December Services

We will be having services this December 14th and 15th.
Friday Dec. 14th - Vespers 6:30pm at St. Joseph's Catholic Church Library.
Saturday Dec. 15th - Divine Liturgy 9am at St. Joseph's Catholic Church choir room.

November Services

Services this month on the 16th and 17th at St. Joseph's Catholic Church.
Vespers - Friday, November 16th at 6:30pm
Divine Liturgy - Saturday November 17th at 9am

A word from Fr. Michael:

Blessings in our Lord!

I am happy to let you know that Father Joseph Corrigan and his wife,
Robin (newly moved to Yakima), will be joining us this Friday and
Saturday for our services, teaching and fellowship! Fr. Joseph was a
"Four Square" pastor in S. California who brought his congregation
into the Orthodox Church.

Change to Service Times in September

The time for Vespers this Friday will be the same, 6:30pm. Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning will be at 9am, contrary to the mailing and post which said 9:30am.

Saying from St. Basil the Great

From Fr. Michael:
Out of labor comes health, out of sweat salvation. Beware lest, from
your wish to keep certain obligations, you break your obligation to
God. Do not sink back. There is salvation, there is amendment. The
doors are not yet shut; the Bridegroom hears. Make the effort. Jesus
is merciful; the Kingdom is at hand. - Saint Basil the Great

Don't forget, Christ the Savior website is a great source for learning, for inspiration, for quotes from the Holy Fathers which give us the way to eternal life!

www.christthesavior.us

Fr. David Sommer To Lead Services Sept. 21&22

This will be privileged to welcome Fr. David Sommer to our community. Fr. David is the priest at St. Thomas Mission in Snohomish, WA. Friday Vespers service will begin at 6:30 in the St. Joseph's Catholic Church Library. Divine Liturgy will be at 9:30 Saturday Morning in the Choir Room on the south side of the Sanctuary.
Map to St. Josephs Catholic Church
Fr. David's Mission's website

Biography of St. Innocent of Alaska

A interesting biography of St. Innocent of Alaska in available on our website at:
http://wenorthodox.googlepages.com/st.innocent

Dr. H. Tristram Engelhardt To Speak Oct. 11-14th

The following email was sent out by Fr. Michael on Sept. 16th:
Brethren,

Wanted to make sure I got out the final schedule for Dr. H. Tristram Engelhardt's speaking engagement sponsored by Christ the Savior (below). Again, Dr. Engelhardt is a world-renown bio-ethicist and professor of philosophy. This is no small time guest...he is in great demand as a speaker both in the U.S. and abroad. He has authored several books and serves as editor for several high profile medical journals. His full biography is also below.

Despite his credentials, he is a very down-to-earth and humble servant of Christ, a convert to Orthodoxy (from Roman Catholicism), and a TEXAN (something he enjoys tell you!). He is an incredibly engaging speaker, and though an intellectual, is able to convey his topics to average folk like me. See below:

Thursday, Oct. 11, 7PM: Gonzaga University, Jepson School of Business, Wolff Auditorium

"Why Orthodox Christian Theology is so Different?"

Friday, Oct. 12, NOON: Sacred Heart Hospital, Sacred Heart Medical Center Children's Hospital, 4th Floor Classroom

"Ordinary versus Extraordinary Care: Re-thinking An Old Distinction"

Saturday, Oct. 13, 2PM: Christ the Savior Orthodox Church, 12407 E. 16th Ave. (16th & Pines)

"Christianity and the Culture Wars"

Sunday, Oct. 14, 2PM: Christ the Savior Orthodox Church, 12407 E. 16th Ave. (16th & Pines)

"Being Christian in a Post-Christian World"

Full Biography:

H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr., holds an M.D. with honors from Tulane University School of Medicine (1972) and a B.A. (1963) and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin (1969). In 2005 he received a doctor honoris causa from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Gr. T. Popa", Iasi, Romania. He was a Fulbright Graduate Fellow at Bonn University, Germany (1969-1970), a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in West Berlin, Germany (1988-1989), a Visiting Scholar at the Internationale Akademie für Philosophie im Fürstentum Liechtenstein (fall 1997), and a Visiting Scholar at Liberty Fund, Indianapolis, Indiana (spring 1998).

