Our mission church is a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Sunday Liturgy is 10 a.m. at 1701 Peridot Rd., a few blocks north of Austin in Pflugerville. Why not join us for services? You will be welcome at our church.
NEWS (updated 1/26/12) ===============================================
Annual Parish Meeting on Cheesefare Sunday (Maslenitsa), Feb. 26, 2012, 1:00 pm. We will elect parish officers and consider annual reports. Are you attending our parish, but not an official member? Fill out the application, pay the small fee, make whatever pledge you can, and you may participate.
On Jan. 22, Bishop Peter blessed our new church and served Hierarchical Liturgy with four priests and two deacons, attendance 68. Pictures here.
Pictures of our Christmas Liturgy. Pictures of the new iconostas icons.
Joining the Church: Baptisms are in English, Russian, or Spanish, as requested. Adult baptisms follow a period of testing and prayer called the catechumenate. Orthodox Christians require neither baptism nor chrismation, but may simply attend and belong. If you want to enter the Orthodox Church, call Fr. Aidan (512) 696-6890.
Father's "State of the Church" Address for Jan. 2012. Also read our Wishlist.
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E-mail us with names of people you want prayers for. They will be specially commemorated at the next Divine Liturgy.
Dear parishioners, donors, and benefactors of Holy Protection Church, thank you for your support, whether with your time, effort, resources, or prayers! Your help is very important to our parish. May the Lord God remember you in His kingdom!
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Remember, Lord, those that bear fruit and do good works in Thy holy churches, and grant them their petitions which lead to salvation, and endow them with eternal life...
The changing pictures just above, show the beauty of Orthodox tradition; they are not pictures of our parish. To hear some Russian Orthodox singing, click here.
Click the picture to see the ikonostas as of Jan. 2, 2012.
Click the pic to see Dormition 2011 (attendance: 53).
Click the pic to see Pascha 2011 (attendance: 80).
Holy Friday 2011 (attendance: 39).
Palm Sunday 2011 (attendance: 50).
First steps in our new church:
Kursk Root Icon Visit 2010 (attendance 150) in the old chapel:
Pascha 2010 (attendance 63) in a rented hall:
Nativity Jan. 7, 2010 (attendance: 38) in the old chapel:
Pentecost 2009 (attendance 27) at the old chapel:
Click on the picture to see more photos of us and the chapel, and to hear our choir.
Baptism in November 2009 at the old chapel:
Click on the picture to see more photos of the baptism.
Our priest Hieromonk Aidan (Keller), in our new church.
Church name. Our church is called Holy Protection. This refers to the Virgin Mary's protective prayers. Over a thousand years ago, at the Christian capital of Constantinople, pagan Russian forces attacked by sea. The Virgin Mary was seen praying to Almighty God for the people. Not only did her prayer scatter the enemy, and spare the Christian population, but before long the Russian people converted to faith in Christ. Later in time, Russians brought Orthodox Christianity to the Far East, the Americas, to Africa, Australia, and Western Europe (which had known it, but lost it). God's ways are mysterious.
History. In 2001 the church was begun by Russian Orthodox believers. During 2001-2004 the chapel was remodeled and occasional services were held by Fr. Ljubomir Kupec of Houston. In July 2007 Bishop Peter of Cleveland assigned Fr. Cassian Sibley of College Station, Texas, and monthly Liturgies began. In September 2008, Fr. Aidan (Keller) of Austin was assigned, and weekly Liturgies began. In January 2011 services began at the new church. Over the last year, attendance doubled. On Jan. 22, 2012, our new church will be blessed by Bishop Peter.
Priests:
Rev. Father Aidan (Keller), cell (512) 696-6890, a hieromonk of the Eastern America diocese, is the current rector.
Rev. Father Paul Andreasen, Orthodox military chaplain at Ft. Hood, serves frequently with Fr. Aidan in Austin.
Rev. Father Cassian Sibley, who resides in Bryan and was rector until Jan. 22, visits the Austin parish several times per year.
Choir: Andrew Longway (choirmaster), Natasha Ponomareva, Alexandra Boston, Natasha Longway, Dominica McGinnis, Dennis Gavrilov, Tatiana Larina, Lydia Kidd, Marcella Andreasen, Katherine McGinnis, Sarah McGinnis, and John Aleshin, with guest chanters Michael Hritz, Elizabeth Hritz. If you want to sing, contact Andrew.
Sisterhood: The Myrrh-bearers are devoted to service, including cleaning, sewing, painting, landscaping, education, meals, prosfora (altar bread) making, and beautification of the temple for feasts. To join the Sisterhood, or volunteer refreshments for a particular scheduled Sunday, contact Ilona.
Officers: Sergei Larin, warden; Reader Mark Scott, treasurer; Lena Larina, secretary; Luda Voskova, member; Marcella Andreasen, member; Dominica McGinnis, member. Fr. Aidan Keller, acting for Fr. Cassian Sibley, is president. Auditors are Reader Andrew Eatough, Deborah Scott, and Natasha Boston.
Why the Russian Church? The Orthodox Church has different church administrations for different world regions. The Greek Church serves people in Greece, the Russian those in Russia, and so on. In America these administrations overlap, plus there have been many English-speaking Americans converting to Eastern Orthodoxy. But what is the "Orthodox Church"?
The Orthodox Church is the oldest of all Christian churches. She was active in the world even prior to the writing down of the New Testament, and is still alive and well today, faithful to Christ's teachings, the original Holy Bible, and ancient Christian ways of practicing the faith. In the 20th century the Russian Orthodox Church endured heavy persecution. The people suffered together with their Master and Lord, Jesus Christ, remaining faithful to Christ. Therefore the Russian Church has a special contribution or witness, one of self-sacrifice and joy in the midst of trouble. This witness is valuable for America, where Christianity often is watered down, and people tend to pick and choose their prayers, morals, and truth. Instead of seeking to match popular trends, our church seeks fidelity to a 2,000-year-old tradition. Large numbers of Americans have found that they can make the Russian Orthodox tradition their own, and that they too can take up the "cross" of struggle, can follow Christ, and can become transformed by His grace, in hope of eternal life.
We invite all people in the Austin area to join us for prayer and worship, and to browse our collection of Orthodox books and icons.
To schedule any service or request a presentation for your group, call Fr. Aidan at (512) 696-6890 or email hieromonachusaidanus@yahoo.com.
