Welcome to the Community of Saint John the Baptist

"Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain new comers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." (Hebrews 13:1-2)

We hope our website gives you a good sense of who we are as Orthodox Christians and what we believe about God and His Church.

The Orthodox Church has her origin with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, not with a human teacher, nor group, nor a code of conduct or religious philosophy. Orthodoxy believes that the Church has her origin in the Apostolic Community called into being by Jesus Christ, and enlivened by the Holy Spirit.

The Feast of Pentecost, celebrated fifty days after Easter, commemorates the "outpouring" of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and "all flesh," marking the beginning of the Church's mission to the world.

We are Orthodox because our tradition of prayer and worship is rooted in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic undivided Church.

The Orthodox Church was founded by Christ through the Apostles and has maintained a living, historical connection with the Apostolic Church through the ordination of its clergy. The bishop that ordains an Orthodox priest today can trace his ordination historically all the way back to the Apostles, and through them to Christ. For this reason, we are "apostolic" – rooted in the first Apostles – the disciples of Jesus.

We are also apostolic because we believe our calling is to go out and share our faith with all who seek Christ. For this reason, we welcome you to visit the Orthodox Christian parish in your neighborhood or town.

Although our parishes may carry a designation of Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, or some other ethnic identity, this does not imply that you need to be of a specific ethnic origin to join us in worship or to consider becoming an Orthodox Christian.

 

At the core of our faith is a relationship with Christ, for as the Gospel of John tells us, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16. 

In taking on our shared human nature, entering into the same reality we all occupy, Christ meets us where we are, even in the depths of death, so we have the opportunity to meet Him and receive the gift of transfigured life in His loving and saving presence. 

As we chant during Pascha (Easter in the West), "Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death and to those in the Tomb He is granting life."

Thus through His incarnation, we see that God experiences the fullness of our life, in His passion and death on the cross, Christ suffers and dies as we all do, and on the third day when He rises from the dead, He raises us with Him offering us the promise of the Gospel, that we are all offered eternal life in His loving and saving presence. Thus we believe in a God Who so loves us that He meets us where we are, so that He can raise us to His loving and saving presence.

We are all offered the opportunity to receive the gift of true life provided to us by Christ, as we continue to learn how to know love and serve Him as He does for us all, for Christ "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45.

The way we learn to love and serve Christ as He does for us is through building a relationship with Him, and the way we get to know Christ is through His Church, for "Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it." I Corinthians 12:27. 

As we live as members of His body through the life of His Church, we deepen our relationship with Christ and with one another as members of His body. 

If you are interested in learning more about our faith, join us each Sunday for Orthros (the morning prayer service of the Church), which begins at 8:30 am, followed by the Divine Liturgy (the Eucharistic gathering of the Church), starting around 9:45 am. 

All are welcome through our doors, and if it is your first time joining us, please introduce yourself to one of the members of our Parish Council standing at the back of the Church, during services, Fr. Ted after Liturgy, and please stay for coffee hour so that we can welcome you to our St. John the Baptist community.

The following is a list of ways you can experience the Life of our St. John the Baptist Parish Community:

Sources

A Brief Introduction to the Orthodox Church. www.goarch.org. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. August 10, 2016. http://www.goarch.org/-/a-brief-introduction-to-the-orthodox-church.

“The Orthodox Christian Church: Your Spiritual Home” www.goarch.org, https://www.goarch.org/introduction.