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ABOUT

About our Church 

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul converted to Orthodoxy in 1988. On November 16, 1996, the church became a mission of the Orthodox Church of America. Our church is full of the pageantry and forms used in the early Christian church of 300 AD, it is like a little crown jewel. We are a small congregation and our mission is to serve.  We are located in Bethel, Connecticut. Our doors are open to all who would like to know more about the Orthodox Church. We welcome you to worship with us. Our Sunday service, Divine Liturgy, is held at 10:00 AM. Following liturgy there is a coffee hour and our bookstore will be open. We also offer Vespers service on Saturday evenings.

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Our Mission

We at Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Mission in Bethel, CT offer a healing space of renewal to anyone spiritually thirsty and seeking a deeper relationship with God. Our community is rooted in the wisdom and practice of the Orthodox Church. Come experience the beauty and mystery of the Risen Christ!

Church Leadership

Father John Eissman

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Alice Unschuld

 Choir Director

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Father Deacon Jordan

Parish Council

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Father John

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Alice Unschuld

President

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Joseph Knudsen

Treasurer

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Annamarie Unschuld

Secretary

Council Members

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Joanna Knudsen

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Ceil Bush

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Suzanne Fogle

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David Unschuld

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What is the Orthodox Church?

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The Orthodox Christian Church is a worldwide body of believers who confess and worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as Lord and Messiah. This body has a tangible and continuous history of Christian faith and practice from the time of Christ’s Apostles. The use of the adjective “orthodox” to describe the Church dates back to the earliest centuries and was applied to those Christians who maintained the tradition transmitted by Christ’s Apostles (2 Thes. 2:15).
The Orthodox Church is therefore not a “denomination” and predates both denominations and non-denominationalism. She has been labeled as “Eastern” by historians to acknowledge that Christ’s Church began and flourished initially in the Eastern portion of the Roman Empire, and to distinguish her from what eventually became separate church bodies in the Western Hemisphere. However, the Orthodox Church is not reserved for certain ethnicities (e.g. Greek, Russian) but is for all people.
The Orthodox Church is currently the second largest body of Christians in the world, with 225 million adherents across the globe. The 1995 Encyclopaedia Britannica noted the Orthodox Church as the fastest-growing Christian church in America, as many are rediscovering the depth and riches of the ancient Christian tradition that remains steadfast and unchanging in regard to the “faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

Whatever their national or regional origins, all Orthodox churches share the same faith and are united to one another in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5). The Head of the Orthodox Church is Jesus Christ. There is no earthly head of the Orthodox Church. All bishops are equal, sharing the same ministerial grace and forming a brotherhood to which each is accountable. It is not an earthly leader that holds the Church together but adherence to the Orthodox Faith—in the words of St. Vincent of Lerins, that which “has been believed everywhere, at all times, and by all.”
Since “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8), the Church has no need to conform to the newest fads or philosophies. She does, however, adapt to new circumstances, accept the language of indigenous peoples, and embrace everything godly and good in any time in which she finds herself.

Monthly Calendar
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