When the Bulgarian Holy Synod in Sofia sent Dr. Mallin to Toronto, 1910, to be the spiritual leader of the Macedonian community there, Toronto Macedonians, at that time, saw little difficulty in defining their religious life as Bulgarian and their culture and nationality as Macedonian. Born in Vrachesh, Bulgaria, 1882, and first priest of Sts. Cyril and Methody Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Toronto, this important leader, left, of Toronto’s Macedonian community during the first half of the 20th century, was elevated from Theophilact to Archimandrite, 1913. Anxious to keep Macedonian immigrants within the Macedonian cultural and religious sphere, the Archimandrite understood that New World demands would slowly but surely erode Old World ways. When the Archimandrite graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto, 1921, he reluctantly resigned his position as parish priest and spiritual leader. Dr. Mallin, nevertheless, continued his service to the expanding Macedonian community as “a medical missionary doctor” for the rest of his life. Throughout his long career, as both a religious leader and a practising doctor, Dr. Mallin, until he died in 1949, was devoted to Canada’s Macedonian community. [Photo, courtesy Sts. Cyril and Methody Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Church]

Born in Drenoveni, Kosour, Macedonia, Phillip Meanchoff (1912-1993), right, immigrated on his own to Canada when only 16 years old. By 1930, he had opened his first restaurant in Toronto’s east end. At the height of his career, he had five restaurants in partnership with a brother who followed him to Canada. As viewed, right, Waller’s Snack Bar at Gerrard and Sackville Streets in east end Toronto made Phil Meanchoff’s soda bar the top place to be for lunch in postwar Toronto. [Photo, courtesy Ron Meanchoff]