Currently, Dr. Engelhardt is Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Rice University, and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Medicine and in the Department of Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine. He has held appointments at Rice and Baylor since January, 1983, after leaving Georgetown University, where he was the Rosemary Kennedy Professor of Philosophy of Medicine. Dr. Engelhardt is editor of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, senior editor of Christian Bioethics, the Philosophy and Medicine book series with nearly ninety volumes in print, and the book series Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture. He has authored over three hundred ten articles and chapters of books in addition to over one hundred ten book reviews and other publications. His work ranges from Continental philosophy and the history of medicine to the philosophy of medicine and bioethics. There have been more than one hundred fifty reprintings or translations of his publications. He has also co-edited thirty volumes and has lectured widely throughout the world. His books include Bioethics and Secular Humanism: The Search for a Common Morality (Philadelphia/London: Trinity Press International/SCM Press, 1991) and the second, thoroughly revised edition of The Foundations of Bioethics (New York: Oxford, 1996), which has been translated into Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. A Chinese translation of Bioethics and Secular Humanism appeared in 1998. His most recent work is The Foundations of Christian Bioethics (Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger, 2000), which has appeared in Portuguese and Romanian. In 2006 a new edited volume is appearing, Global Bioethics: The Collapse of Consensus (M&M Scrivener Press).

The Early Christians

The Early Christians

	Author: Fr. Michael Shanbour
The Holy Fathers of the Church who lived from the time of the Apostles up to the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea (325AD) are often called the Pre-Nicene Fathers (those who pre-date this council). Those who are sometimes called the "Apostolic Fathers" are those who were ordained (Gk = chierotonia, the laying on of hands, or setting apart) by the Apostles and their successors (in general, the generation following the Apostles). We find several references in the New Testament to the appointing of elders* (Gk = presbyteros, presbyter, priest) through the laying on of hands. Acts 14:23 "So when [The Apostles Paul and Barnabus] had appointed (i.e. "ordained" = chierotonia) elders in every church (local community of believers), and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed." Acts 15:6 "Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter." (whether Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised). Acts 20:17 "From Miletus he [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church." Philipians 1:1 "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons." 1 Timothy 5:18 "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine." Titus 1:5 "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you." Timothy 3:1-13 "This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop must be blameless?.Likewise deacons must be reverent?holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience." Titus 1:7 "For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God?holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict." * NOTE: It is probable that in Apostolic times the distinction between bishop and presbyter had not been completed. The bishop or overseer (Gk = episcopos) was often the leading elder among the council of presbyters in each community. Therefore it appears that sometimes the Holy Scriptures refer to "bishop" and "presbyter" synonymously. While this distinction appears to be clear by the time of St. Ignatius of Antioch (appointed bishop in 69AD), the Orthodox Church still understands both bishops and presbyters (priests) as "priests," both having a share in the Priesthood of Christ Himself, by virtue of their ordination. For this reason a bishop is also a "priest" or presbyter, but is often referred to as "high-priest" or "arch-priest." Jesus Christ Himself is called both "Bishop" (1 Pet. 2:5; Gk = episcopas, "overseer") and "High Priest" (Heb. 7:26; 9:11). The bishops and presbyters were to carry on the Apostle?s ministry within the Church. The Bishop was specifically called to lead the Eucharistic assembly and to guard the doctrines and traditions (Gk = paradosis, to pass down; See 2 Thess. 