive voice for early Macedonian "pechalbari" (sojourners), establishing a historical legacy that the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society aims to preserve through this recurring memorial event.

Read in Français Read in Македонски

Oct 27, 2013

16 Century Macedonian Lexicon Found at the Vatican

On October 27, 2013, the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society hosted a lecture at the East York Civic Centre featuring professors Joseph Schallert and Kosta Peev, who presented a significant 16th-century Macedonian lexicon discovered in the Vatican archives. Originally found in the late 1940s and written in the Greek alphabet, the manuscript was eventually identified as the Old Kostur dialect of Macedonian rather than Greek, as evidenced in the 1954 study Un Lexique Macédonien du XVIe Siècle. Odyssey Belchevsky, the Director of Cultural Events, noted that a copy of this scholarly work was personally delivered to the Society by Macedonian President George Ivanov, serving as vital historical proof of the Macedonian language's long-standing existence centuries before the formation of the modern state.

Read in Français Read in Македонски

Jul 17, 2013

One Hundred Years of Occupation

Lecture - presented for the Historical Society in Toronto on January 27, 2013 In spite of the Macedonian people having risen in 1903 to fight for their freedom and to create an Independent Macedonian state, only ten years later, Macedonia was brutally invaded, occupied and partitioned by its neighbours Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria; a partition validated by the European Great Powers on August 10, 1913 by the Treaty of Bucharest. Why did this happen? What were the factors leading ...

Read in Français Read in Македонски

Mar 3, 2013

Translating Balkans - Professor Christina Kramer, author, translator, linguist

On March 3, Professor Christina Kramer—Chair of Slavic languages at the University of Toronto—presented a lecture and book launch titled "Translating the Balkans," where she detailed the intricate and often "agonizing" process of translating Macedonian and Bulgarian literary works into English. Focusing on her translations of authors Luan Starova and Goce Smilevski, Kramer described her methodology as a multi-stage evolution: beginning with a raw "blast" of words followed by months of meticulous polishing to balance English fluency with loyalty to the original tone and intent. The event, supported by the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society and the Albanian Canadian Community Association, highlighted the cultural significance of these works and featured a live Skype appearance by Starova, as well as a tribute to Smilevski’s award-winning novel Freud's Sister. Kramer's expertise was underscored by praise from critics and authors alike, emphasizing her ability to make translated prose feel as though it were originally authored in English.

Read in Français Read in Македонски