By Deb Risden
St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church was consecrated in early February by the Bishop of the Orthodox Church in America. Father Anthony Machnee said the new church sprung from the fast-growing, existing Holy Theophany Orthodox Church in Colorado Springs.
Machnee said the church selected the location on Woodmen Road and Mohawk Road, east of Colorado Springs, because many of their parishioners were commuting to Holy Theophany from Black Forest, Falcon and the Banning Lewis Ranch area. He said when they discovered the available property site, they felt it would be a perfect location to serve their current parishioners and the growing area of Falcon and the eastern plains.
Machnee said the Orthodox Christian church is the original Christian church founded by Christ that his Apostles spread throughout the world.
The congregation is diverse and welcomes everyone. Machnee said people from all religious backgrounds, such as protestants, Catholics and evangelicals come to the orthodox church. “We retain a lot of ancient practices in how we do our services and what our churches look like in terms of architecture,” he said. “I think primarily our parishioners see something that is a little older, something grounded a bit more in history. It can be trusted to be true and not change throughout time. It is rooted in the Bible.”
The new location currently has between 130 and 150 parishioners. Traditionally, the parishioners have been involved in community service. They have supported the Springs Rescue Mission and delivered care packages to homeless individuals in Colorado Springs. Machnee said they are in the process of establishing a focus for service in the new location.
Services at St. John the Baptist Church are on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. The Saturday service consists of vespers — prayers, reading of psalms, singing and reading of scripture. The Sunday service is the divine liturgy service where the eucharist is offered.
Machnee said everyone is welcome. “If people are interested and want to come see what we are all about, we are open to visitors all the time,” he said. “They are welcome to come on a Saturday evening and see what we do.”
More information about the church, its services and orthodoxy can be found on their website at https://stjohnscos.org.