2:15 and 3:6) passed on by the Apostles. The presbyters did the same, as the Church grew, as delegates of the bishop. Some of the early bishops ordained by the Apostles were: St. James (the "brother of the Lord," see Acts 15:13), St. Timothy, St. Titus for Crete (Titus 1:5-6), St. Dionysius (Acts 17:34), St. Clement of Rome (Phil. 4:3), St. Onesimus (Col. 4:9), and St. Lazarus (the friend of Christ and "four-days" dead). The Apostolic Fathers The first generations of bishop succeeding the Apostles are sometimes called The Apostolic Fathers. Many of these were direct students (disciples) of certain Apostles who governed the Church after the repose of the Apostles. Several of these Fathers whose writing and biographies have been preserved are noted below: St. Clement of Rome Bishop of Rome from 92-101AD. St. Clement wrote a letter addressed from "the church of God who sojourns in Rome to the church of God which sojourns in Corinth..." exhorting them to resolve certain problems/rivalries within the community. This letter is quoted extensively during the next three centuries. In Syria and Egypt some lists of what was to be considered as canonical New Testament books included it. It was referred to about 80 years after its writing by Soter, bishop of Rome in a letter to Dionysius, bishop of Corinth. St. Clement on the divine origin of Church order: "[God] has commanded sacrifices and service to be performed, not in a careless and haphazard way but at the designated seasons and hours. He himself has determined where and through whom his wishes be performed, to the intent that everything should be done religiously and to his good pleasure and acceptably to his will. Those then who offer their sacrifices at the appointed seasons are acceptable and blessed; for since they comply with the Master?s orders, they do not sin. Thus to the high priest have been appointed his proper services, to the priests their own place assigned, upon the Levites their proper duties imposed; and the layman is bound by the rules for laymen. Each of us, brethren, in his own rank must please God in good conscience, not overstepping the fixed rules of his ministry, and with reverence." "And our apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife over the title of bishop. So for this reason...they appointed those mentioned above and afterward added the stipulation that if these men should die, other approved men should succeed to their ministry. Those therefore who were appointed by them or afterward by other reputable men with the consent of the whole Church, who in humility have ministered to the flock of Christ blamelessly, quietly, and unselfishly, and who have long been approved by all?lthese men we consider are being unjustly removed from their ministry. Surely we will be guilty of no small sin if we thrust out of the office of bishop those who have offered the gifts in a blameless and holy fashion. Blessed are the presbyters who have already passed on, who had a fruitful and perfect departure, for they need not be concerned lest someone remove them from the place established for them. But you, we observe, have removed some who were conducting themselves well from the ministry they have irreproachably honored." St. Ignatius of Antioch According to the 4th century church historian Eusebius, he was ordained as the second Bishop of Antioch in 69AD (note: St. Paul was martyred some time between 64-67AD) St. Ignatius was arrested in Antioch and taken to Rome to be thrown to the lions. He wrote letters to five church communities in cities between Antioch and Rome, who also sent delegations to come out to meet with him. The letters concern themselves with 1) warnings against heresies; 2) exhortation to unity centering around the Eucharist and the Bishop; 3) protection of the Divinity and Humanity of Jesus Christ; 4) moral teachings; and, 5) appeals not to inhibit his martyrdom. St. Ignatius of Antioch on... ...the Church?s Unity in the Eucharist: "...obey the bishop and the presbytery with undisturbed mind [cf. 1 Cor. 7:35], breaking one loaf [cf. 1 Cor. 10:16-17], which is the medicine of immortality, the antedote which results not in dying but in living forever in Jesus Christ [cf. John 6:51-58]. (Epistle to the Ephesians). "Let no one deceive himself [cf. 1 Cor. 6:9]: unless a man is within the sanctuary (the Apostolic Church), he lacks the bread of God [cf. John 6:33; 1 Cor. 9:13; 10:18]....Therefore he who does not come to the assembly (Gk = ecclesia, "church") is already proud and has separated himself [cf. 1 Cor. 11:20, 31]. ...the mysteries of salvation: "Both the virginity of Mary and her giving birth escaped the notice of the prince of this age, as did the Lord?s death?three mysteries of a cry, wrought in the stillness of God." ...on the divine ministry of the Church heirarchy: "...be eagar to do everything in God?s harmony, with the bishop presiding in the place of God and the presbytery in the place of the council of the apostles and the deacons, most sweet to me, entrusted with the service of Jesus Christ...."

The preceeding article by Fr. Michael Shanbour is quoted from his parish website at http://www.christthesavior.us

Special Guest In October

The following is an excerpt from a email from Fr. Michael:

Blessing in Christ Jesus!

I have special news. Reader Matthew Gallitan, author of "Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells," will join me for my October trip to Wenatchee, the 19th-20th! He is a convert to the Orthodox Church, a former Calvary Chapel pastor, and currently a Professor of Philosphy. He is also a dynamic speaker, a tremendous chanter, a very humble servant of Christ, and a faithful member of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Post Falls, ID.

