Usually, parish communities need a decade or two to build and consecrate a new Orthodox church. But St. Xenia Church of Payson, Utah built from the ground up and open in just two short years. The church has welcomed worshippers since November of 2020.
From July 15-16, 2022, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph will consecrate the new church temple, the first in the Archdiocese named for this wonderworking, eighteenth-century saint of St. Petersburg, Russia. Also at this time, His Eminence will bless Utah’s first Orthodox Christian cemetery that sits next to the church.
The pastor, Fr. Justin Havens, leads this community. In a recent video interview, he discussed how he regularly offers weekday services so that more people can see the beauty of Orthodoxy and join the Church – especially Mormons in Utah County.
Fr. Justin’s wife, Kh. Seraphima, spoke earlier this month with the Antiochian Women of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West about surviving the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in 1999 and how that led her to Holy Orthodoxy.
This rapidly growing church welcomes everyone to witness this historic consecration and participate in the divine services. However, reservations are required by Friday, July 1 for the festive banquet following the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy on Saturday, July 16.
Don’t wait. Make your plans now to be in Payson!
Photo credit: antiochian.org
