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Welcome
What is the Orthodox Church?
Although few Southerners have heard of it, the Orthodox
Church is actually the second largest Christian church in the world and is the
original faith founded by the Apostles. After the resurrection of Christ, the
Apostles spread the gospel around the world and established churches in
Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Rome. Each of these churches
is still independent in administration, but, with the exception of the Rome,
which separated from the others in 1054 A.D., they are all united in faith,
doctrine, Apostolic tradition, sacraments, liturgies and services. Together they
constitute the Orthodox Church. Many churches have separated from the original
Church and struggle with changing theology, but the Orthodox Church has never
strayed from the teachings and worship passed down by the Apostles.
About Our Church
St. Catherine Antiochian Orthodox Church is part of the
early church established in Antioch, where the disciples of Christ were first
called Christians. Although our local congregation is small, with only about 20
members, we love each other, and we love to worship Christ, our great and
merciful Savior. (We also love visitors!) If you’ve never been to an Orthodox
church, our worship is probably a bit different from anything you’ve
experienced. The worship liturgy is beautiful and ancient. Nothing has changed
since the fourth century. You can expect bells, incense, chanting, and lots of
icons depicting saints and Biblical scenes. Church doctrine also remains
unchanged. (See Q&A Booket for more information.) On three of four
Saturdays each month, Great Vespers is held at 6:30 p.m. Every Sunday, Divine
Liturgy is celebrated at 4 p.m. Father Gregory Rogers, our priest, pastors two
churches. Fr. Gregory pastors our sister congregation, St. Barnabas in
Lexington, SC, on Sunday morning.
Our congregation was thrilled to
purchase a building from the Lions Club in May 2004 (located on Hwy. 19 across
from the William Perry house, just before Aiken Memorial Gardens cemetery).
Although we still have much to do, we have been busy working to make a beautiful
temple (see Our Photos).
Despite our numbers, St. Catherine’s is active
in ministering to the community. The church is one of the largest distributors
of angel food in Aiken County, giving out nearly 100 boxes of food each month
for the low cost of $30 per box.
For more information about our church,
please call 803-641-0695. We would love to meet
you!
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