The Zorastrian
Society of Ontario (ZSO) was founded in 1971
from its precursor, the Zoroastrian Fraternity.
The "Fraternity" had been functioning since the
mid sixties as an informal service group to
assist Zoroastrian immigrants on their arrival
in Canada. With the relatively large influx of
Parsis in the late sixties, the group felt the
need to have a registered corporate body.
The priorities laid down by the first
executive of the Zorastrian Society of Ontario
are:
- To obtain the Government of Ontario's
recognition of the marriage ceremonies
performed by our priests;
- To establish classes to instruct our
children about the Zoroastrian religion; and
- To make the members of our community
familiar with our traditions and religious
ceremonies.
In 1975, the ZSO would acquire a community
centre in Metropolitan Toronto to be able to
accommodate the growing membership. The centre
was to be a focal point for religious
ceremonies, education, reading material, social
activities, sports and recreation. The community
centre became a reality through the philanthropy
of Arbab Rustom Guiv, a prominent Zoroastrian of
Iran. With a donation of $600,000 USD, 3590
Bayview Avenue was purchased and extended to
include an assembly hall to accommodate a
membership of about 500.
The centre known as the Mehraban Guiv Darbe
Mehr is named after Arbab Guiv's nephew. It
includes a prayer room (Atash Dadgah) and a
library. It is leased from the Rustom Guiv
Foundation (Ontario) and has served as the
centre of the ZSO's activities for the past
twenty-nine years.
A significant fraction of the community now
attend the religious classes for children and
adults. There is an active Senior's Group, a
Zoroastrian Scout Group, The Iranian Zoroastrian
Cultural Kanoun, Informal Study Group, Youth,
Lecture, Investment, Entertainment, Library,
Employment & Newsletter Groups.