Front Matter - Part 05

In my opinion, our help for Skopje will more than compensate and repay in good will for our church among all good Macedonian Christians and all Christians in general.

Furthermore, this action of our executive committee proves that they are sincere and are Christians in the full sense of the word. The members of our executive committee are not like those so-called Christians, who pretend Christianity and at the same time are against helping their fellow men. You understand whom I mean?

I hope that my short report will be of some benefit to you, and to our church, in every way. Therefore, we must stand united and this unity is our best guarantee in the building of our First Macedonian Orthodox Church in Canada.

Thank you.

On January 9th, 1964, the executive committee held its regular meeting. The roll was called and there were 27 present and 12 absent. This meeting came to a heated argument over the question about whether or not we could get a loan from a financial institution. I believe by then, Mr. Bill Andrews replaced the lawyer of our congregation, Mr. Victor Paskaleff. "The chairman of the meeting, Kosta Andrews, requested our solicitor William Andrews to make a detailed report about the loan. He explained that nine mortgage companies so far refused to give us a loan because he said most of these companies are not interested in loaning money to churches." Immediately after the report Mr. Van Petroff, he expressed himself in the following manner by saying, "Did I not tell you all along that you cannot get a loan?" His stand infuriated the chairman of the fund raising committee, Mr. Paul Bassil, who then challenged Van Petroff by saying, "If I have thirty signatures, I will get the loan for sure." That caused a heated argument and name calling accusations. From the minutes it was stated, "After the discussion on the above incident, it was decided to let the fund raising committee pursue the question of getting a loan from any financial institution with which we agree on its conditions and at the same time, try to raise money, loans or contributions from individual donors." Also, directly from the minutes, it was said, "The impression expressed by the members of the committee was that we must have a definite report about the loan and not hearsay, and that all the replies of the various mortgage companies be brought to the meeting so that the committee will know which company refused and why." The next question discussed was whether or not we should hire a general contractor to build our church. It was decided to employ a general contractor. After the decision had been taken to employ a general contractor, Mr. Andrews produced an incomplete tender for $275,000.00. He also reported that there were other general contractors working on a price.

At the meeting of the executive board, held on January 22, 1964, the chairman appealed to all the members to bring forward their pledges and loans. He also appealed for new loans. New loans at this meeting were collected in the amount of $38,500.00.

The new loans were to bear interest of 6% per annum, starting January 1, 1965. The chairman also requested that the ladies' auxiliary donate $3,500.00 towards the building fund.

The February 13, 1964 executive meeting was chaired by John Tsarvenkov. Present at the meeting were 24 members and 15 absent. The question of the by-laws of the church corporation had come up for discussion. Mr. Don Pappas moved a motion that a committee of five members be appointed to examine the legal set-up of our church congregation. Mr. Paul Bassil seconded the motion and, after a short discussion, it was carried. The committee members were, Peter Stoyanoff, Very Rev. Kiril Stojanovski, Chris Neshkov, Don Pappas and Chris Tzavella. This committee was authorized to ask our solicitors to turn over all the legal documents for examination, and the same committee was further authorized to employ an impartial solicitor to help the committee.

The committee was also instructed to check up and make recommendations and amendments at the earliest possible convenience. At this time, Mrs. Mary Kondoff, the chairwoman of the ladies' auxiliary of St. Clement of Ohrid, together with Mrs.

Alexandra Tallin, as delegates, presented a cheque of $3,500.00 as a donation to the fund raising chairman, Mr. Paul Bassil. From the minutes it stated, "Mrs. Mary Kondoff disclosed to the meeting a feeling of alarm at the gossiping propaganda and unfair accusations spoken outside of the meeting of both church committees. And because of that, she appealed for more unity and cooperation between the members of our church in order that we may sooner reach our objective." A motion was made to start the building of the church, as soon as possible. It was further decided that a general membership meeting was to be held on March 1, 1964, where this decision would be finalized. After a short discussion, it had been decided to start the building of the church not later than the 15th of April, 1964. It was unanimously carried.

At the executive board meeting, held on February 26, 1964, at Chicky's Drive Restaurant, Mr. Chris Neshkov was the chair. The meeting was opened, as usual, with an appropriate prayer by Very Rev. Kiril Stojanovski. A letter of commitment for $100,000.00 by the Royal Bank of Canada, located at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Sts., was read by the secretary, Mr. Don Pappas. Mr. Paul Bassil made a motion that we start a new fund drive to raise as much money as possible from other sources, such as individuals and companies, and, if the money were loans, a similar offer should be given them under the same terms and conditions as stated in the loans certificates provided to the church members. Very Rev. Kiril Stojanovski suggested that all names of donors, pledges, lenders and guarantors to our church be mentioned at the general membership meeting. The secretary, Mr. Don Pappas, was instructed by the meeting to prepare a brief report of the affairs of the church. Mr. Elia George was authorized to make the appeal for contributions. Very Rev. Kiril Stoyanovski was also authorized to make an appeal.

