St. Raphael Orthodox Christian Mission

09/14/2026

The Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross.

Today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of Christ.

According to Holy Tradition, Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, traveled to Jerusalem in the 4th century seeking the Cross upon which our Lord was crucified. The true Cross was revealed through a miracle and was lifted up for the faithful to venerate.

The Cross, once an instrument of death, became the sign of our salvation—the place where death was conquered and Life was revealed.

For this feast at Saint Raphael’s , Fr. Nicholas provided relic of the true cross to be placed within Sarah Hanchett’s beautiful flower arrangement.

“Before Thy Cross, we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.”

☦️ Happy Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross!

08/10/2026

☦️ The icons are going up at Saint Raphael’s!

We’re so grateful to have iconographer John Juruwicz here installing the beautiful canvas icons ordered from Saint Elizabeth’s Convent in California.

It is incredible to watch the temple slowly come to life. We are so thankful to everyone who has prayed, donated, and worked to make this possible!

Glory to God for all things! 🙏✨

07/16/2026

Fr. Deacon Justin and 6 of our youth when on a pilgrimage to Wisconsin to see our new Monastery!

BOSCOBEL, WI [DOM] - On Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12, His Eminence Archbishop Daniel of Chicago adn the Diocese of the Midwest made an Archpastoral visit to St. Paul Monastery, Boscobel, WI, for their patronal feast. On Saturday, the Archbishop was greeted by the monastic community and the....

07/04/2026

The staff and campers had a great week at Camp St. George-Iowa.

06/06/2026

Christ is in our midst! Clergy and their families from the Kansas City Deanery had the opportunity to gather in Madison, Illinois this week to connect in fellowship and share news from around the deanery. We were blessed to celebrate a Divine Liturgy together and grateful to represent the parish of St. Raphael of Brooklyn!

06/02/2026

We Did It! Matching Grant Goal Exceeded! ✨

Glory to God and thank you to our incredible community! We have officially wrapped up Phase 1 of our matching grant, and we are thrilled to announce that we didn't just meet our $25,000 goal; we exceeded it!

Together, we raised a total of $26,254. Because your donations are matched dollar-for-dollar by our generous donor, we now have $52,508 in matched funds dedicated to enhancing our building and beautifying our temple!

With this critical funding secured, we are ready to move forward with adding iconography to our space. Here is the upcoming schedule for the iconography project:

July: Our iconographer will arrive for his first week-long visit. He will draft a realistic, long-term iconography map for the entire temple. He will also begin the work scoped out behind the altar: installing the icons of Christ Enthroned and the liturgical hierarchs, writing "More Spacious than The Heavens" around the Platytera, and adding the stars and cross to the arch.

October: The iconographer will return for a second, longer visit. The specific details and focus of this trip will be guided by the work completed in his first visit and by the master iconography map he creates.

Thank you for your overwhelming generosity, love, and support of St. Raphael of Brooklyn. We cannot wait to watch this vision come to life in our space!

06/01/2026

We are very blessed today to celebrate the high school graduation of Gregory Klyukovski, who for many years has been a faithful altar server at St. Raphael of Brooklyn parish.

God Grant You Many Years, Gregory!

05/24/2026

Thanks to your incredible generosity, we’ve already raised $17,549 toward our first of two $25,000 matching grants!

We need just $7,451 more by June 1st to max out this amazing opportunity. Because every single donation is matched dollar-for-dollar, closing this gap will unlock a total of $14,902 for our parish! Your gift right now truly has double the impact.

This phase of funding is dedicated entirely to enhancing our temple with iconography. The project includes:

☦️ Installing icons of Christ Enthroned and the liturgical hierarchs, alongside a decorative motif, on the altar's back wall.
☦️ Having our iconographer write "More Spacious than The Heavens" around the Platytera icon of the Theotokos on the arched wall.
☦️ Adorning the area beneath the arch above the Platytera with stars and a cross (time permitting).

Will you help us reach our $25,000 milestone and bring this beautiful iconography to life?
Donate here:
https://www.orthodoxquincy.org/tithing
Designate your donation
“Building Fund - Matching Grant”
Deadline: June 1, 2026

Thank you for your continued love and support of St. Raphael of Brooklyn!

05/22/2026

What a joyous blessing for our youth! 🇬🇪✨

Three of our young parishioners from St. Raphael of Brooklyn are currently on a beautiful spiritual pilgrimage to the ancient, holy land of Georgia.

Led by His Grace, Bishop Gerasim of Fort Worth, this journey is an incredible opportunity for them to step fully into the history of the Church and deepen their Orthodox faith. Along the way, they are spending their days:

Visiting historic monasteries
Venerating sacred relics
Immersing themselves in deep, communal prayer

We are so thrilled they get to experience this life-changing trip! Please keep our youth, Bishop Gerasim, and all the pilgrims in your prayers for a safe and spiritually fruitful journey back home.

05/04/2026

This past weekend we walked in the dog parade. Thanks for everyone who showed up and helped!