Thanks to our Lord, the parish of St. Mark of Ephesus celebrated the joyous occasion of its Grand Opening (Θυρανοίξια) of its new church and home in Westwood, MA. The feast started with the a hierarchical concelebration presided by His Eminence, Metropolitan Demetrius of America, joined with brotherly love by His Grace, Andronik of Syracuse.
There were clergy and faithful from all over North America who came to celebrate this triumphant occasion for the parish. For over 40 years our Lord has bestowed upon our parish blessing after blessing, and this was confirmed by this joyous occasion. The parish has gone through many struggles but every step of the way God's hand has always sheltered us. We thank all of the faithful who came to celebrate with us.
We thank God for covering us and showing us the way, showing us the True Faith. May St. Mark guide us as we make our confession of faith and may our Lord and Saviour enlighten us so we can increase the blessings He has given us.
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...
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...