The Feast of St. John of San Francisco in Maine 2013

His Grace, Bishop Demetrius of Boston visited the mission of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco in Portland, Maine on its patronal feast day, July 2nd (n.s.). Concelebrating with His Grace were Presbyters Vassily Mihailoff - rector of the mission, John Knox and Andrew Snogren, Hierodeacon Barsanuphius and Deacon Yakov Tseitlin. Fr. George Liadis and Deacon Cyril Mendoza were also visiting.

Several families came up from the Boston area to share in the celebration of the feast. It was the first hierarchical service at the new church site, glory be to God! All traveled afterwards to the Mihailoffs' new home where they had a festive trapeza "under the tent" in the backyard. It was truly a grace-filled day!

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Orthodox Awareness

A Brief History

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...

Missions

Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Jonesboro, Arkansas

Jonesboro is a town located near the Eastern border of Arkansas, with a population of approximately 60,000. From a human standpoint, it’s not the most likely candidate for a traditional Orthodox mission, but for an Orthodox Christian who orders his priorities around Christ and His Church, it makes perfect sense. Read more...

Youth

2025 Youth Conference

Please join us for the 2025 youth conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! To learn more, visit the conference website.

Ask A Priest

Morning and Evening Prayers

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...