May God grant us His
great mercy!
Fr. Michael

A Summary of the Orthodox Faith

A Summary of the Orthodox Faith

Author: Fr. Michael Shanbour

Orthodox Christians believe first and foremost that the purpose of all creation is to give glory to God and to worship Him "in Spirit and in Truth" (As Jesus Christ Himself states it). The crown of God's creation is Man. He is created in God's Image, with potential to attain to God's Likeness. He alone of all creation is both physical and spiritual (with a "rational" soul), capable of offering the material creation back to God as a spiritual sacrifice of thanksgiving. The purpose and true destiny of every man and woman is union with God. Human persons are only truly themselves, and truly human, when they commune with the Living God, and share in His Life, something that begins in this life, and finds its fulfillment and perfection in the Kingdom of Heaven. At the outset, it is important to note that the word, "Orthodox" is an adjective, made up of two Greek words: Ortho, meaning right or appropriate; and "Doxa", meaning glory or worship. This adjective was used in the early Church to distinguish between those who continued in the Faith of the Apostles, and those "heterodox" who held to another doctrine or separated themselves from the Body of Believers in succession from the Apostles. Doctrine, or true knowledge of God, is directly related to, and expressed in, true worship of God. Belief is always lived out by giving glory to God, not merely in adhering to philosophical or academic concepts about God. Two early Christian sayings confirm this understand: 1) "The rule of Faith is the rule of Worship"; and 2) "The theologian is the one who prays truly, and the one who prays truly is a theologian." Perfect theology, in the Orthodox Christian understanding, is equated with experiential and personal knowledge and worship of God, and ultimately with love for God and neighbor. The perfect theologian, in the Orthodox Church, is he or she who has shed every false, dark, and sinful element from the heart, and who's spiritual eyes see God with clarity, and share in His Uncreated Energy, Light and Life. The Eastern Church has always maintained that sin is unnatural and foreign to human nature. Evil is a parasite. Sin is an act against one's own humanity. To be holy is not to be "super-natural" but "natural." The natural state of humanity is union with God. This is why Jesus Christ is said to be the only One who was perfectly Human, since He alone was without sin, and He alone lived out the perfect life of sacrificial love, obedience, and union with God the Father. The Orthodox Church believes that while the sin of Adam brought sin and corruption into the fabric of human existence and darkened man's soul, it in no way obliterated or destroyed the image of God in man. Through sin man did not become "depraved," but sin resulted in corruption and death, from which man could not save himself. Unlike in the West, the Orthodox understand original sin is primarily the darkening of the soul, not personal guilt and culpability for Adam's sin, not a stain of guilt to be washed away by baptism, nor an obliteration of man's inherent goodness, nor a sentence of death by a punishing, angry, and vengeful God who requires justice, but rather a fallen condition, a "dis-ease" to be healed and made whole. Salvation, then, is the healing of the human condition, the restoration of communion with God, not a legalistic atonement by a God who requires "satisfaction." Jesus Christ is both the perfect revelation of God to man, and the perfect reconciliation of God and man. He reveals that God is Trinity or Community; that God is Father, who by nature eternally begets His Son, and from whom proceeds His Spirit. Three Divine Persons, One Godhead. Through Jesus it is revealed that God is Love, not simply because He loves His creation, but because He is by nature community, love, a unity of Persons, sharing one Will. Orthodox Christians therefore worship God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Incarnation is at the core of Orthodox Christianity. "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth." The Only-Begotten Son and Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, became Man, incomprehensibly, taking on the fallen Human condition, and overcoming sin and death, by His own life and His own Death and Resurrection. As the Orthodox Easter or Paschal hymn proclaims: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life!" From