St. John the Baptist Christian Orthodox Church

It is not enough simply to bear the name ‘Christian’ as a kind of affiliation or badge: we must live and think and breathe after the manner of Christ our God. ...We cannot watch Him conquer life, and then ourselves remain afraid of death. We cannot behold His sovereignty of all things, and then remain fearful of the world, or our future. (Parish Life Journal of the Cathedral of St John the Baptist) See more

Christ is Risen!

"Christ did not come into the world to eliminate suffering. He did not even come into the world to explain it. Rather, He came to fill human suffering with Hi...s presence. That is why where suffering is, there God is, there Christ is in us. If you want to feel the presence of God, go into the hospitals. There you will see the suffering of innocent children, the suffering of old people. The presence of God, the presence of Jesus Christ, is in all their suffering. When Christ came into the world and suffered, He suffered with me! He suffered with you! Can you imagine how much dignity He gave to human suffering? To suffer with us. To fill our suffering with His presence." Fr. George Calciu, survivor of Romanian prison camps. Quoted by Robin Phillips in his excellent book, Gratitude in the Trenches: How to Experience the Good Life When Everything Is Going Wrong.

Coming up this week is the Feast of Theophany (Also called Epiphany) which is the baptism of Christ. It is one of the 12 Great Feasts in the Orthodox Church in ...which we commemorate Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan by St John the Baptist. Theophany means The manifestation of God. On that day, when the Lord came out of the water, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit decended upon Jesus. The voice of God the Father was heard from the clouds saying This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him. God appeared in His fullness, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit - The Holy Trinity. Be sure to find out when your parish is serving Liturgy for Theophany. If you’ve not been to this special Feast Day service, you’ll see the Priest blessing the waters which are used throughout the entire year! He takes the newly blessed waters, and splash those in attendance with it, giving a blessing to all who attend. It is always full of so much joy!! The Holy water is bottled up in small containers and handed out for use at home. Many parishes also bless a body of water outside! Head to my January Feast Resource Guide (link in my bio) for more ways to participate in this feast day including additional information, craft ideas, book recommendations and more! : @jill.wojslaw Tell me about your church’s Theophany traditions #theophany #allthefeastdays #epiphany #12greatfeasts #blessingofthewaters #holywater #baptizedinthejordan #holytrinity #stjohnthebaptist #baptism

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! There will be Vesperal Liturgy Tuesday 1/5 at 6pm for the feast of Theophany. Come and celebrate our Lord’s Baptism! #orthodoxchurch #Rochester #liturgy

This past Sunday Fr Ken served his last liturgy as Rector of St John’s. He also welcomed the entry of Conner and Jovie DeFehr into the Orthodox Church by Chrismation!

One can think about living in the desert, while right in front of one there may be an excellent opportunity to practice Christianity -- someone may be in trouble, and with our high ideas we may not even think of helping him. (Fr Seraphim Rose + ‘Orthodoxy in America’)