With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos, on Sunday, July 14/27, 2008, the newly-formed Mission parish of the Holy Mother of God (Panagia Axion Estin) in Palmyra, Virginia, which is near Charlottesville, held its inaugural liturgy.
Presiding were His Grace Bishop Christodoulos, and serving were Fr Patrick Danielson, who will be assigned to pastor the mission, and Fr Anastasios Hudson of St Mark's Orthodox Mission in Raleigh, North Carolina. Hieromonk Savvas of Holy Ascension Monastery chanted.
After Matins and the Divine Liturgy, His Grace performed the Blessing of Waters (agiasmo) on the spot where the organizers of the mission will construct a free-standing chapel.
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...
St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox Church began as a mission parish in the year 2000, in a home chapel in Palm Coast, FL – a small town on Florida’s northeast coast located between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. After two years, it became necessary to have services in area community centers, rented for Sundays and other Holy Days. Read more...
2026 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2026 youth conference in Upper Marlboro, MD! To learn more, visit the this page.
Q. In considering becoming part of the GOC in America, I am getting warnings from various circles that the attitude of GOC people is that of being “walled off,” “arrogant,” “judgmental,” and “in your face” toward those not in the Genuine Orthodox Church, with accusations such as “World Orthodox” priests are “not even Christians” and the like. Could you give me your personal, realistic assessment of this dynamic and possibly refer me to an official statement on how GOC members should and do relate to and communicate with those in “World Orthodoxy”? Read more...