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Memory Eternal to St. Herman's parish founder Vivian Hartley

November 19, 2013

Vivian Maria HartleyThe handmaiden of God Vivian Maria Hartley departed this life and went to be with the Lord at 12:15 this morning Tues. Nov. 19th 2013.

Vivian with her husband Dr. Edward Hartley laid the foundation of English-speaking Orthodoxy in British Columbia in the 1971, when they left Anglicanism and were received into the church by Archbishop Ioasaph. They were members of Holy Resurrection church in Vancouver until, wanting to raise their children in the faith in their own language, they decided to found an English-speaking parish in their home chapel in Surrey BC.

In 1987 they were able to call a priest to serve them in the growing mission parish of St. Herman of Alaska, and Vivian’s first great service was that of hospitality for the after-liturgy meals and other parish events . Over the years she served the parish she founded in numerous capacities, including singing in the choir, teaching church school, baking prosphora, serving on parish council and minding the parish book store. She travelled across Canada to represent the parish at our Archdiocesan assembly.

As well as raising three children in the faith, Vivian stood sponsor for numerous godchildren, including some who later became clergy. A lover of the classics who completed her master’s degree, Vivian collaborated with Bishop Seraphim on a translation of the Psalms from the Septuagint. She and Ed always maintained their interest and ties with various Orthodox communities around the Lower Mainland, while still remaining dedicated to the fulness of Orthodoxy reaching out to the non-Orthodox from the parish they founded.

Today the parish founded by Vivian and Ed continues to grow, with members from many ethnic backgrounds worshipping together in English and raising their children in the Faith after the Hartleys’ example. Over the years members of the parish have gone on to help found other parishes in Victoria, Comox and Vancouver and to serve and live in other parishes across Canada and beyond. Several have gone to seminary and received ordination. Of all these Vivian is rightly honoured as a mother in Christ.

Vivian’s three children were with her at her home when she went peacefully from this life into the kingdom. All of them remain active members in the Orthodox church, and Vivian’s grandchildren too are being raised in the Faith. Vivian is survived by her husband Ed; children James, Andrea and Maria; grandchildren Christina, Alexandra, Herman, Katherine, Daniel, Anselm, and Adam. It would be too little to say that the people of St. Herman's, among so many others, will miss Vivian greatly. She will always remain part of our parish, with the invisible choir that surrounds us in the Divine Liturgy.

Funeral Services at St. Herman’s Langley BC will include: Thurs. Nov. 21 7 pm Panikhida and a vigil with readings through the night Fri. Nov. 22 10 am funeral. You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence at the family's on-line obituary at: www.myalternatives.ca.