Saint James Orthodox Church Fort Collins Colorado

Icon of St. James

St. James Orthodox Christian Church Fort Collins,Colorado
Fr. Mark Cranor, Pastor

A bit about Saint James Orthodox Church

Our name comes from our patron saint, James, the brother of the Lord. This means that not only is the church building named in his honor, but also the members of our community look to him in a special way as our example of what it means to live faithfully as a Christian.

Our parish is under the jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdioces of North America which is one of the original ancient churches of the worldwide Orthodox Church. Antioch, an ancient Syrian city, was one of the five great centers of early Christianity, and the church there claims the Apostles Peter and Paul as its co-founders.

The members of our parish represent a range of ethnic backgrounds, although we predominantly are converts from American Protestantism. Our services are conducted in English. The Orthodox Church is not a "Denomination" like the Christian groups of the West. The Orthodox Church is quite simply the ancient Church, that community of faith and worship, that traces its history to Jesus Christ and His Apostles. It is that divine institution that is referred to in Scripture as "the Body of Christ" (1 Cor. 12:27) and "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).

St. James boasts a diverse membership comprised of Orthodox Christians of Middle Eastern, Slavic, Romanian, Georgian, and Greek backgrounds as well as many converts to the faith. The parish is striving to live and grow in Christ. This effort is evidenced by the congregational participation in the Divine services as well as the attraction of many college students who desire an authentic witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.