On Sunday, December 20, 2009, the faithful parishioners of St. Christina’s Mission in Fremont, California, celebrated the last Divine Liturgy in the little “house church” that we had been using until a suitable replacement could be found. Following the liturgy, a procession led by our pastor, Father Michael Anderson, took all the church appointments to [...]

When a new mission, created from convert zeal to found a Church near the country’s largest university, has the opportunity to welcome its bishop for the first time there is a simple description: sweet. Not knowing what to do or what to expect made it all the better.  We did not have parishioners steeped in [...]

The Annual Mission Deanery Retreat will take place on January 26-28, 2010 at the Church of the Annunciation in Milwaukie, Oregon. The retreat is open to everyone, and we especially encourage participation by lay people in the Mission Deanery.
Speakers include:

Fr. John Chakos, Rector of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Pittsburgh, PA—”The Priesthood of Believers, [...]

I must confess being one of those strange people who actually enjoy church meetings, but even the normal priests who make up my deanery were pleased with the camaraderie and mutual teaching sessions that made our recent gathering more a retreat than a “business” meeting.
The five-hour trip over the Continental Divide to our host parish [...]

As we approach the celebration of the Nativity, a very interesting article about bell-ringing and the sounds of the city appeared recently in the Seattle Times. Bells have such a connection, emotionally and aesthetically with our celebrations. John Cox, bell-ringer at the cathedral, was interviewed and the article included links to the sounds of the [...]

At the initiative of the canonical Orthodox Bishops of the West, 106 priests and deacons gathered at St. Nicholas Diocesan Camp in Dunlap, California from December 1-3, 2009 for a retreat. His Eminence, Metropolitan Gerasimos (Greek Archdiocese), His Grace, Bishop Joseph (Antiochian Archdiocese), His Grace, Bishop Benjamin (OCA), and His Grace, Bishop Maxim (Serbian Patriarchate) [...]

Minutes of the 10/16/09 meeting
Minutes of the 10/14/09 meeting
Minutes of the 6/30/09 meeting
Minutes of the 3/10/09 meeting
Minutes of the 1-15-09 Teleconference Meeting

On Sunday, September 27, the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Chico achieved another milestone when Bp Benjamin blessed their new chapel. Some sixty Orthodox Christians including Archpriest Thomas Renfree and Hieromonk Alexander (Lisenko) joined Priest Michael Spainhoward, rector, and the faithful in this joyous milestone in the community.

The letter of Holy Hierarch Nikolai of Japan to Archimandrite Leonid (Kavelin)

Church bell ringing is an intrinsic and permanent part of the Orthodox liturgical and musical tradition…