Holy Myrrh-bearers Church (St. Cloud, Minnesota)

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Holy Myrrh-bearers Church
Jurisdiction Orthodox Church in America
Diocese Midwest
Deanery Minneapolis
Status Active
Location St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Date Founded 1999/2000
Liturgical language(s) English
Official website Official Website


Holy Myrrh-bearers Church is a parish in the Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church in America. It serves the city of St. Cloud, Minnesota and is the only Orthodox Church of any jurisdiction in the very large geographical area of central Minnesota.

History

In 1895, St. Mary Church (Two River, Minnesota) was established near the town of Holdingford, Minnesota, which lies about 25 miles northeast of St. Cloud. As St. Mary ceased to function, Orthodox faithful had little other choice than to make the long journey to the Twin Cities in order to participate in church life. In the 1990s, there was a small group of Orthodox Christians in the St. Cloud community who met in each others' homes who came to be known as the Mission of St. James, and they were periodically sent clergy from St. Mary Cathedral (Minneapolis, Minnesota) to minister to them on a visiting basis.

By 1999, several of these families petitioned Archbishop Job (Osacky) of Chicago for a more permanent solution. Archbishop Job officially established this as a mission community, known at this time as the St. Cloud Mission Community. Fr. Nathan Kroll was sent from St. Mary in Minneapolis to be the pastor of this church, and a suitable building for worship was found in the former Grace United Methodist Church of St. Cloud. On Holy Myrrh-bearers Sunday of 2001 (April 29th), the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated in this building. It was at this point that this church took on the name of Holy Myrrh-bearers.

Clergy

  • Fr. Nathan Kroll

In The News

Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church has suffered repeated acts of vandalism. For instance, in November 2015, the front doors of the church were smashed. In this instance, a 19-year-old man was arrested. However, previous incidents included burglary, broken windows, graffitti, paint balls, and ritual desecration.

External Links