The minutes also read, "The executive board unanimously decided to put the foundation of our church on April 5th, 1964, and this decision is to be approved on March 1st, 1964, at the general membership meeting. Because of the importance of this historic day, it was suggested that we popularize this day by invitations, radio announcements and other media of communications." Also, "The chairman recommended that the building committee meet at once and get ready for building and laying the foundation." At the executive meeting, held on March 11, 1964, Kosta Andrews reported that the precast slabs and bricks must be approved by the manager of the Canadian Wide Properties. Mr. Paul Bassil moved a motion to increase the number of members of the building committee. Mr. John Tsarvenkov made a constructive criticism against the building committee. He stated that the building committee, according to their reports, proves that they are not cooperating together and that they are behind in their preparations for the building of the church. Mr. Paul Bassil moved a motion that the steel be ordered at once. The motion was seconded by Mr. Elia George, and it was unanimously approved to order the steel. Mr. Peter Stoyanoff was authorized to order all necessary materials for the tool shack, not to exceed $250.00. It was definitely decided to employ a first class supervisor. Mr. John Tsarvenkov agreed to the employment of a supervisor, but he suggested that the supervisor be properly contracted. The question of further financing of our church, as reported by John Tsarvenkov, was raised. A certain bank was interested in giving us a loan to finish the building of our church. A committee was appointed to see the manager of this bank, the committee being; Messrs. Kosta Andrews, Paul Bassil and John Tsarvenkov. Paul Bassil suggested that the public relations committee of our church publicize fully the April 5, 1964 laying of the cornerstone. The public relations committee of messengers Van Petroff and Peter Kondoff were authorized to publicize the above-mentioned historical day. The building committee was instructed to prepare for the laying of the foundation; that is, all excavation be done before April 5th, 1964 and the necessary material be ready at the site of the church for the laying of the cornerstone.

The secretary, Mr. Don Pappas, read a list of quotations of prices submitted by various companies to Mr. Peter Stoyanoff. Mr. Stoyanoff estimated the approximate cost of material and labour of building of the church and hall at $239,090. These prices were to be used as a guideline for any future quotations.

At the executive board meeting, held on March 25, 1964, a letter from Dositej was read by the Very Rev. Kiril Stoyanovski. He sent best wishes for the Easter holidays. He requested that we write when we knew when we expected to lay the cornerstone of the new church, and follow up with specifications for the necessary accoutrements to be supplied by the home church. He suggested that we work together in harmony. "Only those who work can make mistakes and even we can be guilty of this. Christ will forgive those who sincerely strive for the betterment of their fellow man and honestly make errors. Only through the efforts of all can anything be accomplished." The suggested order of priority to order the beginning of construction was as follows:

steel excavation footing reinforcing bricklaying The building committee was given the authority to order the steel, the footing excavation, the bricks and bricklaying.

At the executive board meeting of April 8, 1964, it was announced that a contract for the steel, in the amount of $48,000.00, had been already signed. The building committee was instructed to see Mr. Schillinger about the selection of bricks for our church, as this decision needed to be approved. Mr. Paul Bassil also reported about the progress of the fund raising campaign. He also reported about the insurance of our project, and he stated that the project was fully covered by the necessary insurance.

The financial committee held its meeting on May 7, 1964. The Very Rev. Kiril Stoyanovski read a letter from the Matica na Iselenicite. The Matica was requesting us to send delegates from our congregation to the 20th anniversary celebrations of the liberation of Macedonia from the Germans.

The following members were present at this meeting; Kosta Andrews, Michael Neshevich , Paul Bassil, Van Petroff, Very Rev. Kiril Stoyanovski, Peter Stoyanoff, John Givens, Steve Neshevich, Chris Vasilevich, Alex Shappas, George Dronoff, Jimmy Trentos, Chris Bozanin, Louis Opashinov, Peter Elias, Bill Dundas, Chris Bilkovski, Elia George, Kosta Konstantin and Paul Mangos.

Collection progress was the next item on the agenda. At this meeting, donations in the amount of $1,151.00 were turned over. The question of getting a mortgage was discussed. The committee was all in agreement that it would be easier and much less expensive to get a mortgage, after we put the roof on the church.

At the next meeting, held on June 4, 1964, things had changed. Some of the initiators of the Macedonian church were asking too many questions and the disagreements were growing. The questions in disagreement were as such; Who would be building the church, are we going to hire professional people to run the show or will amateurs run the show, and, are we able to secure a mortgage. Some of the best workers were forced out when the construction of the church was in full swing with the beginnings of the roof construction. It started just after Kosta Andrews won the control of the board of directors.

