We have the sorrowful duty to announce the repose of one of our dedicated parish clergy, Presbyter Mark Gilstrap, rector of the Church of St. James the Apostle Church in Owasso (Tulsa), Oklahoma. Father Mark reposed suddenly this morning, 22 August/4 September, in his home.
Further details regarding Fr. Mark's repose and funeral arrangements, as well as an obituary, will be forthcoming. His Eminence Metropolitan Demetrius requests the immediate commencement of heartfelt prayers and liturgical commemoration on the part of our clergy, monastics, and faithful, the entire fullness of the Body of the Church, for the repose of the Servant of God Presbyter Mark, and for the consolation of Matushka Tatiana and Fr. Mark's pious children and grandchildren.
May his Memory be Eternal!
In the early 20th century, the idea of promoting the union of Churches (Orthodox and heterodox) began to gain ground among circles in the Eastern Orthodox Church by establishing a "Communion of Churches" modeled on the League of Nations.
The Patriarchal Encyclical of 1920 foresaw a series of steps toward the “union of the Churches,” of which the first was the change of the calendar for the simultaneous celebration of feast days by all the “Churches.” The content of the encyclical was kept secret from the faithful and only after a few years became known. Read more...
Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church is a beautiful mission parish near downtown Tucson, a city in southern Arizona. It was started in 1997 by Father John Bockman, who was a missionary Priest formerly serving missions in Tennessee and Massachusetts since 1990. Father John served the faithful in Tucson and the surrounding area in his home Chapel until his repose in November of 2000. His wife, Presbytera Valerie, continued to make her home Chapel available for the mission, with clergy from Saint Nectarios Orthodox Church in Seattle and His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto (then of Portland), visiting to provide the Divine Services.
Read more...2025 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2025 youth conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! To learn more, visit the conference website.
Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...