St. Katherine Orthodox Chapel

09/04/2026

08/12/2026

A Final Witness from the Swiss Alps:

In 1980, a young Italian-Swiss mechanic walked away from contemporary life, climbed into the peaks of Ticino, and knocked on the door of an isolated hermit cell. He had no phone number, no address, and no formal monastic background—only a burning desire to find the ancient faith.

For 18 years, he lived under the guidance of Father Gabriel Bunge before his saintly repose in 2003.

In this documentary episode, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson returns to Ticino to capture Fr. Gabriel’s final witness on Brother Raffaele’s life, his long-suffering and the quiet movement of the Holy Spirit drawing souls back to Holy Orthodoxy.

"The day of his funeral... I was convinced his true activity starts only today."

If you are seeking encouragement in the monastic tradition of the Desert Fathers alive today in Western Europe, please take time to watch and share.

▶️ Watch here:

"More and more you see, little by little, I am vanishing..."High ...

07/26/2026

The latest icon for the proskynitaria in the Narthex of St. Katherine Orthodox Chapel.

Huge thanks to the incredible Anargyros Skaliotis

07/25/2026

05/30/2026

What happens when ancient, Old World faith is commodified for Western algorithms?

Too often, the deep, quiet, and therapeutic mysteries of the Church Historic are quietly adapted into a curated digital aesthetic. A profound contradiction occurs when a standard, domestic pastoral ministry in a comfortable modern suburb is publicly superimposed onto a grand, frontier-missionary narrative just to capture online attention.

True Orthodoxy has never been sustained by the loud, self-directed metrics of online personalities. It is preserved in the quiet, unrecorded sacrifices of generation after generation of believers standing before icons in hidden parishes.

If the modern convert movement is to bear lasting fruit on Western soil, it must eventually step away from the pixelated screen and return to this quiet, uncontrived reality.

Read the new article, The Theater of Digital Orthodoxy, out now on Substack.
👇👇👇
[LInk in the comments]

05/19/2026

October 2016. Snow falling in Vermont’s Green Mountains.

A priest in the “MAKE ORTHODOXY GREAT AGAIN” cap on the left, working alongside a dedicated crew of lumberjacks to clear the site for what would become St. Katherine Orthodox Chapel

By God’s grace, this chapel, the first purpose-built Orthodox church in Vermont, was raised in what is statistically America’s most secular (anti-Christian) state, with the highest percentage of religiously unaffiliated and lowest church attendance.

A spiritual wilderness. A humble beginning, dedicated to the Great Martyr St. Katherine of Alexandria.

This was years before the renewed interest and growth in Holy Orthodoxy we are seeing across America today.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

Glory to God for all things. ☦️

05/16/2026

Αγιος

04/10/2026

You ransomed us from the curse of the Law by Your precious Blood. You were nailed to the Cross, and You were pierced with a spear, and You gushed forth immortality for humanity. Our Savior, glory to You

04/10/2026

Powerful words from the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos). 🏔️☦️

The monks of the Cell of St. Dimitrius Lakko Skete recently shared our "Digital Fentanyl" episode, describing it as a vital tool for understanding the "spiritual war" of our modern age.

They warn that the rush toward AI isn't just a technological shift—it’s a challenge to the "image of Christ" within us.

If you haven't seen this episode yet, now is the time to watch and reflect.

[Link to Episode in the comments]