St John the Merciful Orthodox Church

10/07/2026

At the request of the family, the funeral for Lee Smith - founding member of our parish - will be livestreamed for those that can't make it this Thursday, 10/8/26 at 6:00pm ET. In the unlikely event of technical difficulties with the broadcast, it will be recorded separately and uploaded. Memory eternal!

Livestreaming from St. John the Merciful Orthodox Mission Church in...

10/06/2026

We have a print of this icon in our Theotokos shrine!

The iconographer who went to space:
While publicly the Soviet space missions were heralded as proofs of the strength of the atheist state, several cosmonauts were (privately!) devout Orthodox Christians. This number included Yuri Gagarin (the first person in space) and Alexei Leonov.
Leonov is most famous for being the first person in history to leave the capsule and perform a spacewalk. He also commanded the Soviet crew during the Soyuz 19 mission, the first space mission conducted in alliance with the USA. He was a devout Christian who secretly sent a small icon aboard a space mission in the 1960s. In the 1980s, Leonov was told by a priest that there were no icons in the Soviet launch centre and that there should be. Leonov agreed to create one of Christ and the Theotokos, painting the background earth from his own memory, and featuring two spacecraft forming a cross in the background
Many Orthodox Christians have worked in space, and the International Space Station (ISS) allows for the largest continuous religious procession in history, with its constant rotation of icons and holy relics deliberately placed as a symbol of the Church's continuing prayers for the entire earth 🛰️🌕☦️

10/04/2026

Please welcome the newly illumined Maximilian, Xenia (Erika), and Nathan (Calvin). They join the Holy Orthodox Church with their husband and father Gabriel (Axl). Please pray for them, as well as their sponsors Helen, Tikhon, Subdeacon Peter, and Presbytera Marina. Many years!

10/03/2026

This is also our philosophy at St. John's.

Please be advised of our parish expectations regarding children at the Divine Liturgy:

If your kids are loud, please still come to Liturgy.
If you’re running late because getting everyone dressed and out the door was a battle, please still come to Liturgy.
If your toddler won’t sit still, please still come to Liturgy.
If your baby needs to eat, please still come to Liturgy.
If your child asks questions at the least convenient moment, please still come to Liturgy.
If someone cries, drops a toy, or has to make their third trip to the bathroom, please still come to Liturgy.
If your child doesn’t know all the prayers, responses, or exactly when to sit or stand, please still come to Liturgy.
If you feel like you spent the entire Liturgy managing your children and heard approximately 12% of the homily, please still come to Liturgy.
If Sunday morning feels messy instead of peaceful, please still come to Liturgy.
If you’re worried your children are distracting the people around you, please still come to Liturgy.
If your child has a disability or special needs, please still come to Liturgy.

Children do not learn how to be part of the Church by staying home until they can sit quietly. They learn by being here.

They learn the Sign of the Cross by watching us make it.
They learn the prayers by hearing us pray them.
They learn the Scriptures by hearing the Word of God proclaimed.
They learn reverence by watching us bow and make prostrations.
They learn that Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist by seeing the love and reverence with which we approach the Holy Chalice.
They learn that the Church is their home because we make room for them here.

The wiggles, whispers, crying babies, and little voices are not signs that children don’t belong at Liturgy. They are signs that the Church is alive.

So bring the babies. Bring the toddlers. Bring the big kids. Sit where the little ones can see. Step out when you need to, but always come back in.

At Baptism and Chrismation, these children became full members of the Body of Christ. They belong here. They need the grace of the Holy Mysteries, the example of their parents, and the love and patience of their parish family.

Children are not simply the future of the Orthodox Church. They are part of the Church right now!

09/27/2026

09/25/2026

In addition to Divine Liturgy and services on Feast Days, we have Vespers every Wednesday and Saturday at 6pm. If you've never been to an Orthodox Church before, the dimmed lights and smaller crowd make for a great introduction to the ancient faith.

09/23/2026

BEHIND THE SCENES: Thanks to generous donors, our mission has been running a multi-camera livestream of Divine Liturgy for the past few months. What used to require a control room, multiple staff, and tens of thousands of dollars in equipment is now run entirely on a tablet.

There are two fixed cameras, as well as a tripod that can be be moved (typically during the Epistle and Gospel readings). The production is operated by a member of the communications team, who is in the church and still able to fully participate in the services. See our YouTube link in the comments and subscribe!

09/17/2026

Our weekly catechism class on Sunday had 26 in attendance, Glory to God! Our mission in Orlando is growing, and we are rapidly running out of room in our temporary rented space. Fortunately, we're getting closer to reaching our building fund goal for a permanent home in south Orlando. Please prayerfully consider donating to our building fund, the QR code will be in the comments.

09/16/2026

Last Sunday, we welcomed our three newest catechumen: Matt, Melissa, and Elana. Our mission is blessed to now have 19 active catechumen.

"Orthodoxy is Christianity understood as supreme Beauty." - Fr. Alexander Elchaninov

09/09/2026

Nativity of the Theotokos
Commemorated September 8th

The record of the birth of Mary is not found in the Bible. The traditional account of the event is taken from the apocryphal writings which are not part of the New Testament scriptures. The traditional teaching which is celebrated in the hymns and verses of the festal liturgy is that Joachim and Anna were a pious Jewish couple who were among the small and faithful remnant—“the poor and the needy”—who were awaiting the promised messiah. The couple was old and childless. They prayed earnestly to the Lord for a child, since among the Jews barrenness was a sign of God’s disfavor. In answer to their prayers, and as the reward of their unwavering fidelity to God, the elderly couple was blessed with the child who was destined, because of her own personal goodness and holiness, to become the Mother of the Messiah-Christ.

Your nativity, O Virgin, has proclaimed joy to the whole universe. The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone from you, O Theotokos. By annulling the curse he bestowed a blessing. By destroying death he has granted us eternal life (Troparion).