eternity, He is born from God the Father, without mother, yet He is born in time from a mother, without a father. His birth from the Virgin Mary of the Holy Spirit is essential to Orthodox Christianity. The Virgin birth is necessary because it is God Himself who is the Father of Jesus. The Virgin Mary is called "Birthgiver of God" in order to protect the Divinity of Christ?to show that He is God from conception in her womb, and that He did not become God or "evolved in Divinity" some time after being born as a mere man. He is one in essence with God the Father in relation to His Divinity, and one in essence with us in regard to His Humanity. Perfect God and Perfect Man, fully God and fully Man; in His Person reconciling and reuniting God and man in a perfection which transcends (and perfects) the blessedness of Adam and Eve in Paradise. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the great Church Fathers of the fourth century said: "What is not assumed (by Christ) cannot be healed." He assumed human nature entirely in order to heal it entirely. This possible for all who are united to Him in the Church. Core Behaviors All principles of behavior in the Orthodox Church exist for one purpose: to effect the salvation and spiritual healing of the human person, and to bring him or her into unity with God through Christ. The goal therefore of Orthodox Christians is to live the spiritual life, or as St. Seraphim of Sarov (Russia, 18thc.) said: "The goal of the Christian life is to acquire the Holy Spirit of God." The spiritual life can be described as having three ascending stages as we become more and more receptive to God?s grace: 1) Purification, 2) Illumination, and 3) Deification. We are born into the spiritual life in Baptism and Chrismation, which is a personal sharing and participation in Christ's death and resurrection, and a personal "Pentecost," or reception of the Holy Spirit. Just as physical birth begins, but does not complete, the growth and development of the human person, baptism is only the beginning of the spiritual life. After baptism, the Orthodox Christian continues a life of growth and repentance, seeking to purify the heart (i.e. the spiritual center of the being) from all that is not of God and to receive Divine Grace into every crevice of the heart that may still be occupied to some degree by darkness. The passions, which originate from the impure heart, such as greed, despair, and pride, are to be struggled against and eradicated. And even natural passions, such as hunger and sexual desire, are to be purified, redirected, and transformed, used but not misused or abused. By God's grace the heart is purified with much struggle and moves toward illumination, a state of seeing all creation as it was created by God. Some have reached a state of deification/theosis, or perfect union with God, as far as can be reached in this life. A person in this spiritual state never loses his identity, personhood or personality. Deification is a union of persons, a sharing of life, but not a loss or destruction of identity. The spiritual life is usually nurtured through the following behaviors: Keeping or practicing the commandments of Christ. A Fixed, Daily Rule of Prayer (usually morning and evening prayers). Seeking a continual awareness of the presence of God (using a short prayer throughout the day, the Jesus Prayer: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me"). Struggle against temptation and seeking to discern and ward off thoughts. A healthy detachment from worldly preoccupations and possessions. Reading of Holy Scripture and other edifying material (Lives of Saints, Church Fathers, etc). Active participation in the cycle of liturgical worship of the Church. Sorrow and contrition for sins. Periodic confession of sins and amendment of wrongs as one becomes aware of them. Preparation for, and participation in, the Eucharist. Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year and in the designated seasons (There are four official fasting periods of the Church in which members abstain from Meat, Fish, and Dairy Products, while intensifying prayer). Almsgiving (giving to those in need and acts of mercy). Struggle against the "passions." Acquisition of virtue. Voluntary asceticism (struggles, deprivation, and other spiritual exercises) and patient endurance of trials and suffering. A Life of Repentance (the joyful turning away from sin, and embracing God and virtue). Love for all creation.

