St. James Orthodox Church NY

09/05/2026

Hi St. James parishioners
Monday God will we will finished the first face of our church rooftop and you can see how it looks like.
God blessed you for your support.

08/22/2026

08/22/2026

Hi everyone see our Hall decorations party

08/22/2026

St. James parishioners we start changing the church rooftop God blessed anyone could support our church and our roof donations.

08/18/2026

07/31/2026

ابناء كنيسة القديس يعقوب اخو الرب الارثوذكسية الانطاكية في بوكبسي بدا العمل في تركيب روف الكنيسة والقاعة اليوم.
ببركة الرب يسوع وبركاتكم نكمل هذا العمل.

07/26/2026

The last full day of the biennial Clergy Symposium, July 23, included the final presentation of His Excellency Dr. Tarek Mitri, Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon, on how Christian pluralism took hold in the Middle East which has had lasting trauma and division.

Among the critical points he discussed were the Fourth Crusade in 1204 inflicted heavy damage on the Church of Antioch, and the Roman Catholic Church’s creation of the Melkite Church in 1724. Dr. Mitri stressed that the only way people come back to Orthodoxy is by their own studies and examinations of their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and not by subversion or trickery.

This point is relatable to our clergy in North America experiencing the wave of inquiries and conversions – the newly illumined seeking the true faith and church are searching their own hearts and finding Christ.

His Eminence Metropolitan Yacoub of the Iglesia Ortodoxa en Argentina - Patriarcado de Antioquia delivered an engaging talk titled “Passions and the Soul: A Patristic Anthropological Approach.” Humanity falls when we become lax in the contemplation of God, and the discernment between good and evil is off balance. We start mixing the two together and putting our personal benefit first.

Thus, constant purification of the soul is critical to improving the human state, Sayidna Yacoub said, adding that primacy is given to the soul because it enlivens the body. Sometimes, the body pains the soul.

That evening, His Eminence Metropolitan Saba presided at Great Vespers with Litia-Artoklasia for St. Christina of Tyre (now in southern Lebanon). This great-martyr of the Church of Antioch forsook pagan idolatry and brought many to Christ in the second century. After the service, Sayidna Saba blessed Fr. John Shand of St. Xenia Church of Payson, Utah to be a father confessor.

Following dinner, for the first time in North America, the new Paraklesis Service to St. Raphael of Brooklyn was chanted. The Dormition of the Theotokos Monastery in Hamatoura, Lebanon composed the original service in Arabic, and our Archdiocese translated it into English and set it to music. The service and music will be published in the future.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Saba, the reliquary of St. Raphael was opened for the hierarchs and clergy to venerate his relics. May we have the prayers of St. Raphael before Almighty God!