Saint Mark the Evangelist Orthodox Mission in Raleigh, North Carolina began reader's services with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos in November 2006. His Eminence blessed the construction of a Chapel, which was completed recently and which His Eminence named after Saint Mark the Evangelist.
The inaugural Vespers and Liturgy was celebrated on the weekend of October 28-29 (November 10-11 n.s.), 2007 by His Grace Bishop Christodoulos, assisted by Father Laurence Girard and Hierodeacon Savvas.
This miracle of Saint Spyridon took place in Mandra, Greece in 1926.
It was 12/25 December, 1926. The state Church of Greece adopted the Papal calendar and with the help of the Greek government persecuted all those who did not accept the Papal calendar. The faithful Orthodox Christians of Mandra woke up and headed to their Church to celebrate the Feast of Saint Spyridon. When they reached the Church they saw that the door to the Church had been secured with chains and the faithful could not enter. Before leaving the Church to return to their homes they stuck their candles on the door. As soon as the last person placed his candles on the door
the chains broke and fell. The faithful, confirmed in their Faith, entered the Church and celebrated the Feast of Saint Spyridon.
The miracle was reported the next day by the newspaper Skrip.
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...
2025 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2026 youth conference in Upper Marlboro, MD! To learn more, visit the this page.
Q. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people observe fasting, but my confessor told me to fast from oil on Wednesday and Friday. Oil is a pretty vague category, though, and I was wondering if I could get a more explicit description of what kinds of food and drink are excluded on strict fast days. Read more...