To start with, Mr. Andrews had the full support of Mr. Van Petroff, Michael Neshevich and, of course, the loud mouth Steve Mandel and that of his son, Bill Andrews, our solicitor of the church. The first casualty was Spiro Bassil, who was one of the initiators for the building of our church and one of the largest financial contributors towards our church. Although he was one of the biggest contributors and initiators of the church, due to his political affiliations, he shied away from holding any kind of official position but acted as an adviser to the directors. Soon enough, he was barred from attending board meetings, even as an observer. The vice-president, Paul Bassil, became all of a sudden, an opposition. He was contradicted by those close to the acting president, especially when the vice-president was trying to arrange a mortgage from the bank. The acting president called him a liar because he and his supporters were convinced that the bank wasn't going to give us a mortgage and that Paul Bassil was lying by insisting we were going to get the mortgage. Needless to say, Van Petroff and Steve Mandel were the front people against the so-called Bazelovci, which included Paul Bassil, Don Pappas, Michael Tallin, John Tsarvengos and others.

The main breaking point came when the board of directors decided to build the church by ourselves; they were not going to hire a professional to supervise the construction. The second question was the selection of the material proposed to be used. The opposing side opted for better materials to be used and a larger church and hall, but the board of directors claimed we would not be able to get a mortgage from the banks. They opted for the cheapest possible materials and for a smaller church and hall. A classic example was the bricks chosen for the job. In less than 50 years, the bricks started to deteriorate, rapidly.

To protect the bricks from further deterioration, they had to be covered with stucco.

Please refer to the secretary, Don Pappas' speech to the membership, outlining his vision on the future church of ours.

The selections that the building committee members made resulted in drastic disagreements. Further disagreements came while selecting the materials to be used for the church. The only person in that committee who had some knowledge was Peter Kondoff, who was a professional engineer and was able to assist the building committee.

Soon enough, however, Mr. Andrews decided to dismiss him from the building committee for no apparent reason. The chief of the building committee became Peter Elias, who claimed to be a builder. He was mistrusted by the Bazelovci, as they claimed that he had not even built a garage. In the building committee were, Elia George, Peter Stoyanoff (an artist) and others, who had no experience in the building industry. That is how some of the main people, who started all this, found themselves isolated and hopeless to influence the events with the building of the church. Van Petroff and his friends were determined to get rid of the vice-president and his friends by accusing them of lying, regarding the possibility of arranging a mortgage. They succeeded in forcing the vice-president to resign his office. Soon after, the secretary, Don Pappas, submitted his resignation. Those were some of the reasons these people lost the confidence of the acting president and his right hand men, Van Petroff , Steve Mendel and others. They succeeded to push them to the point where they had to resign. To demonstrate their opposition and disagreements with the building of the church, they pulled out from their commitment to the bank. Their commitment amounted to more than half of the guarantees at the bank. We learned that even withdrawing from their commitment was dependent on the wishes of the board of directors, as we can see in the minutes of the board of directors, held on June 4, 1964, where their resignations were discussed. Here is what the minutes state:

"First on the agenda was to discuss sending a letter to the bank, re-releasing Paul Bassil, Spiro Bassil, Don Pappas, Nick George, and Michael Tallin, as co-signatures or guarantors to the commitment. Mr. Kosta Andrews announced that the bank manager was very pleased with the new guarantees and requested that we send a letter to the bank, granting the above people their request to be released as guarantors. Steve Mendel asked William Andrews if we had to release those people as guarantors. Mr. Bill Andrews stated that we could hold them to their commitment if we wished. Mr. Paul Bassil's letter of resignation was read and discussed. Mr. Van Petroff made a motion that we accept Mr.

Bassil's resignation seconded by (his lieutenant - my words), Steve Mendel. Mr.

George Dronoff nominated William Andrews to write the letter accepting Mr.

Bassil's resignation..... Letters accepting the resignation of the other members' requests were also decided to be sent. Mr. Elia George made a motion that we try to get the secretary problem solved. The Very Rev. Kiril Stoyanovski stated that this matter could only be taken up at the general membership meeting. Mr.

William Andrews also stated that the directors meet and elect the president, treasurer, secretary etc. The Very Rev. Kiril Stoyanovski stated that the voting of the executive should be up to the members at a general membership meeting." That was the way Kosta Andrews and Van Petroff and their close associates succeeded in eliminating all their opposition. Those were the people who mistrusted Van Petroff, knowing his past activities and connections in the Bulgaro-Macedonian churches.

By eliminating the opposition, the board of directors decided to hold a general membership meeting on June 7, 1964, where a new board of directors was elected.