Men's Fellowship

The men's fellowship meets on Mondays, 7am at Smitty's in Wenatchee (map).
We are using the St. James Devotional Guide for the Christian Year. The Guide is published by Touchstone, which also has an interesting magazine and website.

Check for recent posts for any changes in the usual schedule.

Links To Helpful Resources and Info

There are many places on the Internet where you can find information about Orthodox Christianity. Some are better than others. Here are some that we recommend.

Orthodox Church Links -

• Christ the Savior Orthodox Christian Church in Spokane, WA - Fr. Michael Shanbour's Church
• Antiochian Diocese of the West
• Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
• Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Orthodox Resources - Things that Orthodox Christians (and others) like to listen to and read.

• Touchstone Magazine - Our men's fellowship uses their St. James Devotional Guide.
  
• Ancient Faith Radio - Streaming music and talk. Many programs, and archives.
  

How It All Started

On July 9, 2006, three women visited Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in Spokane, to explore outreach to our own city, Wenatchee. Drawn to Orthodoxy, we found ourselves located in an empty triangle between existing churches in Seattle, Spokane, and Yakima churches we had visited and been involved in over the years.

One of the women and her husband--had met Fr. Michael in December, 2003, in Idaho; the following spring he started his new mission in Spokane, where one of the Wenatchee women talked to him about how hard it was to be in a town without a church one could attend every Sunday. The third woman had been inquiring into Orthodoxy for a long time and longed to find a church home. Then in June, 2006, Fr. Michael received Bishop Joseph`s blessing at clergy conference in California to start an outreach to Wenatchee that very summer! At Fr. Michael's suggestion, many prayers were made before the icon of St. Innocent of Alaska, first hierarch in America, that we might be accounted worthy to continue his work, to bring the Orthodox Light of Christ to this corner of America.

In August, the Wenatchee World printed Fr. Michael's picture in color, a first ever on the "Faith and Family" page. Accompanied by Deacon James Bryant from the Brier church, Fr. Michael came and blessed our homes in Malaga and Wenatchee--as far as we know, the first-ever Orthodox prayers by a priest in our Valley. Our first Vespers and informational meeting was held in the new Wenatchee Community Center in South Wenatchee.

Thirty people turned up and heard about Fr. David's journey to Orthodoxy. A spaghetti dinner afterwards allowed more time for interaction and fellowship. August 19, 2006, was truly a historic day: Divine Liturgy was celebrated in Wenatchee! Gathered in a private home home before a dining-room table altar, a happy group was led by Fr. David serving, Deacon James assisting, and Fr. Michael leading responses.

However, we needed a more public place to meet, and priest-to-priest and bishop-to-bishop negotiations led to Fr. Tom Kuykendall at St. Joseph's beautiful new parish church inviting us to use their library for Friday night Vespers and teaching, then their choir room for Saturday morning Liturgies. Our first meeting there was a month later, with Deacon Elijah from Spokane accompanying Fr. Michael. Eighteen people were present to hear teaching from Fr.Thomas Hopko's Orthodox Faith series. Afterwards, there was a fellowship meal, which Fr. Michael reflected on as particularly sweet and blessed by God. For our third mission weekend, Fr. Michael brought his wife, Khouriye Macrina, and a young chanter (we did need help with the music!). Fr. Michael fielded questions from participants about incense, fasting,and confession. After some wonderful Greek food, the next morning we discussed our expectations and set up weekly meetings to pray Compline together and discuss a portion of Bishop Kallistos Ware's book, The Orthodox Church.

The week before Thanksgiving, Fr. John Finley from the archdiocesan headquarters in Los Angeles returned to Wenatchee. He encouraged us to continue meeting, to strengthen community and provide opportunity for inquirers. So in mid-November, we began to read Vespers together, continuing our book discussion. Anyone interested in a taste of Orthodoxy is welcome.

About Us

We invite you to explore the treasures of the ancient Orthodox Christian Church which is alive and well and growing throughout the world!
The Wenatchee Orthodox Christian mission is an outreach of Christ the Savior Orthodox Christian Church in Spokane,Washington, whose priest, Fr. Michael Shanbour, provides the pastoral care for the Wenatchee Mission. We are under the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, which is dedicated to preaching, teaching, and living out the Apostolic Faith of the ancient Church, which has been preserved whole in the "Eastern Orthodox Church."

The Orthodox Church is one "one faith, one Lord, one baptism" (Eph. 4:5) made up of many regional and national churches in communion with one another. The Church is not a human "institution" but rather the Body of Christ, the Divine-Human organism whose Head is Jesus Christ and who lives by the Spirit of God the Father.

The "Mother Church" of our Archdiocese is the Church of Antioch (where the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26) and is one of the original five ancient centers of Christianity called Patriarchates: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch is the 170th successor of the Holy Apostle Peter. Our self-ruling Archdiocese is under the pastoral care of our Archbishop, Metropolitan PHILIP, and our Diocese (of Los Angeles & the West) is overseen by our Bishop JOSEPH. May God grant them many years!

Come Worship with Us!

Wenatchee Orthodox Christian Mission Phone:(509) 891-7632
Fr. Michael's Cell: 263-6441 E-mail Fr. Michael